So You Have a Climate Element, Now What?
Cost: Members – $30, Non-Members – $40, Students – Free
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About the Webinar:
Implementing a comprehensive plan’s climate element requires more than adopting policies—it calls for coordinated action across local government, community organizations, utilities, businesses, and the systems that support social, civil, environmental, and economic well-being. This interactive session offers planners a practical framework for moving from policy development to implementation. Drawing on case studies from Washington and Oregon, presenters will demonstrate how early collaboration and meaningful engagement with frontline populations, technical professionals, service providers, contractors, developers, and other implementation partners can produce policies that respond to urgent community needs while advancing long-term climate goals.
Through interactive activities, participants will assemble implementation teams and create inclusive sample implementation plans that identify responsible parties, priorities, timelines, costs, and anticipated impacts. Facilitated discussion and storytelling will explore lessons learned from addressing major mitigation priorities— including building energy and transportation —as well as adaptation challenges such as urban heat, wildfire smoke, water-source protection, and resilient development. Attendees will leave with practical tools for building partnerships beyond the planning department, prioritizing actions, and turning climate policies into coordinated, achievable results.
About the Speakers:
Tracy Lunsford, Senior Advisor
Tracy has 15 years of experience in climate and sustainability planning, policy and programs. She combines deep experience managing programs for local public agencies and serving local and state agency clients. She has directed and performed programmatic review, performed financial analysis, managed planning and implementation projects, and tracked and reported on progress toward goals. Tracy leads our public agency Climate and Sustainability Management practice with greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and mitigation scaling, climate action planning, fleet fuel switching, transit electrification, and more. She brings a deep understanding of equity and economic empowerment, paired with climate planning, technical research, and analysis experience.
Beth Miller, Senior Consultant
Beth is a senior scientist at Parametrix who applies her analytical and research skills to help clients understand the most up-to-date information about how climate change is going to affect their world and build a plan to thrive into the future. She provides detailed analyses of the best available climate projections to help her team design to future conditions and runs focused workshops, so her clients get all the information they need to make critical decisions. For communities, she translates the complex scientific research into understandable information and facilitates discussions with community stakeholders to plan for an equitable and thriving future. Her recent work includes vulnerability assessments for large infrastructure projects for WSDOT, King County, and Sound Transit, as well as hazard assessments for cities and counties throughout the northwest region. Beth is also accomplished in GHG accounting and is leading the emissions modeling and mitigation studies for the Interstate bridge program for the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River.
Claudia Denton, Senior Consultant
Claudia is an experienced climate change professional providing clients with technical research and analysis for carbon emissions, climate action, tool development, and triple bottom line management. Project work includes over 50 GHG inventories, climate action planning and mitigation analysis, life-cycle analysis, and management/technical tool development. She is always looking for how to best serve the client and has a vested interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion as the former equity procurement lead at the City of Eugene. Claudia is highly outcome-oriented and flexible, as well as a skilled communicator.
Suzy Godber, Consultant
Suzy is an experienced sustainability, climate change, and adaptation professional who provides research, public engagement, and equity analysis to support comprehensive plans, major infrastructure development with sustainability frameworks (Envision), and resilience assessments for primarily public sector clients. She has worked with clients to develop climate action plans and climate elements for comprehensive plans for cities and counties in Washington State and Oregon. Drawing on her sociology and urban sustainability planning background, Suzy brings strong facilitation and communication skills to her work, ensuring that solutions center community priorities and those most affected by climate change and pollution are heard.