Fighting For a Fossil-Free Future
Katie Davis is a widely known and respected environmental and climate activist, recognized by the Santa Barbara Independent as a Local Hero for her dedicated advocacy to end fossil fuel extraction in Santa Barbara County and move toward 100% clean energy.
As a young child, Katie moved with her family to Summerland, a year after the infamous 1966 Santa Barbara oil spill that helped catalyze the environmental movement. She attended the University of California Santa Cruz, graduating with a degree in history. Katie lived in Atlanta, Georgia for five years to work in marketing and communications for tech companies before returning to Santa Barbara.
Both Katie and her husband, Albert Oaten, started jobs with Expertcity, which was soon acquired by Citrix, the company that pioneered software for online meetings. With two small children to care for, she appreciated the flexible hours and options for working remotely. She rose to become a Vice President of Web and Ecommerce at Citrix and was deeply involved in the company's sustainability initiatives.
A lecture organized by the Stanford Alumni Club introduced Katie to the now
famous "hockey stick graph" that showed the steep rise of greenhouse gasses
in our atmosphere over the past 150 years and its alarming consequences.
Having always been aware of the need to be better stewards of the
environment, the evidence for global warming and potentially catastrophic
climate change catapulted her concerns to a new level. Former Vice President
Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth put a special
exclamation point on this insight. But it was the concern for the future of
her children that made this a very personal issue for Katie.
Being somebody who acts on her convictions, Katie resolved to devote herself to fighting to preserve a livable planet. She trained with Gore's Climate Reality Project in 2012 and became a member of his corps of Climate Leaders (now 42,000+ global members strong). She and her husband implemented changes in their own lives to reduce their carbon footprint by installing solar panels on their home, switching to an electric car, and other measures. Katie devoted much of her energy to giving talks throughout our community to raise awareness about the causes and consequences of climate change and the pressing urgency of changing our lifestyles. It is her conviction that we ensure our region is part of the solution, not part of the problem.
It was one of these talks, given for the Sierra Club, that led her to a new endeavor: the Sierra Club invited her to join the local board which eventually led to her appointment as Chair of the Santa Barbara-Ventura Chapter. She has never looked back — Katie has become a tireless climate activist, teacher, motivator, and advocate in our community. She serves on the Sierra Club's National Marine Team and its California Climate and Energy Committee and was elected a member of the Sierra Club California Executive Board.
Katie also serves on and supports a number of environmental organizations' governmental bodies, and has helped lead successful campaigns including local goals for 100% renewable energy, 100% electric buses, and stopping oil expansion.
Katie has been a long-term supporter for the Community Environmental Council, joining our Partnership Council early on and, more recently becoming a member of our President's Council. She says that ever since its founding, CEC has made sure that the environment is a priority. This work has never been more important.
Katie's support for CEC is part of her profound personal commitment to fight climate change and help ensure a livable world for future generations. As part of this commitment, she included a generous legacy gift in her estate plan and hopes that many others will follow her example. We are deeply grateful for her wonderful gift and thrilled to count her among the members of CEC's Livable World Legacy Society.