Webinars

Prepared for Environmental Change Webinar Series

The Prepared for Environmental Change Webinar Series provides cost-free trainings for local government officials and staff on topics that support local government leaders as they prepare their communities for higher average temperatures year-round, increased precipitation during spring and winter months and all of the impacts that occur as a result. Topics are selected for a Midwestern audience.

The series is hosted by the Environmental Resilience Institute, Accelerate Indiana Municipalities and the Association of Indiana Counties. These webinars are sponsored by Health by Design and the Indiana Public Health Association.

There are no upcoming webinars scheduled at this time.

Past Webinars

Check out past webinars and speakers from this series below or on ERI's old YouTube channel. More recent webinars, including recordings from the Funding Indiana Resilience webinar series, can be found on ERI's current YouTube channel.

2021-2022 Webinar Series

Community Solar Projects to Enhance Resilience and Promote a Just Energy Transition - September 8, 2021
- Trevor Memmott, PhD Candidate, IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Mo McReynolds, Community Engagement Manager, City of Indianapolis's Office of Sustainability
Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Management - October 13, 2021
- Samantha Hamlin, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources
- Jack Eskin, Project Manager, Delta Institute

Addressing Community Climate Vulnerability - November 10, 2021
- Dr. Aaron Deslatte, Professor, IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Kayley Barrios Lain, Energy Services Coordinator, City of Ames, IA

Restoring Waterways to Protect Your Community - December 8, 2021
- Dr. Todd Royer, Professor, IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Jennifer Birchfield, Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Program Coordinator, Purdue University Northwest

Financing Climate Preparedness Projects - February 9, 2022
- Dr. Justin Ross, Professor and Public Finance Economist, IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Brian Payne, Executive Director, CDFI Friendly Bloomington

Educating Community Members on Increasing Their Resilience - March 9, 2022
- Dr. Matthew Baggetta, Associate Professor, IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Mona Monroe-Younis, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Environmental Transformation Movement of Flint

Environmental Change and Social Equity - April 13, 2022
- Laura Helmke-Long, PhD Candidate, IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Phoebe Romero, Environmental Program Coordinator, City of Austin's Office of Sustainability

Smart Growth Policies for Climate Adaptation and Resilience - May 11, 2022
- Katharine Burgess, Vice President of Land Use and Development, Smart Growth America
- Kim Irwin, Executive Director, Health by Design

Connecting Habitats and People for Climate-Resilient Landscapes - June 8, 2022
- Dr. Vicky Meretsky, Professor and Director of Environmental Master's Programs, IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Dr. Christian Freitag, Executive Director, Conservation Law Center

2020-2021 Webinar Series

Indiana's New Model Solar Ordinance - September 9, 2020
- Bob Thompson, Director of Development and Stormwater Management, Porter County (IN) Government
- Brian Ross, Program Director, Great Plain's Institute

The Connections Between Racial Equity and Climate Change - October 14, 2020
- Dr. Marva E. King, Retired Environmental Justice Coordinator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation
- Brenda Scott-Henry, Director of Environmental Affairs, City of Gary, IN

Addressing the Burden of Energy Costs on Low-income Households - November 11, 2020
- Carla Walker, Climate Advisor, City of Cincinnati
- Savannah Sullivan, Climate and Community Resilience Analyst, City of Cincinnati
- Trevor Memmott, PhD Candidate, IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs

How to Reduce Energy Use in City Water Movement - December 9, 2020
- Shannon Zaret, Energy Technology Program Specialist, US Department of Energy
- Michael Kuss, General Manager for Sanitary District, City of Michigan City, IN

Addressing Climate Change in Your Comprehensive Plan - February 10, 2021
- Dr. Aaron Deslatte, Professor, IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Matt Evans, GIS Coordinator, City of Richmond, IN
- Alison Zajdel, Resiliency Coordinator, Earth Charter Indiana & Member of the Sustainability Commission, City of Richmond, IN

Addressing Climate Risks in your Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan - March 10, 2021
- Mary Moran, Director, Indiana Department of Homeland Security's Disaster Recovery Division
- Andrew Rumbach, Professor, Texas A&M University's Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center

Building Up Local Food Systems Through the Lens of Equity - April 14, 2021
- Dr. Virginia Pleasant, Vice President and Value Chain Coordinator, Northwest Indiana Food Council
- Milele Kennedy, Director, City of Indianapolis's Division of Community Nutrition and Food Policy

Effective Communication Techniques to Constructively Engage the Entire Community - May 12, 2021
- Carolyn Townsend, MPA-MSES Candidate, IU O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Martin McCrory, Professor, Kelley School of Business

Addressing Heat Preparedness in Under-Resourced Communities - June 9, 2021
- Dr. Daniel Johnson, Professor, IUPUI Department of Geography
- Julie Donna, Sustainability Coordinator, Louisville Metro Government

