ASAP and USDA Forest Service Partner to Address Gaps in Workforce Climate Literacy
In 2018, ASAP Members began a series of discussions on professional education needs for the climate change adaptation community. It quickly became clear that the group’s most valuable output would be a knowledge and competencies framework for our field. After several months, the resulting working group ultimately created ASAP’s Knowledge and Competencies Framework for Climate…
Read MoreThe American Society of Adaptation Professionals Names New Executive Director
YPSILANTI, Mi. (April 27, 2023)—The American Society of Adaptation Professionals (“ASAP”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Debra M. Butler as Executive Director, beginning April 24, 2023. Debra M. Butler is a native of the U.S. Gulf Coast, growing up in Mobile, Alabama. Dr. Butler will bring her transdisciplinary leadership, knowledge, and experience…
Read MoreASAP Welcomes the American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact as JEDI Fund Partner
ASAP is thrilled to announce that the American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact (AmFam Institute) is providing the ASAP JEDI Fund with a $10,000 sponsorship to catalyze the Fund’s third year. This generous gift provides financial stability for the Fund, enabling us to grow its impact as we pursue a more just,…
Read MoreWelcome Dr. Debra Butler as ASAP’s New Executive Director
Dear ASAP Network, We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Debra M. Butler as ASAP’s next Executive Director! Dr. Butler joined ASAP as a member in 2017 and worked part-time for ASAP in 2019 while completing her Ph.D. dissertation in Environmental Studies from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. As a survivor of Hurricane Katrina…
Read MoreExplore ASAP’s Peer Learning Groups in 2023
Last week ASAP announced this year’s Peer Learning Groups! Keep reading to explore the groups and sign up to receive vital monthly updates and calendar invites. If you have questions or need help finding the right group for you, join one of our ASAP 101 Orientation sessions or connect with ASAP’s Program Manager, Breana Nehls.…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Examining Social Inequities in Climate Adaptation
About the Mentees and Mentor MENTEE Cailin Notch is a Community Resilience Planner at WRA Environmental Consultants in the San Francisco Bay Area with an extensive background in land use planning and community engagement. Her areas of expertise include development and design review, environmental review, meeting facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and project management. Previously, Cailin built…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Pivoting from Polymer Physics Ph.D. to Policy
About the Mentee and Mentor Mentee Sophia Chan is graduating with a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University, where she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow developing polymeric materials for gas separations like carbon capture. While at Columbia, she taught ESL high schoolers about renewable energy topics, co-founded her department’s Diversity, Equity,…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Navigating Professional Conferences
Julia Nassar, a Mentee in the ASAP Mentorship Program is employed as a Senior Analyst at the Cadmus Group where she specializes in climate adaptation and resilience. Julia supports local and state governments, such as Boston, the District of Columbia, Fairfax County, and the State of New York to enhance their resiliency through strategic climate…
Read MoreASAP and HARC Launch Program Committed to Growing Community Leadership in Climate Adaptation Projects
Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), in partnership with the American Society for Adaptation Professionals (ASAP), has announced a new program to enhance climate adaptation in the Upper Texas Gulf Coast. Leading with Equity in Adaptation Practice (LEAP) aims to strengthen community-led climate change adaptation initiatives through partnerships, collaboration, and capacity-building. Alongside partners, ASAP and HARC…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Making Impact As You Can!
Mentee Yilin Lai Giltinan is a community-adaptation-planner with a focus on transferring climate data and a community’s adapting capacity into an integrated Urban-Heat-Island adaptation strategy and urban design. Yilin has a background in landscape architecture and received a MS.c in Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. During this time she…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Making Space for Long-Term Career Visioning
Mentee Cameron (Cami) Ramey has a background in climate adaptation, community resilience, and climate change communications. Cami has supported a number of nonprofits with policy analysis and research at the nexus of adaptation, urban planning, and environmental justice. Cami is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Environment Review, where she manages a 12-student writing team that…
Read MoreUncovering Our Assumptions With American Resiliency
This is a featured blog from ASAP Member Emily Schoerning, Founder of non-profit American Resiliency. What are Your Knowledge Assumptions? My name is Emily Schoerning. As a researcher in science education, I’ve spent years studying how we acquire knowledge, and what unexpected barriers make it harder for us to learn new things. One of the…
Read MoreJoin ASAP in Thanking Members of Congress for Introducing the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act (NCARS)!
