Maria Sanders, Environmental Analyst in the Community Development Department, was selected to be part of a U.S. delegation to Ukraine to participate in an exchange on public policy issues related to energy efficiency and solar market development. The exchange, which took place in Kiev in late September, is part of a program developed by the Center for Safe Energy, which works with non-governmental organizations in the former Soviet Union to help build democratic institutions and good public policy around energy systems. During the exchange, Maria made presentations on the public policy history in California that has made the State a world leader in energy efficiency and solar deployment, with a special focus on the role local governments play in implementing these policies. As part of the exchange, she also visited some of the safer areas of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. As part of its on-going educational film and lecture series, the City’s Environmental Quality Committee has asked Maria to make a presentation about her time in Ukraine. The presentation will be open to the public. The date is to be determined.