2019-2020 Webinar Series

Lessons from North Carolina: The Unexpected Consequences of Urban and Rural Flooding - August 14, 2019
- Blakely Hildebrand, Staff Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center
- Nick Torrey, Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center
- Jen Schmitz, Principal Planner for Water Resources, Triangle J Council of Governments

Ticks, Asthma, and Allergies: How the Changing Climate Affects our Health - September 11, 2019
- Melissa Widhalm, Operations Manager, Purdue Climate Change Research Center
- Dr. Dana Habeeb, Professor, IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering

Identifying Public Health Solutions for Climate Change Impacts - October 9, 2019
- Paul Schramm, Climate Science Team Lead, CDC
- Dr. Ted Smith, Deputy Director, University of Louisville's Environmental Institute and Center for Health Air Water and Soil

The Hoosier Resilience Index: Understand Your Community's Preparedness - November 13, 2019
- Andrea Webster, Implementation Manager, Environmental Resilience Institute
- Janet McCabe, Director, Environmental Resilience Institute

Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan Strategies for Climate Resilience - December 11, 2019*
- Jonathan Rosenbloom, Professor, Vermont Law School and Drake Law School
- Lauren Clemens, Assistant Director of Sustainability, City of Bloomington

*Due to technical difficulties, we do not have a recording of this webinar.

Responding to Floods - March 11, 2020
- Jason Kauffman, Stormwater Coordinator, City of Goshen, IN
- Manuela Johnson, State Disaster Relief Fund Administrator, Indiana Department of Homeland Security

Effectively Communicating with the Public during a Crisis - April 8, 2020
- Allison Barber, President and COO, Indiana Fever & State Lead Volunteer, American Red Cross
- Jennifer Wagner, Founding Principal, Mass Ave Public Relations

Communicable Diseases and Environmental Change - Is there a connection? - May 13, 2020
- Dr. Gabriel Filippelli, Chancellor's Professor, IUPUI Department of Earth Sciences & Director, IUPUI Center for Urban Health
- Dr. Stephen Jay, Professor, IUPUI School of Medicine and Public Health

The Economic Value of Preparedness and Resilience - June 10, 2020
- William Liao, Director of Operations, IU's Crisis Technologies Innovation Lab
- Jessica Davis, Sustainability Director, IUPUI

Managing Extreme Heat - July 8, 2020
- Vivek Shandas, Professor, Portland State University and CAPA Strategies
- Colleen Moran, Bureau Strategic Initiatives Coordinator, Wisconsin Division of Public Health

2018-2019 Webinar Series

Environmental Changes Expected in Indiana - September 20, 2018
- Melissa Widhalm, Operations Manager, Purdue Climate Change Research Center
- Dr. Gabriel Filippelli, Chancellor's Professor, IUPUI Department of Earth Sciences & Director, IUPUI Center for Urban Health

Planning for More Frequent River Flooding - October 9, 2018
- Dr. Alan Hamlet, Professor, University of Notre Dame Department of Engineering
- Donna Price, Assistant Administrator of Licenses and Permits, City of Indianapolis's Building and Construction Services

An Introduction to ERIT - November 13, 2018
- Andrea Webster, Implementation Manager, Environmental Resilience Institute

Identifying your Community's Vulnerabilities to Environmental Change - January 9, 2019
- Dr. Melissa Stults, Sustainability Manager, City of Ann Arbor, MI
- Jason Cervenec, Education and Outreach Director, The Ohio State University

Using Greenspace and Vegetation as an Adaptation Strategy - February 13, 2019
- Dr. Heather Reynolds, Professor, IU Department of Biology
- Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, Professor, IUPUI Department of Geography
- Brenda Scott-Henry, MS4 Coordinator and Director, City of Gary's (IN) Department of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs

Managing Storm Sewer Flooding - March 13, 2019
- Kieran Fahey, Combined Sewers Long-Term Control Plan Director, City of South Bend, IN
- Larry Weber, Co-Founder, University of Iowa's Iowa Flood Center

Installing Wind Energy in Your Community - April 10, 2019
- Beth Soholt, Executive Director, Clean Grid Alliance
- Steve Burton, Commissioner and Wind Farm Owner, White County, IN

Achieving Flood Resilience in Indiana Rural Communities in the Face of a Changing Climate - May 8, 2019
- Robert Barr, Research Scientist, IUPUI Department of Earth Sciences
- Siavash Beik, VP and Principal Engineer, Christopher B. Burke

Funding and Installing Solar Energy in Your Community ;- June 12, 2019
- Leah Thill, Senior Environmental Planner, Michiana Area Council of Governments
- Pete Just, Chief Operations and Technology Officer, Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township (IN)
- Therese Dorau, Sustainability Director, City of South Bend, IN

Planning for Electric Vehicles - July 10, 2019
- Leah Thill, Senior Environmental Planner, Michiana Area Council of Governments
- Phil Goode, General Manager, Crawfordsville Electric Light and Power