On January 20, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) along with a bipartisan group of seven colleagues introduced the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act (H.R.6461/S.3531). You can learn more about the bill and why ASAP is excited about it in our statement of support. ASAP is encouraging members to reach…
Read MoreJoin ASAP at the 5th National Climate Assessment Engagement Meetings
The 5th National Climate Assessment Chapters Engagement Meetings are now scheduled and open to the public! Public engagement sessions will take place between January and February 2022. All ASAP members are encouraged to attend at least one NCA Chapter Meeting to provide their input and expertise on this important national resource. Space is limited at…
Read MoreStatement of Support for National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act from American Society of Adaptation Professionals
Members of the American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP) applaud the introduction of the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act (NCARS). This is a highly functional piece of legislation that would end the ad hoc nature of climate adaptation planning at the national level and form a dependable and consistent basis for us to…
Read MoreThe Color of ASAP: Race & Ethnicity in our Network
ASAP is an anti-racist organization. That means we are finding and rooting out racism in our network and the adaptation field. And it means we are prioritizing accessibility and inclusion in ASAP for people who identify as Black, Indigenous, or other person of color (BIPOC). We are asking for your support by completing a short…
Read MoreJEDI and MLK Day 2022
At ASAP, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a time for us to put more than just words behind our racial justice goals: it is a day to ACT. MLK’s Dream remains a powerful vision of the just and equitable world we want to live in. Take action with us to build that world. We…
Read MoreNCA5 Adaptation Chapter Public Engagement Workshop
February 7, 2022 | 11:00am – 3:30pm ET Please join the authors of the Fifth National Climate Assessment for a virtual workshop to share your thoughts on the climate change-related issues most important to include in the Adaptation chapter. We really need your input! The workshop is free and open to the public. The information gathered will help…
Read More2022 ASAP Member-Led Interest Groups
Get involved in ASAP Member Led Interest Groups in 2022.The votes are in and we are excited to announce the 2022 ASAP Member Led Interest Groups! Policy Practice Group Private Sector Adaptation Professionals Professional Opportunities in Adaptation Convening Climate Collaborators (webpage coming soon!) A big THANK YOU to everyone who submitted one of this year’s…
Read MoreNew Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Fund Supports Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
Inspired by members driven to create a tangible change, ASAP launched our Justice, Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion Fund in April 2021. The Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Fund provides financial support for ASAP members to engage in professional development and capacity-building activities as well as compensate people for their time as they contribute their…
Read MoreMeet the Speakers for the 2023 Climate Service Providers Academy
Are you still waiting to register for the 2023 Climate Service Providers Academy? Register today to learn how to use the very best regional climate data and information in your services and programs. The lineup of presenters and panelists is now live for all sessions of the academy! The Opening Session kicks off on October…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Embracing Adaptation, A Journey of Career Development and Resilience
This Mentorship Program Spotlight highlights a mentee and mentor duo focused on a journey to navigate the adaptation field. Meet Mentee Dolly Na-Yemeh and Mentor Amanda Farris. MENTEE Dolly Na-Yemeh is a Climate Adaptation Specialist with the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center at the University of Oklahoma. She collaborates with researchers, resource managers, and…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Your Values and Pivoting to an Adaptation Career
This Mentorship Program Spotlight highlights a mentee and mentor duo focused on values and making successful transitions to a career in adaptation. Meet Mentee James Holman and Mentor Dana Brechwald! Mentee James Holman is a professional Civil Engineer with 14 years of experience in engineering project management and design. Throughout his career, the projects he…
Read MoreLet’s Get Educated! Creating a Path to Improving USDA Forest Service’s Climate Literacy
The USDA Forest Service is investing in climate education through a partnership with the American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP). The collaborative project, Addressing Gaps in Workforce Climate Literacy, aims to increase the Forest Service’s capacity to respond to climate change by establishing standardized, agency-wide training on climate change and environmental justice. The project just…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Learning to Adapt to New Situations
This week’s Mentorship Program Spotlight highlights a mentee and mentor duo overcoming new situations in adaptation. Meet Mentee Marcella Bondie Keenan and Mentor Anna Marandi! Mentee Marcella Bondie Keenan is an environmental scientist, urban planning, and policy professional based in the Chicago area focused on environmental justice, climate mitigation and adaptation, and nature-based solutions. They are passionate about…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Navigating the Interdisciplinary Field of Climate Resilience
This week’s Mentorship Program Spotlight highlights a mentee and mentor duo overcoming the unexpected. Meet Mentee John McClure and Mentor Amy Bailey! Mentee John McClure is a 25-year-old recent graduate from the University of Michigan, receiving his MS in Environmental Justice, Policy, and Planning, graduating in Spring 2023. He received his BA in Environmental Studies…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Learning to Expect the Unexpected
This week’s Mentorship Program Spotlight highlights a mentee and mentor duo overcoming the unexpected. Meet Mentee Kate Leftin and Mentor Jenna Jorns! Mentee Kate Leftin (she/her) is based in the DC area and is an associate consultant that works remotely for Kimball Sustainable Healthcare in San Francisco. This is a second career for her. The…
Read MoreClimate Change Adaptation as Means for Economic Development: Strategies for Building Rural Climate Resilience and Workforce Capacity
Join us on Tuesday, September 19, from 12-3:30 PM ET to explore strategies for building climate resilience and economic opportunity in rural communities. Don’t miss this free virtual event. The American Society of Adaptation Professionals (“ASAP”) is planning a national AmeriCorps program to address climate impacts and workforce needs in rural communities. We seek to…
Read MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Navigating Adaptation Efforts Across Federal Government Agencies
This week’s Mentorship Program Spotlight highlights a mentee and mentor duo focused on Federal Level Adaptation. Meet Mentee Tanja Crk and Mentor Jonathan Cook! Mentee Tanja Crk has worked for fifteen years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in regulatory and voluntary programs. Currently, she works as a product manager for the ENERGY STAR® program…
Read MoreASAP and HARC Bring Houston Community Leaders and Climate Adaptation Professionals Together for LEAP Kick-Off Event
On June 22, teams from the American Society of Adaptation Professionals (“ASAP”) and the Houston Advanced Research Center (“HARC”) met in Houston to officially kick-off the Leading with Equity in Adaptation Practice (LEAP) Program. ASAP’s Rachel Jacobson, Maria (Mia) Dozier, and Eliza Garcia participated in the kickoff event along with Dr. Erin Kinney and Dr.…
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