About

My name is Heidi Giancola, thank you for visiting my portfolio site to learn more about my experience, interests and ambitions. 

I am passionate about community collaboration to create sustainable, equitable urban spaces where people and the ecosystem can interact cohesively. 

I currently work for the City of Oakland as the Program Analyst II for the Environmental Stewardship Division. I coordinate our tool lending program for Oakland volunteers. I oversee the Adopt a Spot and Adopt a Drain programs and city wide volunteer clean up events including Earth Day, MLK Day, and Creek to Bay Day. The Stewardship division oversees a variety of contracts focused on Environmental training, city beautification, environmental clean ups and water quality. My goals are to continue to forge collaborations between local non-profits and environmentally minded volunteers.

Previously, I worked at the San Francisco Conservation Corps as the Environmental Programs Coordinator. I coordinated grant deliverables for projects in natural resource and zero waste management. I collected and presented project data to partners, directed employees on daily logistics, and managed programs. 

I have a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from San Jose State University. My research interests are in environmental justice, urban conservation, urban biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, agroecology, food sovereignty, anthropology and spatial analysis.

The research I conducted focused on urban community agriculture's role in providing food access and justice to lower-income communities and communities of concern around the San Francisco Bay area. I used a mixed-method approach to contrast the roles played by urban community farms and community gardens in the urban ecosystem and the food justice movement. My research utilized Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and an online survey to compare food access and crop diversity of urban community gardens versus urban community farms. Using proximity as a partial indicator of access, I examined whether urban community farms or gardens were more accessible to low-income households and communities of concern. I developed and administered an online survey, in Qualtrics, to urban community agriculturalists, inquiring about their demographics, decision-making power, and which plants they were growing. Environmental justice, food justice, agroecology, food sovereignty, and urban biodiversity were major themes discussed in my thesis. 

I hold a Bachelor's Degree of Arts with honors in Anthropology with a minor in Sociology from San Diego State University.

I taught English in Japan at an after school English emersion program. It was a fantastic experience and solidified my love for travel and cultural exchange. 

I am a certified Unmanned Aircraft pilot from the FAA and hold a certification to teach English as a Second and Foreign Language. 

I have a passion for the outdoors and enjoy hiking, snowboarding, soccer and playing squash. I was born and raised in Lunenburg, Massachusetts and moved to California in 2013.