URBAN RESILIENCE
We create retreats like this so we can connect with each other, share our perspectives, and develop career-lasting impressions that enhance the quality of our work.
For us, retreats are a way to manifest a few of our core values here at Ticco - breaking barriers that divide city building practices and supporting the education of future leaders in our fields.
Climate change continues to pose a serious threat to both urban and rural areas nationwide. How can our work and the programs we create help these places adapt and remain resilient in the face of related challenges? Sessions will dive into current research as well as tools and strategies to shape our practice in light of our changing environment.
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Tag us @go_ticco and find speaker handles in their bios below
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Following a welcome address from Ticco CEO Katie Rispoli Keaotamai, Shalanda Baker will join us as our keynote speaker! Stemming from her work in Mexico, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, Baker will discuss COVID-19, racial justice, and why now is the time to advance civil rights through energy policy.
Shalanda H. Baker is a Professor of Law, Public Policy and Urban Affairs at
Northeastern University. She has spent over a decade researching the equity dimensions of the global transition away from fossil fuel energy to cleaner energy resources.
Before joining Northeastern’s faculty, Shalanda was the founding director of the Energy Justice Program at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawai’i.
Also a veteran and former Air Force officer who fought to end the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, Shalanda has authored articles, book chapters, and essays on renewable energy law, policy, and development. Her forthcoming book, Revolutionary Power: An Activist’s Guide to the Energy Transition, argues that energy policy should be the next domain to advance civil rights. She is the Co-Founder/Director of the Initiative for Energy Justice, and serves on the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board, the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act Implementation Advisory Committee Climate Justice Working Group, the Board of The Solutions Project, and
the Board of the Clean Energy Group.
Shalanda holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the United States Air Force Academy, a Juris Doctor from Northeastern
University School of Law, and an LLM from the University of Wisconsin School of Law.
Katie Rispoli Keaotamai has spent the last eight years completing work that intersects with construction, sustainability, historic preservation, urban planning, and placemaking.
Since founding Ticco in 2018 she has planned and executed the build and roll-out of Ticco’s model for professional retreats and an online networking platform. She oversees all of Ticco’s operations, marketing and outreach efforts, and coordinates partnerships with national organizations. When not running Ticco, Katie works as a freelance project manager specializing in building relocations and the rehabilitation of historic places.
She earned her Master of Heritage Conservation degree from the School of Architecture and a certificate in Nonprofit Management & Public Policy at the University of Southern California.
The work of an urban planner touches all aspects of our cities, and can have a real impact on the lives of those who live within them. In this session we will hear from those working within the urban planning community to enhance processes that enhance environmental equity and justice. Whether you're considering a career path in planning, just getting started, or have worked in the field for years - this session will offer new insights and practical tools that you can use when approaching your work.
In her role as Director of the Houston Organizing Movement for Equity (HOME) Coalition, Chrishelle works to ensure all Houstonians recover from natural disasters in an equitable manner.
Prior to leading HOME, Chrishelle was the Southeast Co-Director at Texas Housers where she worked to provide housing/neighborhood development policy analysis and review to local community organizing groups who were addressing major disinvestment and neglect in their communities.
Chrishelle holds a B.Arch from Prairie View A&M University and proudly serves on the boards of directors for the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, and the Rhodes School For The Performing Arts.
Fern Nueno, AICP, LEED AP BD+C, has worked for the City of Long Beach for five years, most recently as a project manager in the City's Economic Development Department. Previously she served as a planner focusing on long-range planning projects, the City's Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, and the City's Bicycle Master Plan.
Fern is a committee member with the APA Los Angeles Section and the US Green Building Council Long Beach Branch. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master of Business Administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport.
Ucha Abbah is an urban ecological planner who is passionate about how planning and design can be utilized to promote climate resilience, environmental justice, and health equity. At Asakura Robinson, Ucha works across the planning and urban ecology studios on diverse projects related to green infrastructure, climate resilience, community and small area planning, environmental justice, and landscape ecology.
Outside of work she serves on the natural systems advisory group for the City of Austin's Climate Equity Plan and is a UN YDSN Local Pathways Fellow.
Across the nation cities are already experiencing real effects related to climate change. From longer wildfire seasons to rising sea levels, our communities need to take proactive steps to prepare themselves going forward. In this session we will hear from practitioners who are working in communities that are already living in a new reality.
