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Resiliency Academies

Home » Our Events » Resiliency Academies

Resilient Virginia’s Resiliency Academy series was established in 2020 and continues to deliver timely and relevant resiliency topics via webinars. Past topics include resiliency planning “how-to’s” for local governments; disaster mitigation funding; economic impact and opportunities; resilient building and infrastructure design; and the role of ecosystems in community resilience.

Members have access to our entire video library of Academies, along with presentations and video from our past Conferences. Click here for a full list of membership benefits.

Resilient Virginia's Resiliency Academy

Climate and Hazard Mitigation Planning
March 26 –June 18

The Spring 2024 Resiliency Academy virtual series will highlight available tools and resources that communities can use to integrate climate into their Hazard Mitigation Plans and other planning efforts.

Climate and Hazard Mitigation Planning: The Spring 2024 Resiliency Academy

We are pleased to offer the 2024 Resiliency Academy free of charge
thanks to funding from MARISA.

Session 2

Integrating Climate in Hazard Mitigation Planning

May 2   |   1:00–2:30 PM

Cost: Free   |   Location: Virtual

Registration is required for each session.

In this session, we will hear from Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the new requirements for Hazard Mitigation Plans and available resources. In addition, we will hear directly from some who have already updated Hazard Mitigation Plans according to the new guidelines. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of what is now required when updating Hazard Mitigation Plans and what resources are available.

Past Spring Academy Events

• S E S S I O N   1 •

Understanding Climate in Virginia

March 26 • 1:00–2:30 PM

Get acquainted with future climate projections for Virginia in the first session of the series. Jeremy Hoffman, Director of Climate Justice and Impact at Groundwork USA and lead author of the Southeast Chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment, will present a summary of the most recent projections for this region and additional speakers will discuss how the changing climate will impact their communities. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how communities across Virginia are going to be impacted by climate change and what they will need to consider in their planning efforts. Resources from this event will be available soon.

Speakers

Jeremy S. Hoffman, PhD, is the Director of Climate Justice and Impact at Groundwork US

Jeremy Hoffman
Director of Climate Justice and Impact
Groundwork US

Jeremy S. Hoffman, PhD, is the Director of Climate Justice and Impact at Groundwork USA and an affiliate faculty in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Governmental and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of Richmond. Jeremy is an award-winning environmental educator and nationally recognized climate science communicator. He is the Lead Author for the Southeast Chapter of The Fifth National Climate Assessment, NCA5.

Jeremy will present a summary of the most recent projections for this region and additional speakers will discuss how the changing climate will impact their communities.
Dr. Jessica Whitehead is the Joan P. Brock Endowed Executive Director of the Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience (ICAR) at Old Dominion University

Jessica Whitehead
Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience
Old Dominion University

Dr. Jessica Whitehead is the Joan P. Brock Endowed Executive Director of the Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience (ICAR) at Old Dominion University. A nationally recognized expert in climate adaptation and using climate information for resilience policy, Dr. Whitehead served the U.S. Global Change Research Program as the chapter lead author for the Northeast Chapter of the Fifth U.S. National Climate Assessment, released in November 2023.

Within the Commonwealth, she is a member of the Virginia Coastal Resilience Technical Advisory Committee. Previously, Dr. Whitehead was the first state Chief Resilience Officer for North Carolina, based in the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency, and the first coastal climate extension specialist with NC Sea Grant, the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, and the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA) Program.

Jessica earned her Doctor of Philosophy in geography and Master of Science in meteorology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Science in physics with a concentration in meteorology from the College of Charleston. Her work helping coastal communities in the Carolinas adapt to climate change has been featured in podcasts, books, newspapers, television, and public radio, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Weather Channel.

Brent Wills, Wills Soil & Stream

Brent Wills
Wills Soil & Stream

Brent Wills has been involved in regenerative agricultural systems and conservation for over 25 years and is the owner of Wills Soil & Stream in Montvale, Virginia, providing ecological land management services for farmers and land managers in the mid-Atlantic region.

Since 2004, Brent and his family have operated Bramble Hollow Farm in the mountains of Bedford County, Virginia, and use managed livestock rotations, composts and other soil-building techniques to diversify their pasture-based operation where they specialize in the production of heritage breeds of pigs and poultry, including farm-hatched heritage birds for laying flocks as well as meat birds.

From 2017 to 2023, Brent served as President on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Association for Biological Farming, promoting soil health, resilient farming practices, and the production of nutrient-dense and ecologically-friendly food. He now serves as Program Manager with VABF, providing technical assistance to farmers, coordinating outreach and educational programming and building a collaborative network of farmers and growers who understand that soil health = human health.

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