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
Please stay tuned for upcoming events in 2026!
Past Events
From Awareness to Action: Climate Engagement and Storytelling
Thursday, February 26, 2026
In this session, we explored engagement through a climate lens, with a strong focus on storytelling. MAPC presented related work through the Arts & Culture Department, and guest speakers shared insights from engaging communities through various engagement methods.
Speakers:
- David Sittenfeld, PhD, Center for the Environment Director, Museum of Science – Boston
- Rozina Kanchwala, Executive Director, Eco.Logic & Regenerative Storytelling Lead, Climate Land Leaders
- Nubes Chen, Arts, Culture, and Humanities Planner II, MAPC
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- Presentation Slides
- MAPC’s Cool Communications Arts Toolbox – Arts and Planning Toolkit
- Learn more about Eco.Logic’s Eco.Art
- Learn more about Climate Land Leaders
- Visit the Museum of Science’s Center for the Environment webpage
- Case Study: Wicked Hot Mystic Project
Wicked Hot Mystic Data Explorer
Decision-Making Tools for Heat and Stormwater Mitigation with the Smart Surfaces Coalition
Thursday, December 11, 2025
In this session, attendees previewed tools and resources developed by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and the Smart Surfaces Coalition (SSC) to help municipalities, non-profits, and other stakeholders make decisions on extreme heat and stormwater mitigation.
Speakers:
- Jacob Miller, Deputy Director of U.S. Policy and Programs, Smart Surfaces Coalition
- Sasha Shyduroff, Principal Planner, MAPC
- Julia Nassar, Senior Clean Energy & Climate Planner, MAPC
- Presentation Slides
- MAPC’s Cool Roofs Toolkit
- SSC’s Benefit Cost Analysis Tool, Decision Support Tool, and Smart Surfaces Policy Tracker
- Receive support from SSC via their Policy Help Desk
Equitable Engagement with Community Liaisons
March 6, 2024
Description: 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.
Speakers:
- 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
Community Gardens as a Resilience Tool
June 12, 2024
Description: 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.
Speakers:
- Theresa Strachila, Program Manager, GrowBoston: Office of Urban Agriculture
- Kathryn Piasecki, Planning Analyst, Nitsch Engineering
- Steven Nutter, AICP, Executive Director, Green Cambridge
Let's Talk About It: The Role of Communications in Climate Work
August 29, 2024
Description: 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:
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Kristin Timm, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, International Arctic Research Center
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Sammi Munson, PhD, Lecturer of Environmental Studies & Sciences, Gonzaga University
Related Links:
- Presentation Slides
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Drawdown, outlined all the solutions that are already available, that just need to be scaled up: https://drawdown.org/drawdown-foundations
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Dr. Katharine Hayhoe on How to Talk to People Who Don't Believe in Climate Change
Shade is Social Justice: How the City of Cambridge Tackles Heat Mitigation
September 17, 2024
Description: 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
Access the Presentation Slides
Solar + Storage = Energy Resilience and Savings: Introducing MAPC's Solar + Storage Resource Guide
October 7, 2024
Description:
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.
Speakers:
- Erina Keefe, Sustainability Director, City of Beverly
- John Harper, Energy and Climate Committee, Town of Wayland
- Matt Shortsleeve, Vice President of Development, Solect Energy
Building Resilience Hubs
February 28, 2023
Description: 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. 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.
Speakers:
- 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
Related Links:
- Introductory resources for resilience hubs created by USDN.
- Learn more about The Baltimore City Community Resiliency Hub Program
- To learn more about Medford’s work, check out their Resilience Hubs Report
- View Medford’s 2022 Resilience Hub Network Operations Plan
- Learn more about the Clean Energy Group’s Resilient Power Project
- Check out the Conservation Law Foundation’s report on Climate Resilience Hubs
- Read the Clean Energy Group’s blog post on the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Investment Tax Credit.
Exploring Ways to Strengthen Community Resilience with Microgrids
September 7, 2023
Description: Attendees learned 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.
Speakers:
- Sari Kayyali, Microgrid Manager, GreenRoots Inc.
- Arturo Massol-Deyá, Executive Director, Casa Pueblo de Adjuntas
Wampanoag Ecological Perspective, Historical Resilience, and Climate Adaptation
October 12, 2023
Description: 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.
Building Community Resilience: Starting with Mental Health
November 15, 2023
Description: 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.
Speakers:
- 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
Cleantech in Your Community
December 13, 2023
Description: 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.