Amanda Monthei is a freelance outdoor writer, angler, skier, and former wildland firefighter with the US Forest Service.
Based on the West coast, she is the host of Living With Fire, a podcast that aims to deepen our understanding of the critical role fire plays in America’s forests, lands and communities.
Through Living with Fire, Amanda hopes to explore how humans interact with fire, as well as ways we can better coexist with it in the future. She maintains a particular interest in learning more about the social and environmental impacts of the large, high-intensity wildfires that are becoming the norm in the West.
In her role as Director of the Houston Organizing Movement for Equity (HOME) Coalition, Chrishelle works to ensure all Houstonians recover from natural disasters in an equitable manner.
Prior to leading HOME, Chrishelle was the Southeast Co-Director at Texas Housers where she worked to provide housing/neighborhood development policy analysis and review to local community organizing groups who were addressing major disinvestment and neglect in their communities.
Chrishelle holds a B.Arch from Prairie View A&M University and proudly serves on the boards of directors for the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, and the Rhodes School For The Performing Arts.
In her role with Catalyst Miami, Zelalem leads the organization’s policy, advocacy, and community leadership initiatives, focused on building equitable community resilience in Miami-Dade County’s low-wealth neighborhoods. She is additionally a Steering Committee Member of the Miami Climate Alliance.
Her previous work experiences include environmental justice organizing at the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island and conducting emergency preparedness research at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Zelalem holds an MPH in Global Environmental Health from Emory University and a Bachelor’s degree in Community Health from Brown University.
In addition to acting as our primary partner in organizing this event, Ticco has teamed up with Island Press to co-produce the second season of our very own Shaping Cities podcast! The newly-debuted season is now streaming on your favorite podcast app.
During Current Events - Urban Resilience we'll sit down for a live interview with Heather Boyer, Vice President and Executive Editor for the Built Environment with Island Press. In our conversation we'll discuss the organization's Urban Resilience initiative, the value of publishing books and other publications on the topic at hand, and the future of publishing in the urbanism space.
Katie Rispoli Keaotamai has spent the last eight years completing work that intersects with construction, sustainability, historic preservation, urban planning, and placemaking.
Since founding Ticco in 2018 she has planned and executed the build and roll-out of Ticco’s model for professional retreats and an online networking platform. She oversees all of Ticco’s operations, marketing and outreach efforts, and coordinates partnerships with national organizations. When not running Ticco, Katie works as a freelance project manager specializing in building relocations and the rehabilitation of historic places.
She earned her Master of Heritage Conservation degree from the School of Architecture and a certificate in Nonprofit Management & Public Policy at the University of Southern California.
Heather Boyer is the Vice President and Executive Editor for the Built Environment with Island Press, and has been with the nonprofit publishing house for over 25 years.
Heather was awarded a Loeb Fellowship from the Harvard Graduate School of Design from 2004-2005, and she is the co-author of Resilient Cities: Overcoming Fossil Fuel Dependence along with Peter Newman and Timothy Beatley, published in 2017.
The ways that we harvest, process, and distribute natural resources are heavy contributors to our collective climate burden - not just the use of the product itself. In this session we'll hear from a number of practitioners who are working on-the-ground in communities which hold a substantial reserve of these resources (and therefore face the strong industry presence that go along with it.)
In her role with the Nature Conservancy, Meera Bhat is responsible for the development of urban conservation programs in cities across the United States. Meera came to the Conservancy from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health where she worked as a program manager, researching the ecology of infectious diseases in diverse settings such as South America, Western and Sub-Saharan Africa, the southwestern United States and Manhattan.
She has been an advocate for urban agriculture and community access to vacant land in New York City since 2010, working with organizations such as the Brooklyn Queens Land Trust, Prospect Farm, Five Borough Farm, and 596 Acres.
Meera holds a BS in Mathematics and Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan and an MS in Computational Biology from New York University, and is pursuing an MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University.
As District Director to Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, Gabriela works to grow partnerships and ensures the communities of Watts, Harbor Gateway, Harbor City, Wilmington, and San Pedro have access to city resources, directly advancing the opportunities of residents. She oversees initiatives addressing homelessness in the District, specifically A Bridge Home.
Gabriela was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, and majored in Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a proud daughter of immigrant parents from Mexico and El Salvador.
