The Central Texas Clean Air Coalition (CAC) on Wednesday recognized several people and organizations for their efforts to preserving the region’s air quality during 2025. Voluntary efforts such as those made by these recipients have contributed to the region staying near federal air quality standards for decades.
“Air pollutants don’t respect jurisdictional boundaries — the wind carries them throughout our region and even across the oceans such as the case with the Saharan dust,” said Anton Cox, Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) Air Quality Program Manager. “Every Central Texan breathes this air, and thanks to the work of people like our recipients, every breath taken here in Central Texas is a little cleaner.”
The Clean Air Coalition, a CAPCOG policy planning committee consisting of elected officials from the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area, recognized the 2025 Air Central Texas Award recipients at a joint meteorologist luncheon hosted by the Clean Air Force of Central Texas, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the region’s air quality. The awards celebrated organizations and people who have significantly contributed to the region’s air quality and inspire future actions to support the CAC’s ongoing regional air quality planning efforts. Awardees included:
Mose Buchele, KUT News – Senior Correspondent, Energy & Environment, received the 2025 Air Central Texas Media Award for his media coverage of air quality and air quality issues in 2025. His coverage of a Saharan dust plume’s impact on region’s air quality and the region’s overall ozone and fine dust levels kept the public informed and interested in learning more about the pollutants.
Elyse Kratchman, a University of Texas student, received the 2025 Air Aware Student Leadership Award for her voluntary efforts in retooling and enhancing Clean Air Force of Central Texas’s social media outlets, which led to a significant increase in engagement with their education and outreach programs.
Arianna Colasanti & Alicia Kim, Navarro High School science teachers, received the 2025 Air Central Texas Environmental Education Award for leading their Green Teams at Navarro High School in monitoring their air quality daily and flying color-coded flags in their courtyard based on the air quality. These efforts raise awareness on local air quality and the direct impacts that cause changes to it.
City of Austin – Aviation, City of Austin – Austin Energy, City of Kyle and Travis County received the 2025 Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization Award for their exceptional electric vehicle (EV) peer mentoring support during Central Texas Clean Cities’ Fleet Manager Roundtable. Their willingness to share time and experience with other Central Texas organizations has been invaluable in helping them adopt EVs.
Darien Clary, Director of Sustainability, Energy & Environment at Austin Independent School District (AISD) also received the 2025 Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award at CAPCOG’s December General Assembly meeting for her work in leading and supporting initiatives that reduce emissions, educate the community and advance clean technologies within the school district.
“Clary is someone who has been instrumental in helping this region maintain its clean air,” Cox said . “She has championed projects that increased air quality monitoring, raised local awareness about the region’s most common air pollutants, and been directly involved with capital projects that ultimately reduce air pollutants.”
Additional details and photos are available at https://aircentraltexas.org/en/about/act-awards.
About Air Central Texas: Air Central Texas is an initiative to reduce exposure to air pollution in Central Texas through voluntary actions. Its partners include local governments, regional and state government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and institutions.
