Initiatives

From Ideas to Implementation

Resilient Virginia Initiatives

Targeted programs and projects that build capacity and drive measurable resilience across Virginia.

Be Resilient Virginia

Be Resilient Virginia is an interactive dashboard and call to action that empowers communities and resilience practitioners with the knowledge, connections, and support needed to take action. By strengthening coordination, fostering cross-sector partnerships, and channeling resources where they’re needed most, the program helps drive community-led solutions that deliver real, lasting impact and support stronger, more resilient local economies.

Coming in 2026

Resilience Learning and Leadership Lab

The Resilience Learning and Leadership Lab strengthens Virginia’s resilience by building the knowledge, skills, and leadership capacity needed to act. Through accessible, practical training, the Lab supports informed decision-making across sectors and meets leaders where they are. Together, these programs cultivate stronger networks, shared capacity, and a more resilient workforce and communities statewide.

Resiliency Academy

Since 2020, the Resiliency Academy has delivered accessible, timely webinar series that build resilience knowledge, practical skills, and leadership capacity for professionals across sectors and industries.

Resilience Foundations Certificate Program

Grounded in Virginia’s unique challenges and strengths, the Resilience Foundations Certificate Program equips participants to analyze complex resilience issues and design scalable, locally relevant solutions.

Spotlight On Webinars

Spotlight On webinars deliver in-depth learning on priority resilience topics, equipping participants with actionable insights to inform decision-making and practice.

Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance for Central and Southwest Virginia

The Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance (RVCA, or Alliance) strengthens regional capacity to address equity, economic, social, and climate challenges across Central & Southwest Virginia. The Alliance supports the development of a regional climate resilience roadmap and advances coordinated mitigation and adaptation strategies to help communities implement the priorities identified in the roadmap — responding to challenges while seizing new opportunities.

Biennial Resilience Conference

The Biennial Resilience Conference brings people together to break down silos, build local capacity, and accelerate collaboration across the Commonwealth.

Grant-Funded Resilience Initiatives

Our grant-funded projects have played a key role in advancing resilience across Virginia. These funds allow Resilient Virginia to support innovative local and regional initiatives, equip communities to prepare for change, strengthen on-the-ground capacity, and drive lasting impact.

Milestones of Impact

2022 Albemarle County Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment

Resilient Virginia partnered with Sobis Inc to develop the 2022 Albemarle County Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment, funded by Piedmont Environmental Council.

Virginia Energy Resilience

Resilient Virginia partnered with Virginia Energy, Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia, JMU CASE, and Clean Energy States Alliance to help communities measure their energy resilience and identify practical long-term solutions to reduce vulnerabilities on this U.S. DOE-funded project. Working with 10 communities across the Commonwealth, the project developed case studies for community-specific energy resilience hubs that used solar + battery storage for back up power.

Data for Environmental Justice

Resilient Virginia partnered with VCU RISE to shed light on climate justice issues in the Commonwealth. Working alongside residents and leaders in Charles City County, Emporia, and Richmond, the project identified how climate change and infrastructure disparities affect historically marginalized communities.

Lynchburg Community Resilience

Resilient Virginia invited community members in four underserved Lynchburg neighborhoods to tell their stories about how flooding has impacted them. Working with local consultants and universities, the project brought resources and workshops to these neighborhoods to help with their flooding issues.

Current Projects

Cultivating Rural Vitality in Virginia’s Food Systems (CRRV)

CRRV project is a collaborative seed initiative supported by Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Virginia Cooperative Extension. It brings together a diverse, multi-sector network—from farmers and local policymakers to researchers, Extension professionals, nonprofits, and private-sector partners—to strengthen food system resilience across Virginia. Using a participatory approach, CRRV serves as a first step toward developing a long-term, actionable plan for a more resilient statewide food system.

Community Agricultural Resilience through Extension (CARE)

CARE is a multi-state collaborative led by Virginia Tech, the University of Delaware, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore that works to strengthen resilience to weather-related hazards in vulnerable Mid-Atlantic coastal communities. The project focuses on equipping Extension educators and partners to support resilience in rural, agriculture-based communities by building capacity, assessing needs and opportunities, developing a shared strategy to address climate risks, and engaging community members through targeted listening sessions.

Stay Connected and Get Involved

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

From Ideas to Implementation

Resilient Virginia Initiatives

Be Resilient Virginia

Coming in 2026

Resilience Learning and Leadership Lab

Resiliency Academy

Resilience Foundations Certificate Program

Spotlight On Webinars

Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance for Central and Southwest Virginia

Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance for Central and Southwest Virginia

Biennial Resilience Conference

Grant-Funded Resilience Initiatives

Milestones of Impact

2022 Albemarle County Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment

Virginia Energy Resilience

Data for Environmental Justice

Lynchburg Community Resilience

Current Projects

Cultivating Rural Vitality in Virginia’s Food Systems (CRRV)

Community Agricultural Resilience through Extension (CARE)

Stay Connected and Get Involved​

Stay Connected and Get Involved