In her role with Groundwork USA, Cate Mingoya provides equitable development technical assistance for
those looking to transform brownfields into community assets. Cate also
leads Groundwork USA’s Climate Safe Neighborhoods partnership, a nine-
city grassroots community organizing project to reduce heat and flooding
risk in neighborhoods with histories of race-based housing discrimination
Originally from Queens, New York, Cate earned her B.A. in Biology from
Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and returned east to earn a Master of City Planning from MIT. She lives with her husband, toddler, and cat (Gorby) in Massachusetts and loves coffee, bike rides, brass bands, and container gardening.
In his role as Policy Director for Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, Dennis advises the Councilman on all motions, resolutions, reports, and ordinances that come before the full City Council and the policy committees in which Councilman Buscaino is a member: Trade, Travel & Tourism, Public Works, Public Safety, Economic Development, and Ad Hoc on 2028 Summer Olympics.
Prior to joining the Councilman's office, he served as press secretary for Councilman (and former LAPD Chief) Bernard C. Parks. Dennis holds a BA in Political Science and Communication Studies from Virginia Tech, and is a longtime resident of Hollywood.
To understand housing inequities that exist today, we must look to how we have developed and built our communities in the past. Collectively, speakers in this session will draw from their work to offer valuable insight into the current housing crisis in America, the lines that are drawn within it among race and income levels, and what steps are necessary for our cities to move forward.
Christina Jackson, PhD is a resident of West Philadelphia. She is an urban sociologist and scholar-activist with interests in the relationships between poor/middle class neighborhoods of color, their environments and city entities/institutions. She takes a social justice approach by centering the stories and lives of residents through immersing herself within community struggles.
Christina is a professor of Sociology at Stockton University in New Jersey. She graduated from Temple University, received her PhD from University of California Santa Barbara and completed her postdoctoral studies in Africana Studies. She is co-author of "Embodied Difference: Divergent Bodies in Public Discourse" (Lexington Books) and "Black in America: The Paradox of the Color Line" (Polity Inc).
Lawrence T. Brown is the proud grandson and son of Mississippi and Arkansas Delta sharecroppers and preachers. He is currently a visiting associate professor at the University of Wisconsin. Lawrence’s first book The Black Butterfly: The Harmful Politics of Race and Space in America will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in January 2021.
Shane Phillips is an urban planner and housing policy expert based in Los Angeles. He currently manages the UCLA Lewis Center Housing Initiative and has taught public policy as an adjunct instructor at the University of Southern California.
Shane is author of The Affordable City, published by Island Press, in which he argues that Supply, Stability, and Subsidy must be co-equal priorities in housing advocacy, and recommends more than 50 policies and strategies for achieving those goals. He also writes (infrequently) about housing and transportation policy at his blog, Better Institutions.
Akira Drake Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School in the Department of City & Regional Planning. Her research examines the politics of urban planning, or the ways that disenfranchised groups re-appropriate their marginalized spaces in the city to gain access to and sustain urban political power.
Dr. Rodriguez’s forthcoming manuscript, Diverging Space for Deviants: The Politics of Atlanta’s Public Housing, explores the alternative benefits of public housing, outside of shelter provision, to challenge the overwhelming narrative of public housing as a dysfunctional relic of the welfare state.
Looking for new ways to make career connections in the midst of a pandemic? We've got you covered! In this session, one of our team members will personally match you with a fellow attendee whose practice and/or interests align with your own, and set you up with a virtual coffee meetup! We'll mail a dripkit right to your door along with an exclusive swag bag filled with items from Ticco and Island Press.
This session is included with a Premium Registration.
The focus of this session will be on offering insight to those interested in starting nonprofits and companies that center around environmental health and justice. In this session, a few experienced professionals will gather together to informally answer questions submitted by attendees and share their collective experience.
Through founding and leading the Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE), Nathaniel Smith advances policies and institutional actions that promote racial equity and shared prosperity for all in the growth of metropolitan Atlanta and the American South.
Among the organization's notable accomplishments are the creation the American South’s first equity mapping tool, the Metro Atlanta Equity Atlas, and the building of a coalition in support of expanding Atlanta’s metropolitan transit system.
A child of the Civil Rights Movement and Atlanta native, Smith holds a BA in Urban Studies from Morehouse College and a Master of Science from the New School. The Huffington Post honored Nathaniel as one of eight “Up and Coming Black Leaders in the Climate Movement” in 2017, and he was named one of the 100 “Most Influential Georgians” by Georgia Trend magazine in 2018, 2019 and 2020. His work has been featured in the U.S. News and World Report, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nonprofit Quarterly, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Atlanta Voice, among others.
