Building Climate Resilience for Vermont’s Economy
Join VBSR, Rebuild by Design, and Vermont leaders for this virtual policy forum exploring the history of Vermont’s federal disaster declarations and recovery funding, the economic impact of climate disasters and recovery, and actions Vermont business and policy leaders can take toward a climate resilient economy.
We’ll begin with an interactive briefing on Rebuild by Design’s Atlas of Accountability, a new virtual tool that allows users to identify past federal disaster declarations and recovery funding for climate-driven events county-by-county. This interactive map is designed to help local leaders and policymakers understand their exposure to extreme weather disasters and the benefits of investments in resilient infrastructure to increase safety and stability.
The analysis finds that in Vermont from 2011-2023:
- Every county in Vermont has had four or more climate disasters.
- Six out of Vermont’s 14 counties have had 10 or more climate disasters.
- Washington County is number three in the nation for “Counties with the Highest Disaster Declarations.”
We'll continue with briefings from Vermont leaders and policymakers on investments in climate resiliency, and end with a robust Q&A with our guest speakers.
This discussion is open to anyone who is interested in building a climate resilient economy in Vermont!
MEET OUR FACILITATORS
Johanna de Graffenreid, Public Policy Manager at Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility
de Graffenreid has nearly 20 years of experience as a community organizer, advocate, lobbyist, campaign director, and trainer – including with businesses and economic development entities. She has a dual degree in Political Science and Women’s & Gender Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master’s degree from Vermont Law and Graduate School.
She has worked on issues ranging from resource extraction to climate justice, the rights of women and girls to rural economic and workforce development. Most recently she managed the Vermont Arts Council’s economic development network, the Vermont Creative Network. Her efforts have taken her across the Southeastern U.S., Gulf Region, Appalachia, New England and the Hudson Valley.
Johanna Lawton, Project Manager at Rebuild by Design
Johanna Lawton is a Project Manager at Rebuild by Design, supporting resilient infrastructure initiatives at local, state, and national levels, as well as collaborative stakeholder engagements. Through research and design, she has contributed to various publications to advance the use of multi-benefit infrastructure, including the reports “Climate Displacement in NYC: Making Space for our Neighbors,” “Atlas of Disaster,” “Resilient Infrastructure for New York State,” “An Anthology of Ideas after Hurricane Ida,” and “Toward Rainproof NYC: Turning the Concrete Jungle into a Sponge.”
Previously, Lawton worked for the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs as the Managing Editor of the Refuge Press, where she worked at the intersection of human rights, social justice, global development, and literature.
Lawton is also a founding member of Resilience PAC, a member-driven political action committee dedicated to ensuring NYC adapts to climate change equitably by helping climate-forward candidates get elected to local offices, and serves as a public member of Manhattan’s Community Board 2.
She holds a B.A. in Environmental Policy from Colby College. She is committed to working on environmental justice issues, and draws on her experiences as a lifelong New Yorker to identify local and national disaster-related inequities.
Joie Zhang, Atlas Of Disaster Coordinator at Rebuild by Design
Joie Zhang is the Outreach Coordinator at Rebuild by Design, supporting research and outreach with government, coalitions, and funder stakeholders to utilize the “Atlas of Disaster.”
As a design researcher and service designer, Zhang is passionate about working at the intersection of community-centered design, climate justice, and innovation, to better understand what motivates public buy-in. Previously, she worked in the grassroots flooding preparedness space with Detroit residents, creating a behavior change framework to shift climate action preparedness from an individualized to collective experience.
Zhang is committed to leveraging her design research and community engagement skills to connect key stakeholders at the local, state, and federal levels to the information needed to more effectively prepare for disasters.
Doug Farnham, Chief Recovery Officer with the State of Vermont
Prior to this post, Farnham served as the deputy secretary of the Agency of Administration (AOA) since December 2021, where he oversaw the State’s management of historic federal pandemic recovery and infrastructure investments. The Governor directed Farnham to incorporate and coordinate flood recovery efforts with the ongoing historic community revitalization work that is underway as the result of pandemic-era recovery funds.
Prior to his appointment as AOA chief operational officer and deputy secretary, Farnham served at the Vermont Department of Taxes since 2011 in several roles, including deputy commissioner, policy director and economist, and director of property valuation and review.
Before joining state government, Farnham served six years in the United States Army, 82nd Airborne Division and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont and a master’s degree from Norwich University.
Interested in sponsoring this webinar? Contact Jeremy Gerber at jeremyg@vbsr.org.
Questions? If so, please contact to Molly Rand at mollyr@vbsr.org.