About Brian Barnacle

Brian grew up in Petaluma on a small farm. He’s a fourth-generation Petaluman with a large, closely knit family. Brian raised dairy cows, was in 4H, and showed at the fair. He went to Petaluma High School, played high school football, coached youth sports, and served in student leadership.

After high school, Brian worked his way through college, starting at Santa Rosa Junior College and later transferring to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to study City Planning. He graduated in 2009 in the depths of the recession when there were no jobs in the planning field. He knows well how hard it is to look for and find a job, to struggle to pay bills, and to afford housing.

In the decade since, Brian has lived in Oakland and Portland, and now is back in his hometown Petaluma.

In his professional life, Brian’s work has zeroed in on clean energy, including energy efficiency, solar, battery storage, electric vehicles, and microgrids. Brian has forged partnerships among public agencies, community groups, and private companies to help bring good ideas to life. He believes that when we all work together toward a common goal, we can quickly accomplish astonishing positive change.

Brian led a high-impact team that spearheaded his company’s growth from 50 people working in California to 130 people across 23 states. He has worked with several local governments to leverage grants and private capital to advance local energy and climate goals. Along the way, he has earned multiple awards for personal and team accomplishments.

At the end of 2019, Brian launched a new company focused on rapid decarbonization and community development. He works to accelerate a zero emissions future, create safe routes to and from schools, build transit-accessible affordable housing, support sustainable economic development, and make communities more resilient. Even in these uncertain times, his business is growing because of the strong market demand for his leadership, knowledge, and services.

Brian wants to share his knowledge with his hometown -- as our next City Council Member -- as a public service.

In his personal life, Brian has traveled across the United States in a minibus, backpacked internationally, and moved hundreds of miles to chase the love of his life, Gretchen. They were married in 2019.

Today Brian and Gretchen live in Petaluma with their dog, Valkyrie. Like so many others in Petaluma, they’re renters who love it here, are growing their family, and hope to buy a home here someday. Brian tells friends, “Gretchen balances me and is the perfect teammate, and I am so lucky to have her partnership in this journey.”

Brian serves on the volunteer Steering Committee of 350 Petaluma, a local chapter of 350.org (an international climate education and activist organization). He also participates in Urban Chat, a Petaluma nonprofit focused on better community development and transportation practices in Petaluma.

Like millions of Americans, Brian is troubled by the unequal treatment that communities of color experience in society. He knows something has to change, and believes that must start with listening to our local communities of color, reflecting, reviewing and reconsidering our institutions, and aligning our staffing, training, and spending accordingly. This would be a good start, and Brian knows that making these changes is long past due.