Peter Plastrik co-founded the Innovation Network for Communities (INC) in 2007 with John Cleveland. He was a founding consultant to the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and helped it develop its strategic plan and Innovation Fund. He also consulted closely with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) and managed USDN's Innovation Fund. Pete has been the lead author on several INC reports about cities and climate change: "Essential Capacities for Urban Climate Adaptation," supported by the summit Foundation, and "Leadership by US Cities Innovations in Climate Action," supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
He is coauthor with John and Madeleine Taylor of Connecting to Change the World: Harnessing the Power of Networks for Social Impact. He coauthored two books with David Osborne: Banishing Bureaucracy: The Five Strategies and The Reinventor's Fieldbook: Tools for Transforming Your Government.
From its very origins, the environmental movement has been dominated by white voices. Meanwhile, environmental racism and climate change are targeting communities that are quieted or left out of the conversation. We'll look to the future of the environmental movement to explore a more inclusive, and more effective, path forward.
A long-time environmental advocate, Andrés joined Green 2.0 as the organization's first full-time Executive Director this past June. Andrés is a strategic thinker, a relationship-builder and carries a deep, empathetic connection to the communities he advocates for.
He previously served as Senior Director of Government Affairs at Citizens Climate Lobby where he worked to expand the lobby's voice and advocate for relevant legislation. Andrés has also served as the Associate Director of Government Relations at Ocean Conservancy, with a focus on creating bipartisan solutions for critical issues like ocean acidification and sustainable fisheries in the United States.
Andrés has a strong history of public service, having worked for the New York City’s Mayor’s office, the House Judiciary’s Immigration Subcommittee, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez and Congressman Howard Berman. He is an active member of GreenLatinos, serves on the board for Ecotropics, and is a member of the Green Leadership Trust. Additionally, he is an appointed Planning Commissioner in his own community of Fairfax, VA.
Jennie C. Stephens is the Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, where she is also the Dean’s Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy. She is also Director of Strategic Research Collaborations at Northeastern’s Global Resilience Institute and is a member of the Executive Committee of Northeastern’s Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies program. She has written on this topic for professional and mainstream media including Science and the Wall Street Journal.
Through founding and leading the Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE), Nathaniel Smith advances policies and institutional actions that promote racial equity and shared prosperity for all in the growth of metropolitan Atlanta and the American South.
Among the organization's notable accomplishments are the creation the American South’s first equity mapping tool, the Metro Atlanta Equity Atlas, and the building of a coalition in support of expanding Atlanta’s metropolitan transit system.
A child of the Civil Rights Movement and Atlanta native, Smith holds a BA in Urban Studies from Morehouse College and a Master of Science from the New School. The Huffington Post honored Nathaniel as one of eight “Up and Coming Black Leaders in the Climate Movement” in 2017, and he was named one of the 100 “Most Influential Georgians” by Georgia Trend magazine in 2018, 2019 and 2020. His work has been featured in the U.S. News and World Report, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nonprofit Quarterly, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Atlanta Voice, among others.
Since taking office, President Trump and those in his administration have made substantial changes which will have long-term impacts on our cities' ability to prepare for the impacts of climate change. We have seen this demonstrated through actions including the US' withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord and limiting the power of existing environmental policies like the National Environmental Policy Act. Jeff Peterson, former Senior Policy Advisor with the Environmental Protection Agency will join us to offer some insight into current policies proposed and at risk, and what today's practitioners need to know to stay up-to-date when it comes to shaping more sustainable communities.
Retired from the US Environmental Protection Agency, Jeffrey spent 40 years working on environmental policy and coordinating with the Senate Environmental Works Committee under the Obama Administration. He most recently served as Senior Advisor in the agency's Office of Water, which was responsible for climate change policy. Jeffrey additionally served on the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) between 2008 and 2012, for which he co-chaired the Interagency Water Resources and Climate Change Workgroup and authored the first national plan addressing water resources management and climate change.
Jeffrey authored A New Coast: Strategies for Responding to Devastating Storms and Rising Seas, which was published by Island Press in 2019. A New Coast focuses on sea level rise, storm patterns, and policies/emergency preparedness. In it, he explores the dilemma of how to respond to the impacts of climate change from multiple perspectives.
