Sara Hammes
City of Los Angeles – Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) – Urban Forestry Division
SARA HAMMES has led environmental transformation through technology innovation, market strategy, end-use market development, comprehensive stakeholder engagement, and community advocacy. Her experience spans international trade, journalism, global market development, infrastructure development, and as an educator in Cultural Intelligence. Recently she led infrastructure development for organic residual recycling, including end-use markets, to achieve compliance with California’s SB 1383. Sara holds a BA in Economics from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Project
In collaboration with FUSE, the City of Los Angeles is undertaking a project to update the fee schedule of the Urban Forestry Division (UFD) to accurately reflect the value of its services and the impact of trees on residents’ well-being. Managing the largest municipal urban forest in the nation, the UFD faces an outdated fee structure that fails to consider the actual costs of services and the environmental impact of tree removal. FUSE Executive Fellow Sara Hammes will lead the effort to assess costs, engage stakeholders, and propose a new fee schedule by April 2025, aligning it with the City’s priorities, including affordable housing and a thriving urban forest.