Accelerating
Climate Resilience
Speaker Series
MAPC is working in partnership with the Barr Foundation to accelerate climate resilience in the region by helping municipalities advance strategies that protect people, places, and communities from the impacts of climate change.
This work includes:
- The Accelerating Climate Resiliency grant program, which funds actionable resilience interventions in the MAPC region.
- A Resiliency Community of Practice for grant program awardees to share skills and knowledge, discuss successes and challenges, and build a support network of climate resiliency champions.
- This speaker series is open to the public! Every other month, we'll bring experts and practitioners from across the country who can speak to the ways that they are perceiving and advancing resilience.
Questions? Reach out to Van Du at [email protected].
Related Pages:
Upcoming Events
The 2024 sessions for the Accelerating Climate Resilience Speaker Series are now done for this year. Thank you to everyone who joined us for any of the sessions, and you can find recordings of each below.
Past Events
Solar + Storage = Energy Resilience and Savings: Introducing MAPC's Solar + Storage Resource Guide
Monday, October 7, 2024
In this session, attendees were walked through MAPC’s new resource guide for municipalities interested in Solar + Storage.
Attendees also heard insights from a panel who have installed or are currently installing this technology. They discussed the challenges they encountered, offered tips for procurement and installation, and discussed the benefits and best practices for successful implementation.
The Panelists:
- Erina Keefe, Sustainability Director, City of Beverly
- John Harper, Energy and Climate Committee, Town of Wayland
- Matt Shortsleeve, Vice President of Development, Solect Energy
Shade is Social Justice: How the City of Cambridge Tackles Heat Mitigation
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
In this session, we explored the ways that art, culture, and climate came together to advance social justice. Learn more about the process; from procurement to community engagement to the 'why' for each artist involved.
Speakers:
- Claudia Zarazua (facilitator), Arts & Cultural Planning Director at City of Cambridge
- Matthew Akira Okazaki, Professor of Practice in Architecture at Tufts University, and Founder, Field Office and Principal, Architecture for Public Benefit
- Jeff Goldenson, M.S., Founder of buildingways
- Alejandro Saldarriaga Rubio, Founder of Alsar –Atelier and Visiting Assistant Professor at Northeastern University
- Gabriel Cira, Professor in the History of Art at MassArt
Let's Talk About It: The Role of Communications in Climate Work
Thursday, August 29, 2024
In this session, we explored the ways we talk, share, and receive information about climate change and how people may interpret and react to information in different ways. We also discussed how reaching people with information leads to activism, progress, and more engagement.
Speakers:
-
Kristin Timm, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, International Arctic Research Center
-
Sammi Munson, PhD, Lecturer of Environmental Studies & Sciences, Gonzaga University
Community Gardens as a Resilience Tool
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
In this session, we explored the many co-benefits of community gardens, including strengthened community connections and increased accessibility to food growing. We heard from practitioners who are doing this work on the ground and advancing their community’s climate resilience goals:
- Theresa Strachila, Program Manager, GrowBoston: Office of Urban Agriculture
- Kathryn Piasecki, Planning Analyst, Nitsch Engineering
- Steven Nutter, AICP, Executive Director, Green Cambridge
Equitable Engagement with Community Liaisons
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
This webinar was in collaboration with MAPC’s Public Health Department. The webinar explored how cities use community-led planning to broaden and deepen engagement with residents. The webinar covered three projects in Massachusetts cities leading with equitable community engagement:
- Shawn Luz, Sustainability Coordinator, City of Framingham
- Emily Sullivan, Climate Change Program Manager, City of Somerville
- Richard Harding, Manager, BIPOC Men’s Health and Community Engagement Cambridge Public Health Department
Cleantech in Your Community
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
At this webinar, in collaboration with MAPC’s Economic Development Department, our speakers discussed opportunities and barriers to public-private partnerships, how the City of Boston is working to implement clean energy technologies, what technologies emerging form Greentown Labs are reaching commercialization, and how diversity, equity, and inclusion are being promoted in workforce development. Guest speakers:
- Oliver Sellers-Garcia, Green New Deal Director for the City of Boston
- Maya Nitzberg, Vice President of Community for Greentown Labs
- Steven Lee, Green New Deal Finance Advisor, City of Boston
Building Community Resilience: Starting with Mental Health
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
At this webinar, attendees learned about navigating the impacts of climate change on mental health and wellbeing. We heard from three leaders, discussing pathways to center people in climate planning, healing pathways to build resilience, and offering resources and a hopeful lens for the future:
- Dr. Shalini Shah, DO, Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital
- Meghan Wise, Climate Hub Coordinator, UBC Climate Hub
- Nancy Rihan-Porter, Director of Equity, Resilience and Preparedness, Cambridge Public Health Department
Wampanoag Ecological Perspective, Historical Resilience, and Climate Adaptation
Thursday, October 12, 2023
This session was presented in collaboration with the Rooted in Nature: Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Resiliency speaker series.
This presentation delves into the intricate connection between traditional ecological knowledge and the Wampanoag perspective. It traces the evolution and expression of their worldview up until the time of initial contact. The discussion covers how the Wampanoag people managed to preserve certain traditions despite colonization's challenges. Moreover, it emphasizes the critical contemporary implications of these dynamics, particularly underscoring the pivotal role of the Wampanoag perspective in strengthening climate resiliency efforts in the present day.
