Chester County has a new person at the helm of its Climate Action Plan, Rachael Griffith, who moves up from her role as Senior Trails and Open Space Planner at the Chester County Planning Commission. 

In her new post, Griffith will assist county departments, municipalities, and other stakeholders to meet the county’s goals for sustainability, clean energy, greenhouse gas reduction, resource protection, and public outreach and communications. 

Chester County Commissioner Marian Moskowitz said Griffith has distinguished herself in her five-plus years of service to the county. 

“Improving our climate is a priority item for us, and although it is an existential global issue, we must make every effort to contribute to decreasing our local dependency on fossil fuels,” Moskowitz said. “Rachael is the ideal person to help lead our efforts. She has devoted her career to endeavors that build productive interactions between people, the environment, and economic systems — the three tenets of sustainability.”   

Griffith began her career as a landscape architect before moving to the LandHealth Institute in Philadelphia as Community Projects and Programs Manager. She joined the Chester County Planning Commission in December 2016. 

Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell, who has championed the climate issue, welcomed Griffith to the position. Living in a section of the county prone to flooding, Maxwell said he sees the effects of climate change up close. 

“Flooding in our county will only continue to worsen if climate conditions are not reversed,” he said. “Severe flooding puts people’s properties and lives at risk. We need to take these critical steps to make sure that future generations don’t have to go through the same climate emergencies at the frequency that we do today. I know Rachael feels similar urgency and am pleased that she is taking on this leadership role.”

Griffith earned her undergraduate degree in landscape architecture from Temple University and a master’s in public administration and certificate in public finance from the University of Pennsylvania.