Aired on 12/18/2014
In November 2013, President Obama issued Executive Order 13653, Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change, and created The State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. The Task Force Members brought first-hand experiences in building climate preparedness and resilience in their communities. They conducted broad outreach to thousands of government agencies, trade associations, planning agencies, academic institutions, and other stakeholders.
One year later, the Task Force issued its report.
The Security and Sustainability Forum and the American Society of Adaptation Professionals co-hosted this webinar for an in-depth discussion of the Resilience Task Force recommendations from the people who wrote it.
- Recommendations from the Resilience & Preparedness Task Force Webinar Slides
Speakers from the Task Force
Moderator: Ira Feldman, greentrack strategies, University of Pennsylvania, and Climate Adaptation Scholars (TM).
Susan Ruffo, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Rep. Kristin Jacobs currently serves as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 96th District, which includes Coconut Creek, Margate, and Parkland in northeastern Broward County, since 2014. She previously served as Commissioner in Broward County, Florida. While there, she took on big corporations to keep toxic ash from being dumped near waterwaysand stopped Enron from building dirty power plants in Florida neighborhoods. She worked to expand affordable housing, protect women and children from domestic violence and pass the county’s Human Rights Act to prevent discrimination. She led the efforts to pass a Living Wage Ordinance that guarantees a decent salary for county workers. Kristin was appointed by President Barack Obama to the White House Task Force on Climate Change and Resiliency.
Sue Minter served in the Vermont Legislature for six years and has been the Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Transportation (Vtrans) since January 2011. She played a leadership role responding to catastrophic flooding from Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011,and resulted in Gov. Shumlin deploying her to be Vermont’s Irene Recovery Officer, responsible for implementation of all state recovery and resilience activities, and in 2013, lead a team to assist the State of Colorado following severe flooding. Sue also supported Gov. Shumlin on the White House Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience as the co-chair of the Disaster Recovery and Resilience Sub Committee.
Karen Diver is in her 3rd term as Chairwoman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. This position serves as chair of the tribal government and CEO of the reservation’s corporate boards. The Fond du Lac Reservation is the 2nd largest employer in northern Minnesota with over 2,200 employees. She is currently serving as VP of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, comprised of six members Bands, and Chair of its Finance Corporation. Karen served for three years as the Director of Special Projects for Fond du Lac and for eleven years as the Executive Director of the YWCA of Duluth. Karen is a founding member of numerous organizations, including the American Indian Community Housing Organization. She is an appointee of President Obama to the State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resiliency.