In the US alone, more than one billion square feet of building materials are deposited into landfills each year as a result of the construction industry. As we approach a new era of environmental regulations and climate change impacts, those performing new construction, adaptive reuse, and restoration must consider the byproduct of their work and how to minimize their footprint. In this session, hear from a series of practitioners who are taking steps to reduce the output of their practice.
Over the past two decades, Walker Wells has worked with cities, neighborhoods, and community development organizations across the country to further green building and sustainable development practices through technical guidance, stakeholder facilitation, and development of innovative polices and programs.
He is the author of Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, Revised Edition, and his work work has helped shape green affordable housing policy, educated hundreds of practitioners, and overseen the certifications of over 2,000 units of green affordable housing. He is a certified urban planner, a LEED Accredited Professional and a Green Rater and a lecturer in Green Urbanism at the Claremont Colleges and the UCLA Urban Planning Program.
Wells holds Bachelors degrees in Sociology and Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Barbara and a Masters of City and Regional Planning from the California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo.
Stephanie Phillips currently leads the City of San Antonio's deconstruction & salvage policy initiative, which aims to maximize material salvage and reuse opportunities from older structures, all while achieving key sustainability goals. She also manages the Rehabber Club initiative.
Stephanie is committed to serving organizations at the local, state, and national level, including the fundraising event committee of the Power of Preservation Foundation (POP); the Reuse Council of the State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR); the national board of Build Reuse; and the Executive Committee of Preservation Action, the national grassroots lobby for historic preservation. She serves on an international workgroup of the Climate Heritage Network focused on calculating and communicating the carbon benefits of building restoration and reuse.
Her professional and extracurricular work aims to strengthen the cooperative relationship between preservation and sustainability professionals, particularly those focused on circular economy policy, climate resiliency and equity, and embodied carbon in the built environment.
Lindsay’s background in construction and historic preservation has blended over more than a decade of experience into a dedication to the specific repair and restoration of historic buildings and public artwork.
For her undergraduate degrees, she studied both architectural history and construction management at The Ohio State University, and she later earned her MS in historic preservation from the University of Oregon.
Professionally, she has been lucky enough to be able to work all across the country. Her background includes both construction management and hands-on historic conservation roles, with a special focus on introducing subcontractors to historic preservation practices. Restoration projects Lindsay has participated in include the Salmagundi Club in New York City, Stanford University’s Cantor Art Museum in Palo Alto, the U.S. Courthouse in Ft. Wayne, IN, and Greenlawn Abbey in Columbus, Ohio.
At our Closing Plenary, Jes McBride will dive into the concept of Pattern Language - a method for food planning and distribution among human-scale communities. Vital to urban resilience and food security, this approach requires planners to take on the role of observer, supporter, and connector by working with local entrepreneurs and leaders as they aim to meet the complex needs of a large population.
The initial presentation will be followed by a presentation and closing remarks from Ticco CEO Katie Rispoli Keaotamai. In her presentation, our CEO will examine the ways we have traditionally built cities and how that antiquated approach has put our communities at a particular disadvantage as we encounter the critical challenges that result from a changing climate. Looking forward, she will outline strategies that we all can take as city shapers to enhance collaboration, boost awareness of our work, and enhance quality of life for all residents.
Jes McBride is an urban planner, writer, and the Founder/Director of Open Silo, a non-profit supporting urban agriculture in Southern California. Raised in the San Joaquin Valley of California, Jes is interested in the intersection of food-growing, community, and cities. She holds a Master's of Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA, where she served as a researcher on the Cultivate LA report on urban agriculture in Los Angeles County.
Her writing has been featured in Good Magazine and APA Los Angeles. On a good day, you can find her riding her bike around Northeast LA or getting lost in a used book store.
Katie Rispoli Keaotamai has spent the last eight years completing work that intersects with construction, sustainability, historic preservation, urban planning, and placemaking.
Since founding Ticco in 2018 she has planned and executed the build and roll-out of Ticco’s model for professional retreats and an online networking platform. She oversees all of Ticco’s operations, marketing and outreach efforts, and coordinates partnerships with national organizations. When not running Ticco, Katie works as a freelance project manager specializing in building relocations and the rehabilitation of historic places.
She earned her Master of Heritage Conservation degree from the School of Architecture and a certificate in Nonprofit Management & Public Policy at the University of Southern California.
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