Meet Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, PhD - At-Large
Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, PhD is the Howard A. Schneiderman Endowed Chair and Professor at University of California Irvine. She leads an internationally recognized research program studying how climate change affects endangered ecosystems and our society. She received her PhD from Stanford University and has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Microbiology, and the Ecological Society of America. She was recently honored with the 2024 Robert H. MacArthur Award from the Ecological Society of America. This prestigious award is bestowed upon an established ecologist in mid-career who has made significant contributions to the field of ecology, with the expectation of continuing to produce outstanding ecological research. In 2022, she received the Marsh Award for Climate Change Research from the British Ecological Society. She has published over 120 articles in scientific journals.
Councilmember Treseder’s research has been featured on the BBC and NPR and in numerous publications, including Discover Magazine, The Orange County Register, and Harper’s Bazaar.
Since her election to the Irvine City Council in November 2022, Councilmember Treseder has been at the forefront of driving environmental and sustainability efforts, aiming to position Irvine as a leader in the battle against climate change. Her leadership has spearheaded initiatives to prohibit gas-powered lawn equipment and propelled Irvine’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan forward. She also champions active transportation and other incentives to reduce dependence on car-based transportation.
In addition to her work on the environment, Councilmember Treseder is a staunch advocate for open government. She took the lead in safeguarding community tax dollars at the Great Park and successfully led the charge to reform the City's lobbyist regulations.
She currently serves as a representative for the City of Irvine on several regional boards, including the Coastal Greenbelt Authority, the Newport Bay Watershed Executive Committee, and the Santa Ana River Flood Control Agency. She also serves as a member of Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley’s Climate Resiliency Task Force and the California League of Cities Environmental Quality Policy Committee.
