Shea Cunningham's initial research revolutionized how ASGN and its subsidiaries view the environmental impact of their employees and work. We then retained her to help us build out a series of sustainability programs, which shortly turned into helping us create and publish our inaugural ESG report, and lead several subsequent reports while developing related surveys, policies and initiatives along the way. She aggregated and analyzed over 3,500 Company-wide data points. From disclosing to ESG reporting frameworks to helping elevate our ESG ratings, Shea was both a subject matter expert and a joy to work with. Without her leadership and guidance, the Company would not have developed such comprehensive and well-received ESG reports and built the foundation for multiple successful programs still utilized today. - Adam Bleibtreu, Chief Marketing Officer, ASGN
I cannot say enough good things about Shea Cunningham. Although I only had the privilege of working with her for a short time, I was impressed with her from the very beginning. Among her many responsibilities, Shea led the City's resiliency planning and zero-waste efforts. I was a member of the working groups she put together for these projects. Her leadership on these initiatives was first-class. It was clear that she had a lot of knowledge, experience and passion for resiliency and environmental issues. She could have easily completed these projects without any input, but instead, she was very inclusive and embraced everyone's thoughts and ideas to create a true group effort. She will be an asset to any organization lucky enough to have her on their team.
- Susan Duenas, Director of Public Safety, City of Malibu
I had the pleasure of working with Shea on the Sustainability Committee at the Culver City School District. During that time, I was highly impressed with Shea's commitment to the program, deep knowledge of sustainability practices, organizational skills and last, but certainly not least, her strong follow-through. Her attitude and daily demeanor were consistently positive, adding to her strong leadership ability. As Deputy Director of SEIU I am also familiar with Shea as a senior research analyst for our public services division. Shea's strong analytical skills and command of labor and social equity issues were a plus for our division. I want to offer a very strong recommendation for Shea Cunningham. I have known and worked with Shea as part of the Culver City Unified School District’s Environmental Sustainability Committee for over three years. She was leading this committee long before I arrived and has done an exceptional job as the first managing director of the District's sustainability program. She led the development of their award-winning Green5 sustainability program and helped secure funding from CalRecycle twice. Most recently, she led an application for the District to the Green Ribbon program, which was awarded the top honors at both the state and federal levels in March and July 2017.
- Jonathan Barton, Deputy Director, SEIU
Shea and her Team did an amazing job in helping MPC LA become one of the first sustainable businesses in Culver City. Shea's knowledge, guidance and enthusiasm helped the studio to become a Certified Innovator, as part of the Sustainable Business Certification Program, established by the California Green Business Network (CAGBN). After an initial assessment, Shea and her team created an Action Plan that helped MPC LA to implement best practices, install lighting retrofits and energy-efficient appliances (which was partially funded by Southern California Edison’s Direct Install program), conserve water, reduce pollution and generally enhance the health and well-being of the approximately 150 employees that work here. It is critical that businesses become more sustainable, and Shea was instrumental in not only helping us reduce our environmental footprint but also reducing our costs. - Patrick Davenport, Ghost VFX
I’ve worked in the areas of the environment and sustainability both locally and abroad in several capacities, and have worked with hundreds of people from all sectors - academia, government, business, and NGOs. I would rank Shea as one of the top individuals I have ever worked with in this discipline. I think any team would be incredibly fortunate to have her. She is exceedingly well-rounded, with skills and experience in community organizing, research, planning, policy, implementation, and management related to the environment and sustainability. Shea doesn’t only possess the necessary skills, but has a passion and drive for sustainability that I don’t think can be learned. Her commitment and passion are truly unprecedented, and this, combined with her education and knowledge of sustainability issues, makes her an incredible asset. On top of all that, she is simply a pleasure to work with. - Casandra Rauser, Ph.D., Principal of Morpho Strategies & former Director, Sustainable LA Grand Challenge, UCLA Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
As the Sustainability Program Director for Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) and Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Committee, of which I’m a member, Shea has been instrumental in the impressive efforts that have recently been acknowledged with a “Green Achiever” Green Ribbon Award, the highest honors from the Department of Education in partnership with the EPA. All that this entails has been accomplished in large part thanks to Shea’s research, planning and management and made possible due to her expertise in energy efficiency and renewables, water, waste and recycling systems and issues. I can attest that she has top-notch communication skills. She is adept at running meetings with all stakeholders, from students to staff to elected officials; she is also extremely capable of drafting policy, action plans, life cycle analysis and more. In addition to her work at CCUSD, she has an impressive professional background with both great breadth and depth.
As the Principal of Balanced Approach, she is leading the reputable Culver City Sustainable Business Certification Program, which is receiving accolades and becoming quite popular in the business community. More recently, she conducted a comprehensive waste assessment of Sony Pictures Entertainment and created a Forty-Point Actionable Plan that was quite well-received and is guiding Sony as we reduce our waste and divert it from the landfill. I recommended Shea without reservation and believe she would be a tremendous asset to any organization.
It's been a pleasure to know Ms. Cunningham for many years and in multiple roles: starting from her work in Culver City schools, to developing innovative and award-winning programs as a professional sustainability consultant for the District and other schools around the region, and from her community organizing for environmental policies, to leading our sustainable business program for the City of Culver City. Throughout, Shea has shown herself to be a true sustainability leader in Culver City. Her vision, energy, and organizational skills have transformed our entire School District. Thanks to Shea’s leadership, CCUSD is one of five districts in the country to receive distinguished CA and US Green Ribbon awards.
Shea is also creating the Culver City Sustainable Business Certification Program, which, in its first year, is already helping our community achieve our forthcoming climate action goals by measurably reducing energy and water consumption and pollution and inspiring businesses across the city to become environmental stewards. This exemplary program is the first in the state to include the provision of a Living Wage and health benefits as criteria for 2nd tier certification. Furthermore, participating businesses must demonstrate innovative practices in environmental conservation, community engagement and social responsibility. Her sustainability program and policy development experience, combined with her background in sustainability-focused research and planning, positions her exceedingly well to succeed on any sustainability-centered project she leads. I greatly appreciate, respect and admire Shea Cunningham and her work.
- Meghan Sahli-Wells, California Director, Elected Officials to Protect America and former Culver City Mayor
I have had the privilege of working with and for Shea since 2018. Shea is an astute Sustainability Planning expert, and her focus on Public Policy is exemplary. No matter the project, big or small, Shea leads it with a clear vision, professionalism and fervor. Shea is a true leader who has managed her business, Balanced Approach, and her team with adept direction, enthusiasm and candor. Her attention to detail and team-player ethics make her one of the best employers I have worked. Her participation in helping our local non-profit, Ballona Creek Renaissance, with its polystyrene ban initiative, was key to building a strong coalition of supporters that led to a successful ordinance. She was thorough and supportive, a great communicator and provided essential feedback. Shea is one of those professionals you want and need on your team. She will make any position better, any project reach farther and lead any organization to another level.
- Sandrine Cassidy, Senior Associate, California Green Business Network
It was always a pleasure to work with Shea. In both our work together on the electronics industry under NAFTA as well as our study with LAANE on economic development policies in Los Angeles, she was always an enthusiastic researcher, willing to go the extra mile to get the interviews that were needed. Shea worked well both independently and with the larger team. Shea is a strikingly attractive individual, both in her personality and in her physical presence, something that seems to compel people to want to cooperate with her. In our work together, she repeatedly demonstrated her ability to engage both men and women in ongoing collaboration.