Building Resilience to Extreme Heat in California

Last year, the City of Los Angeles spearheaded an innovative community engagement process around the question, “What are you most worried about regarding climate change impacts?” Led by the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office (CEMO) and involving hundreds of stakeholders, the resulting answer was extreme heat. What can be done to address the serious threat that hotter, longer summers pose to our communities?

This webinar focused on how climate resilience community hubs can keep people safe during extreme heat waves. Presenters included community leaders and experts from leading agencies who discussed energy resilience as a possible solution to extreme heat threats. We heard success stories from Southern and Northern California, as well as how to unlock state funding for developing resilience hubs.

Presentations and Resources

Speakers

Marta Segura, M.P.H.

Chief Heat Officer & Climate Emergency Mobilization Director, City of Los Angeles

Marta serves a dual role as the City of Los Angeles’ founding Chief Heat Officer and Director of Climate Emergency Mobilization and is one of seven Chief Heat Officers worldwide and the only Latina in the Nation to serve in those respective roles. She is a thought leader and policy expert in environmental health, public health, and stakeholder engagement. Marta has worked directly with public, philanthropic, private, institutional, and non-profit sectors to design, implement, and drive equitable climate policy that promotes healthier and more engaged communities.

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Coral Abbott

Community Resilience Centers Program Manager, Strategic Growth Council

Coral serves as Program Manager for the Strategic Growth Council’s Community Resilience Centers program, which funds neighborhood-scale resilience centers that will provide shelter and resources during climate and other emergencies, while also acting as a year-round hub for community services and programming that build community resilience over the long term. In her time at the Strategic Growth Council, Coral’s work has centered around supporting under-resourced communities to access the funding and other resources needed to address climate change through building capacity and forming key intraregional partnerships.

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Shina Robinson

Resilience Hubs Manager, Asia Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)

Shina has a deep commitment to environmental justice at the intersection of human rights, equity, health, and ecological sanity. She experienced the link between environmental health and poverty at a young age between visiting family in the Philippines and growing up in the shadow of a Los Angeles area oil refinery. As the Resilience Hubs Manager at the Asia Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), she connects APEN leaders and host site partners to build a network of community-based climate resilience hubs that advance tangible models of a Just Transition in frontline communities.

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Abby Edwards

Adaptation Planning Grant Program Manager, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

Abby Edwards leads the development, implementation, and administration of climate adaptation planning grants for the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program’s Adaptation Planning Grant Program in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. The program aims to prioritize equitable outcomes by proactively targeting investments towards climate-vulnerable communities, providing flexible funding to support cross-sectoral and multi-issue planning needs, leveraging community-driven adaptation planning, and advancing alignment and coordination with other state and federal funding sources.

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Thank you to our sponsors