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
Resilient Youth: The Next Generation of Climate Activists
March 24, 2022
Description: 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.
Speakers:
Pooja Tilvawala is the Youth Engagement Manger for The Climate Initiative (TCI). She also works part-time as the Executive Director of Youth Climate Collaborative, which she founded in November 2020 with support from TCI. Pooja’s purpose in life is to nurture her curiosity and creativity, encourage herself and others to challenge the status quo, and unite people to improve the quality of life for all.Puget Sound Climate Preparedness Collaborative, Lara Whitely Binder
Daniela Kunkel-Linares is a youth organizer at Climate Generation, coordinating the Youth Environmental Activists (YEA!) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She believes in a radically loving and caring climate movement led by young people and our Indigenous relatives. She does this work to stand in solidarity with those who are brave enough to imagine a better future.
Simone Colburn is a junior at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and is the co-founded of the youth-led climate education organization Spring Forward. Spring Forward works with schools and youth programs to implement 25+ climate workshops that they have created to teach students about the inherent intersectionality of the climate crisis and how students can make systemic change. Spring Forward has taught over 100 lessons reaching over 1,500 students.
Sea Level Rise and Underwater Municipal Budgets
March 25, 2021
- Featured Speaker: Dr. Linda Shi
- Description: 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.
- Access the Recording
- Access the Presentation Slides
Climate Resiliency and Racial Justice
May 25, 2021
- Featured Speaker: Jacqueline Patterson
- Description: 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.
- Access the Recording
Building Resilience with Art
July 19, 2021
- Featured Speakers: Sarah Rowbottam and Erin Genia
- Description: 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.In this conversation with Sarah Rowbottam, Creative Producer at Arts House in Melbourne, Australia; and Erin Genia, former Boston Artist-in-Residence, they discussed 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.Attendees also learned more about "Cool it with Art," MAPC's how-to guide for tackling rising temperatures with art in Massachusetts.
- Access the Recording
- Questions and Answers with Erin Genia:
- Question 1: To both of you, what is your experience with sharing/teaching artistic skills to community members and engaging them in using those skills in cultural projects? As well as giving them the tools and confidence to use art and creativity to process trauma and increase their own resilience?
- Answer 1: I have worked in the fields of arts education as well as Native American and Indigenous Art and have found it is best to meet community members where they are in terms of skill level. It's good to have a range of activities available from beginner to advanced. In teaching, placing emphasis on process rather than final product gives participants direct ties to the materials they are using and helps them to develop their own confidence. It's always important to end the experience with a discussion, performance/ event, or art show so people can share their skills with the rest of the community.
- Question 2: How does one become an artist in residence? (I think this question might be more about specific opportunities but if you have any advice on how to approach an artist residency feel free to respond)
- Answer 2: One can become an artist in residence by applying, like you would to any job. You can find opportunities through arts organizations like: https://resartis.org/
Extreme Heat and the Legacy of Racist Housing Policy: Strategies for Climate Justice in Every Neighborhood
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
- Description: 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 explained the correlation between extreme heat and redlining and discussed 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.
- Access the Recording
- Related Links:
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- “How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering” by Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich
- “Mapping Project Explores Links Between Historic Redlining and Future Climate Vulnerability” by Barbara MoranThis panel was inspired by the following two articles on the same topic:
- Mr. Tennis Lilly provided the following links to learn more about Groundwork Lawrence and urban tree canopies
- According to a study from UC Berkeley, infill is the most impactful local policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more about this research here.
- Check out the estimated carbon footprint of households in your zip code here.
- Learn more about the Vice Mayor Droste’s leadership in passing the City of Berkeley’s resolution to consider removing single-family zoning here.
- Learn more about the State of California’s recently passed legislation to effectively end single-family zoning here.
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Climate Resilience Coalitions: The Role of Subnational Actors in Preparing for Climate Change
December 15, 2021
- Featured Speakers:
- 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
- Description: Moderated by Sasha Shyduroff, MAPC Senior Clean Energy and Climate Planner and manager of the Metro Mayors Coalition Climate Taskforce. In this webinar, we heard from a panel of experts from across the United States about the opportunities and challenges of climate resilience coalitions.
- Access the Recording
- Related Links:
- Slides: Bay Area Regional Collaborative, Allison Brooks
- Slides: Regional climate resilience in the Boston area, Melanie Gárate
- Slides:Puget Sound Climate Preparedness Collaborative, Lara Whitely Binder
