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Climate Summit 2023 Session Details, recap
Welcome
Georgia Farooq, Executive Director, Thrive Alliance
Jacob Virges, Spoken Word Poet
Gregg Castro, Culture Director, Association of Ramaytush Ohlone
Congressman Kevin Mullin (by video)
Petra Silton, Senior Director of Programs, Thrive Alliance
Morning Plenary Session: Community Perspectives Across San Mateo County
Building Power for Community Resilience with Climate Summit Hosts
Facilitator: Petra Silton, Senior Director of Programs, Thrive Alliance
Julio Garcia, Executive Director, Rise South City
Violet Wulf-Saena, Executive Director, Climate Resilient Communities
Miriam Yupanqui, Executive Director, Nuestra Casa
Leaders from the four hosting organizations of the Climate Summit will speak to their personal journeys into climate adaptation work, their organizational missions and work, and the communities they serve. They will also share their perspectives on identifying local needs and cultivating community resilience across the many diverse communities of San Mateo County.
Indigenous, Faith-based, and Farmworker Communities: Cultural Perspectives on Climate Resilience
Facilitator: Violet Wulf-Saena, Executive Director, Climate Resilient Communities
Gregg Castro, Culture Director, Association of Ramaytush Ohlone
Pastor Deborah Virges, Saint Mark AME Zion
Dr. Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, Executive Director, Ayudano Latinos a Soñar
This conversation will explore the impact that history, culture, oppression, resilience, and faith have on an individual’s perspective of climate change and adaptation. Leaders from the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, Ayudando Latinos a Soñar, and Saint Mark AME Zion Church of East Palo Alto will discuss the unique impacts of the climate crisis on their communities, the way in which their communities perceive and react to climate change, and strategies for building resilience.
Morning Breakout Sessions
Funding for Community Resilience
Facilitator: Joel Valencia, CEO & Founder, Evergreen Collective
Supervisor Noelia Corzo, County of San Mateo, District 2
Aaron Johnson, Vice President, Bay Area Region, PG&E
Amar Azucena Cid, Deputy Director of Community Investments and Planning, Strategic Growth Council
Ash McNeely, Executive Director, Sand Hill Foundation
Are current climate funding streams translating into projects and programs that meet the needs of our most at-risk communities? This panel will bring together a group of public and private funders and decision-makers to discuss how they are designing their grantmaking strategies to respond to emerging community needs, research, and stakeholder feedback with the goal of improving social outcomes after climate hazard events.
Strategic Collaboration and Mapping Resources for Resilience
Facilitator: Kamille Lang, Resilient Homes Program Manager, Climate Resilient Communities
Jasneet Sharma, Director, Office of Sustainability for Santa Clara County
Daniel Homsey, Director of The Neighborhood Empowerment Network (NEN) for the Department of Emergency Management of the City and County of San Francisco
Ana Miscolta, Director of Community Resilience, Thrive Alliance
How can we facilitate and strengthen the cross-sector partnerships needed to push forth ambitious hazard mitigation and climate adaptation projects and programs? Stakeholders from San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Francisco counties will come together to discuss the tools and strategies they have used to spearhead projects and programs, the challenges they face in building cross-sector coalitions, and opportunities to engage with their work.
Community Research Partnerships and Data
Facilitator: Mark Lubell, Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Policy Director, Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior, UC Davis
Mark Stacey, Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley
Ever Rodriguez, Founder & President, North Fair Oaks Community Alliance
Khalid Osman, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University
Nahal Ipakchi, Senior Director, Water & Community Planning, Kearns & West
Afternoon Plenary Session
Community-led Planning: Input and Data to Action
Introduction: Anjana Richards, Assistant Dean for Education and Integration Strategy, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Facilitator: Sarah Atkinson, Earthquake Resilience Policy Manager, SPUR
Cade Cannedy, Director of Programs, Climate Resilient Communities
Belinda Magallon, Environmental Justice Fellow, Nuestra Casa
Francesca Pedraza, Program Director, Rise South City
How do we translate qualitative and quantitative data into climate adaptation projects that are responsive to expressed community needs? Representatives from Climate Resilient Communities, Nuestra Casa, and Rise South City will discuss their experiences working with academic institutions to collect and analyze data on climate hazard exposure and community priorities, as well as the process of scoping and implementing risk reduction projects that are appropriate for the communities they serve.
Afternoon Breakout Sessions
Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Resilience
Facilitator: Supervisor Dave Pine, County of San Mateo, District 1
Ariel Cherbowsky, Director, San Bruno Mountain Watch
Kellyx Nelson, Executive Director, San Mateo Resource Conservation District
Barbara Camacho Garcia, Project Lead, Grassroots Ecology
Diana Fu, Environmental Planner, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
Supervisor Dave Pine will facilitate a conversation between representatives from San Bruno Mountain Watch, Grassroots Ecology, San Mateo County Resource Conservation District, and San Francisco Estuary Partnership about the nature-based projects they are planning and implementing across San Mateo County. Join this conversation to learn about wetland restoration, habitat protection, and other projects that have multiple ecosystem, social, and economic benefits for our communities.
Youth Voice in the Local Climate Movement
Introduction: Julie Hilborn, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Coordinator, SMC Office of Education
Facilitator: Najiha Al Asmar, Education Program Manager, Climate Resilient Communities
YCC Youth Leaders
Anamantangi Polynesian Voices
Timothy Lee & Trinity Ly, Summit Shasta Daly City Students on Climate Emergency Declaration
Join us in amplifying the voices of students who live and attend school in San Mateo County and have been taking climate action into their own hands. Local youth leading for change will speak to their personal journeys in the climate action movement, as well as the work they are currently involved in. They will share their knowledge about the climate crisis, their experience in leadership roles and programs that taught them to organize as well as their hopes for their future advocating for change and action.
Resilience Hub Networks: Building Connections for Community Risk Reduction
Facilitator: Susan Silber, Project and Organization Consultant, Planting Seeds Consulting
Gregory Stevens, Northern California Director, Interfaith Power and Light
Ana Avendaño, Executive Director, El Concilio of San Mateo County
Brian Whitlow, Executive Director & Senior Consultant, SF CARD
Resilience hubs - community facilities designed to support residents both every day and during and after disasters - are key to keeping communities safe and intact in the face of growing climate impacts. A panel of resilience hub experts and practitioners will discuss the opportunities and challenges of building a robust network of resilience hubs in San Mateo County. Participants will then have the opportunity to imagine what a resilience hub network might look like in their communities.
CLOSING
State Senator Josh Becker
“Making Your Commitment”
To make this event accessible to the whole community, the Summit was free to attend with breakfast, lunch, and the reception included. However, event costs are significant, so if you have the capacity to contribute, please donate by clicking below.
