MRSC Climate Funding & Technical Resources Webinar

Cost: FREE
Credits: CML (Pending Approval), CM (Pending Approval)

Register Today – Registration closes on Monday, June 26 at 5 PM. All registrants will also receive a link to view the webinar recording.

About the Webinar:

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have provided local governments with unprecedented new opportunities to receive federal funding. This is important for cities, counties, and special purpose districts looking to fund projects to limit the impacts of climate change (due to severe weather events such as extreme heat or flooding) and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, understanding all these opportunities and how to access them can prove challenging, especially with limited staff capacity to administer new programs. This webinar will distill these funding opportunities, highlighting key ones, and will discuss several technical resources that can help your agency successfully develop and implement your climate action plans.

Educational Objectives:

Attendees will learn about new funding opportunities and technical resources for advancing climate projects in their communities. They will receive an overview of the BIL and IRA and will learn about notable opportunities to consider. They will also learn about two programs that can assist them in their climate planning and implementation work. Attendees will have a chance to ask questions using the Q&A feature during the event.

Who Should Attend?

Policymakers, elected officials, local government staff, and members of boards/commissions who are interested in learning more about climate action.

Presenters:

• Brianna Morin, Legislative and Policy Analyst, Association of Washington Cities. Brianna is a Legislative Policy Analyst at the Association of Washington Cities where she covers transportation, infrastructure, energy, and broadband issues. She is currently working towards a Master of Public Administration at the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy.
• Tonya Graham, Executive Director, Geos Institute. Tonya is the Executive Director of the Geos Institute and the Director of its ClimateWise Initiative, serving as the lead for ClimateWise projects. She has taken a lead role in developing the concept of Whole Community Resilience, which takes a holistic approach to addressing climate change impacts and develops solutions that are both ecologically sound and socially equitable. She and her ClimateWise team help community leaders understand likely future conditions, determine vulnerabilities, and develop strategies to address them that care for both people and nature.
• Bill Sadler, Program Director, CivicSpark. Bill Sadler joined CivicWell as the CivicSpark Program Director in September 2022. Bill has more than 15 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and coalitions in California and across the country on equitable public health, climate change, and transportation policies and strategies. He previously worked at the Public Health Alliance of Southern California, where led the operations, project management, and policy for a coalition of 10 local health departments representing 60% of the State of California’s population. In this role, Bill helped oversee the launch of the Healthy Places Index mapping tool, expand health equity and racial justice efforts, and provide technical assistance and critical support to local health departments during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Lisa Pool, AICP, Public Policy Consultant, MRSC. Lisa joined MRSC in June 2021 after serving as a senior planner for the City of Bellingham, where she focused on long-range planning. Over her 19-year career, she’s worked on sustainability, transportation, and land use planning issues at the city, county, and regional scales. At MRSC, she conducts research on emerging issues and answers questions from local governments on a range of policy and planning issues.

Credits:

This training is eligible for:

• 1.5 hours CM credits from the American Planning Association (Pending Approval).
• Credit toward a Certificate of Municipal Leadership (CML) for elected officials through the Association of Washington Cities (Pending Approval).