Who is Quinton Zondervan?
I’m an entrepreneur, non-profit leader and climate activist. In November 2017, I was first elected to the Cambridge City Council, and I’m currently serving my second term (2020-2021). I ran primarily as an environmentalist and social justice advocate. On the council I focus on environmental justice, social justice and climate justice. Concretely it means I focus on issues like: tree canopy protection, marijuana legalization, affordable housing and tenant protection, bicycle and pedestrian safety, net zero emissions, jobs and wage equity, climate preparedness, digital equity and any other issues related to protecting the vulnerable.
This term (2020-2021) I chair the Health & Environment Committee , and the Public Safety Committee.
My first term (2018-2019) I co-chaired the Health & Environment Committee with Councillor Devereux, and the Neighborhood & Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts & Celebration Committee with Councillor Carlone.
I live in the Wellington-Harrington neighborhood of Cambridge, with my wife, Radhika Nagpal and our two children (though the oldest is now away at college). Over time we’ve modified the house to reduce our energy consumption and increase our renewable energy usage. We’ve lived here since 2004, at the very tip of the neighborhood where it melds with East Cambridge, Kendall Square and the Port. We love the diversity and texture of the neighborhood, and the city. We can easily walk and bike everywhere, or take public transportation. I first came to Cambridge to study at MIT, and never left. I love what the city has to offer and I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve on the council and help keep Cambridge green, clean and healthy.
Here’s more about my career before I joined the council:
I served on the Climate Protection Action Committee (CPAC) in Cambridge from 2008 through 2017, including as Chair from 2012 through 2014. CPAC is a City Manager appointed advisory committee of stakeholders advising the city on climate change action, including mitigation and adaptation responses.
In 2013, I co-founded the Climate Action Business Association, Inc. (CABA), a 501(c)6 non-profit association of local businesses, based in Boston, and served as President and board chair for the first 5 years. CABA helps its member businesses be more sustainable, be more effective policy advocates to combat climate change, and be more active community members in our collective response to climate change. In 2018 CABA merged with Climate XChange, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization advocating for a price on carbon.
I served as President and board chair of Green Cambridge, Inc. a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation dedicated to improving the environment and enhancing Cambridge’s sustainability, from 2011 through 2017. I was one of the leaders behind the Net Zero buildings emissions zoning petition in Cambridge in 2013, and served on the subsequent City Manager appointed year-long Getting to Net Zero Task Force (2014-2015) which produced a 25 year action plan, unanimously adopted by the City Council in 2015, for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings in the city to zero as quickly as possible.
I stated my career as a software engineer at IBM (Lotus) in 1996, was the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at internet start-up company Clickmarks, Inc. during the heady dot com days, and was the founding CEO at therapeutics focused biotech Excelimmune, Inc. for 7 years (2006 – 2012). I currently work as a software consultant, and serve as the CTO at internet start-up company eCare Vault, Inc.
I have a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT and two bachelor’s degrees in the fields of mathematics and computer science from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and serve on the board of trustees at Eckerd.