Naomi Grunditz, Ecocity Builders Engagement Specialist
Name: Naomi Grunditz
Occupation: Writer, researcher, engagement and creative specialist
Place of Residence: Oakland, California
Background and Personal History: Naomi is Bay Area native who developed her love of wild urban places exploring the derelict Alameda Naval Air Station as a child.
After completing a degree in Sociology and Urban Studies at Yale University, Naomi interned at SPUR before joining Ecocity Builders. At Ecocity Builders she assists the Executive Director in managing organizational initiatives, acts as editor of the blog and newsletter Ecocities Emerging, and develops ECB’s online and print media. Naomi has been a submission reviewer and planner for the Ecocity World Summit since 2013 and is currently a member of the Strategic Committee for Summit 2015 in Abu Dhabi. She has traveled to numerous cities around the world studying and advising on urban systems, sustainable development, and cross-cultural collaboration.
In the private sector, Naomi has been involved with the development of online curriculum to support mental health and wellness. She is interested in the intersection of the built and social environments and experiential aspects of the city. It comes as no surprise, then, that in her free time Naomi can be found wandering the hidden staircases of Berkeley and Oakland, marveling at historic architecture, and smelling the roses.
Current Projects: Outside of work, Naomi is a member of Bay Area arts collective 5-Ton Crane, creator of three large-scale collaborative sculptures featured at Burning Man and across the country. This year she will be helping build an immersive story-telling environment inside an imagining of the “Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.”