Exploring Ways to Strengthen Community Resilience with Microgrids
Thursday, September 7, 2023
The Accelerating Climate Resilience 2023 Speaker Series continues this fall on September 7 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Join us to learn more about microgrids, including what they are, how community-driven microgrids provide resilient energy, how they serve as a community aid disaster response, and about their connection to climate resilience planning. Guest speakers:
- Sari Kayyali, Microgrid Manager, GreenRoots Inc.
- Arturo Massol-Deyá, Executive Director, Casa Pueblo de Adjuntas
Building Resilience Hubs
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
At this webinar, attendees learned about resilience hubs, including different types of resilience hubs, their co-benefits, and their connection to climate resilience planning. During this virtual panel discussion, we heard from three practitioners who are currently working on building resilience hubs in communities around the country:
- Penelope Funaiole, Prevention and Outreach Manager, City of Medford
- Aubrey Germ, Climate and Resilience Planner, City of Baltimore
- Abbe Ramanan, Project Director, Clean Energy States Alliance and Clean Energy Group
The discussion touched upon the potential usage of clean energy in resilience hubs and the benefits and opportunities of effectively establishing and promoting resilience hubs in communities.
Resilient Youth: The Next Generation of Climate Activists
Thursday, March 24
How can municipal leaders empower youth movements and collaborate with local youths on climate work? Our panel of youth organizers speak on that question and more.
Featuring:
Pooja Tilvawala is the Youth Engagement Manger for 
Daniela Kunkel-Linares is a youth organizer at Climate Resilience Coalitions: The Role of Subnational Actors in Preparing for Climate Change
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Featuring:
- Allison Brooks: Executive Director, Bay Area Regional Collaborative
- Lara Whitely Binder: Climate Preparedness Program Manager, King County, Washington
- Melanie Gárate: Climate Resiliency Manager, Mystic River Watershed Association
Moderated by Sasha Shyduroff, MAPC Senior Clean Energy and Climate Planner and manager of the Metro Mayors Coalition Climate Taskforce
In this webinar, we hear from a panel of experts from across the United States about the opportunities and challenges of climate resilience coalitions.
Extreme Heat and the Legacy of Racist Housing Policy: Strategies for Climate Justice in Every Neighborhood
Thursday, September 30, 2021
Featured Speakers:
- Representative Andy Vargas: Commonwealth of Massachusetts 3rd Essex District
- Vice Mayor Lori Droste: City of Berkeley, California
- Tennis Lilly: Climate Resiliency Program Manager at Groundworks Lawrence
- Dr. Jeremy Hoffman, PhD: David and Jane Cohn Scientist at the Science Museum of Virginia and Affiliate Faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University
Redlining (the government-imposed practice of denying mortgages in predominantly-Black neighborhoods), disinvestment, and exclusionary zoning (restrictions on the types of homes that can be built in a neighborhood) shape the patterns of extreme heat in our neighborhoods. Our climate and heat response strategies should reflect this reality.
In this webinar, panelists from across the country explain the correlation between extreme heat and redlining and discuss strategies to mitigate extreme heat—for example, prioritizing street tree planting in neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment and reforming exclusionary zoning to allow more people to live in greener neighborhoods.
Building Resilience with Art
Monday, July 19, 2021
Featured Speaker: Sarah Rowbottam and Erin Genia
As cities and towns experience more frequent and intense weather events due to climate change, the arts offer opportunities to support climate resilience efforts. Collaborations with artists and creatives can enhance resilience, transform infrastructure, and increase community awareness of preparedness practices and climate risks.
Please join us for a conversation with Sarah Rowbottam, Creative Producer at Arts House in Melbourne, Australia; and Erin Genia, former Boston Artist-in-Residence. They'll discuss the role of the artist in addressing climate change and building resilience, their experiences building resilience through art, and their advice for working with artists.
You'll also learn more about "Cool it with Art," MAPC's upcoming how-to guide for tackling rising temperatures with art in Massachusetts.
Climate Resiliency and Racial Justice
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Featured Speaker: Jacqueline Patterson
Patterson is the Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program. Patterson has worked as a researcher, program manager, and activist working on women‘s rights, HIV & AIDS, racial justice, and climate justice. Patterson holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves on the International Committee of the US Social Forum, the Steering Committee for Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, Advisory Board for Center for Earth Ethics, as well as on the Boards of Directors for the Institute of the Black World, Center for Story Based Strategy, and the US Climate Action Network.
Environmental injustices and climate change have a disproportionate impact on communities of color and low-income communities in the United States and around the world. In this webinar, Patterson joined us for a conversation about work to address climate change as a civil and human rights issue.
Sea Level Rise and Underwater Municipal Budgets
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Featured Speaker: Dr. Linda Shi
Dr. Linda Shi is an assistant professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University. Her research and professional practice focus on urban environmental governance, and advancing planning policies to manage the urban climate transition in ways that improve social equity.
In this webinar, Dr. Shi discusses her research on the vulnerability of municipal budgets in Greater Boston to climate change; and how to approach development in ways that promote equity, resilience, and fiscal responsibility.
