About April Economides
April Economides is the founder and principal of Green Octopus Consulting, a sustainability firm that works at the intersection of local economic development and sustainable urban planning. April created and manages the City of Long Beach’s Bike Friendly Business Districts program and Bike Saturdays program in partnership with four business districts, advises business districts throughout California on placemaking projects, such as installing parklets and pocket parks, and educates business leaders on the economic case for bicycling. She is the author of From Open Spaces to Vital Places, a paper about successful park management, and two traveling green museum exhibits, CSI: Crime Scene Insects and Glow: Living Lights, which have shown at natural history museums throughout North America since 2004.
In her role as a strategist, connector, and communicator, April is engaged at many levels of her local community. She is a member of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Green Business Council and helped organize Long Beach’s 2011 PARK(ing) Day. She served as a member of the City of Claremont’s Sustainable City Task Force, where she helped write its Sustainable City Plan, and she wrote climate action metrics for the City of Berkeley. Her M.B.A. in Sustainable Management lends additional relevancy during these changing times. Happily living car-free, she can often be seen riding around Long Beach with her daughter on their “bike limo,” or tag-along.