Jacob Alvarez, MBA
Assistant to the City Manager 
City of Coachella

Jacob Alvarez, Assistant to the City Manager joined the City of Coachella’s Finance Department in 2013 where he transitioned from Interim Controller to the Assistant to the City Manager. As the Assistant to the City Manager, Mr. Alvarez provides supervision on many of the City’s Special Projects and serves as the City’s representative on several City sponsored commissions and committees; he also oversees the City’s Legislative Platform, assists in management of City Operations, serves as the City’s Public Information Officer, oversees Grants Management, and assists with the City’s overall strategy and branding.
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Prior to joining Coachella, Mr. Alvarez worked as a Management Analyst (2009-2013) for the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), a sub-region to Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). As CVAG’s SCAG Liaison, Mr. Alvarez was tasked with becoming the regional expert in SB375 and AB32. Mr. Alvarez worked with SCAG and CVAG’s 10 member jurisdictions on understanding and strategizing the implementation of Coachella Valley’s Sustainable Community Strategy given the region’s inadequate public transit.
As part of CVAG’s Energy & Environmental Resources Department, Mr. Alvarez participated in the Coachella Valley’s first Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory. This GHG Inventory was a huge milestone for the region and was done in partnership with South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). Mr. Alvarez also managed and implemented CVAG’s Green for Life Program, which was funded by a $4.91m grant from Southern California Edison (SCE), as provided by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). This program developed a regional and local green building policy with standards 15% above Title-24, including: a climate action plan; greenhouse gas inventories; facility benchmarking; commissioning; and, retro-commissioning policies for CVAG’s member cities. In another first for the region, Mr. Alvarez participated in the Coachella Valley’s first Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance. In 2009, due to State mandate AB1881, Mr. Alvarez assisted in managing the implementation and development of a water efficient landscape ordinance in partnership with the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) that exceeded the State requirement.

Mr. Alvarez obtained both his Masters of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of Redlands.