Building a Movement That Lasts: Ghita Carroll reflects on near two decades of leading BVSD’s sustainability efforts

When Ghita Carroll arrived in Boulder Valley School District in 2008, sustainability work was already happening in pockets across the system.

What didn’t exist yet was a shared vision to bring it all together.

“Immediately it was clear to me that there was so much going on in this community and at our schools,” Carroll recalled. “I set out to create a district-level approach, setting sustainability goals at the district level, making connections between the great work that was happening at school.”

Eighteen years later, Carroll is reflecting on all that has been accomplished, as she prepares to retire this spring. Now BVSD is a national leader in sustainability, with systems, programs and partnerships that have touched tens of thousands of students and reshaped how the district operates.

From campus innovation to district leadership

Carroll’s path into sustainability leadership began at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she worked as an energy manager while completing her graduate studies.

While CU was already known as a leader in sustainability, she helped the university on a new, groundbreaking front.

“I ran the campaign to make CU Boulder the first university in the nation to be powered by wind,” Carroll said.

While she initially expected to pursue a career in renewable energy policy and carbon markets, her hands-on work in sustainability operations ultimately pointed her in a different direction.

When BVSD created its first sustainability position in 2008, she applied.

“I was told we were kind of starting from scratch as a district around this work,” she said.

Creating a system that sustains itself

One of Carroll’s first priorities was creating a district sustainability plan and securing Board of Education support, including a commitment to annual reporting.

“It seems small, but that has had great power,” Carroll said. “It’s been looked at as a core of our success.”

That structure helped ensure the work wouldn’t fade with staff changes or shifting priorities. Instead, it became embedded in how the district operates.

“We’ve institutionalized it,” she explained.

Next week Carroll will update the Board one last time, reporting about the success of the third sustainability plan. Her successor will be responsible for the fourth, continuing to push the work forward.

A focus on students at the center

While the district has seen significant operational successes, from energy efficiency improvements to major cost savings, Carroll consistently points to students as the true impact of the work.

“I know that the work we’ve done here has touched literally tens of thousands of students,” she said.

That impact is not just in participation, but in ownership.

“When we created the first plan, it was staff-driven,” Carroll noted. “Now we have students coming to the board to say, ‘How can we build on and expand these goals?’”

For Carroll, that shift represents a defining success.

“It’s a success that students recognize this work as something important to continue,” Carroll said.

Sustainability as a shared responsibility

A key part of Carroll’s leadership has been ensuring that sustainability is not confined to a single role or department.

“In order for this work to be successful, it’s got to be everybody thinking through the lens of sustainability,” she said. “It can’t be about one person.”

That philosophy has helped embed sustainability into both operations and instruction, from facilities improvements to classroom learning opportunities.

It also positioned the district well during moments of disruption.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, prior investments in indoor air quality and outdoor learning became critical to supporting students and staff.

“I did not see that coming,” Carroll said. “But because of the work we had been doing, we were in a good position.”

A movement that continues to grow

Over the course of her career, Carroll has seen sustainability in education evolve dramatically.

“I think it has blossomed into a movement in the time that I’ve been here,” she said.

And in BVSD, that movement continues to grow.

“Our students are more passionate about it than ever,” she said. “That’s because of what we’ve grown and the world they’re living in.”

As she prepares to retire, Carroll’s focus is on ensuring that momentum continues. She is currently helping to shape the district’s next five-year sustainability plan, setting the stage for future work.

“My biggest hope is that it continues at the same level of support and momentum,” she said.

After 18 years, stepping away is not easy.

“It’s like your baby,” she shared. “You hope it continues to grow and blossom.”

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Getting to Know Ghita

A BVSD family, through and through
While Ghita is retiring, you’ll likely still see her around the district. Both of her children have attended BVSD schools from kindergarten through graduation, with one now in college and the other preparing for her senior year. She is looking forward to being available for her daughter during her senior year at Boulder High School, next year.

Ranger Carroll
Whether practicing yoga, traveling or exploring national parks, Carroll feels most at home outside.

“Every time I’m in any national park, I feel like I have found my heart and soul,” she said.

It probably isn’t that hard to imagine Ghita as a park ranger. She spent one summer up at the Apostle Islands National Park in Wisconsin and another in Alaska, giving visitors to Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge bear safety training.

She says that she loved being on an adventure overnight in Alaska.

“I just love being in Alaska,” Ghita said. “It was incredible.  And since it was summer, it was light all the time, so we would go on camping, you know, overnight camping trips, and you could hike all night long if you wanted to.”

Carrying values forward
While she may be stepping away from her role, Carroll knows sustainability work, in some form or fashion, will continue to be part of her life.

“I feel lucky to have been in a career where I feel so deeply committed,” Ghita said. “You don’t walk away from your values.”