The 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 MoreMENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHT: Sisters of Adaptation
Welcome to the first Mentorship Spotlight of the 2023 Mentorship Program Cohort! Mentees Alexis Monti and Olivia Poon dive into their experience under the leadership of Mentor Megan Holcomb. Meet the Mentorship Program Participants Mentee Alexis Monti: Alexis Monti graduated from Umass Amherst in 2022 with degrees in Environmental Science and Natural Resources Conservation. She…
Read MoreASAP Receives National AmeriCorps Planning Grant
ASAP has received a year-long grant of $200,000 from AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, to plan a national service program to catalyze adaptation work in rural communities. Rural communities have some of the lowest capacities in the United States to adapt to worsening climate impacts. ASAP’s AmeriCorps program concept seeks to…
Read MoreCheck Out Cohort Profiles for the 2023 Mentorship Program
Mentor and Mentee Profiles are now live for the 2023 Mentorship Program! Below you will find details and information on the participants this year: Mentors Brian Ambrette: Brian Ambrette is the Senior Climate Resilience Coordinator with the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future in Maine. Brian supports the implementation of Maine’s four-year climate…
Read MoreA Message from ASAP’s Incoming Board President Julia Kim
Dear ASAP Members and Partners, Happy New Year! I hope your 2023 is off to a great start after a restorative winter break. I am honored to serve as ASAP’s Board President this year and want to first express my deepest gratitude to ASAP’s staff and board for their ongoing leadership and commitment to supporting…
Read MoreASAP Joins Technical Assistance Team for NCRF Grantees
ASAP is thrilled to join the Field Liaison Team for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF). Throwe Environmental, LLC leads the Team, which also includes Native American Fish and Wildlife Society (NAFWS). As Field Liaisons, Throwe, ASAP, and NAFW will support NCRF applicants across the U.S. throughout 2023. The Team…
Read MoreMentorship Spotlight: Professional Growth in the Field of Adaptation
Mentee Revathi Veriah is an Urban Planner and Policy Analyst for AECOM in their Urbanism and Planning Practice in Dallas, Texas. She is passionate about sustainable development, resilience, planning for climate change and equitable community development. Revathi brings her expertise to support public sector clients in various projects, including climate action plans, sustainability studies, economic…
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