Gavin Dillingham, PhD | Director of Special Projects

Dillingham has considerable experience with sustainability and energy related projects. After receiving his BA from Texas Tech University, Dillingham worked in the energy industry for several years. Much of his work consisted of conducting environmental and political risk management for large upstream and midstream companies. Also, he garnered considerable experience developing environmental management systems and environmental sustainability initiatives for multi-national energy companies. This work has allowed him to develop a strong knowledge of international standards and reporting requirements, including ISO, CERES and GRI. Dillingham received his PhD from Rice University where his research focused on developing predictive models for policy adoption and policy effectiveness in urban and natural resource policy settings. Upon completion of his PhD, Dillingham began work at the City as a staff analyst for Public Policy Division of the Planning and Development Department. In this role, Dillingham was responsible for developing policy related to annexation and city boundary issues for the City.

Dillingham currently leads the Special Projects Division where he is responsible for leading multiple sustainability and energy-related initiatives for the City of Houston. These initiatives include the Residential Energy Efficiency Program, the City’s partnership with DOE’s Solar America Cities, and the City’s energy conservation building retrofit program in partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative. Also, he oversees Civic Arts administration for the City of Houston.