Adaptation Professionals Society to Co-Lead The Resilience Dialogues

American Society of Adaptation Professionals announces co-leadership of public-private climate resilience program

1 December 2017

Joint Release

 

Ypsilanti, MI—December 1, 2017—The American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP) announced today that ASAP will join the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) in co-leading The Resilience Dialogues, a program that helps communities explore and discuss climate-related risks to strengthen resilience. ASAP will assume this new role December 1, 2017.

The Resilience Dialogues is an online platform where scientists and community leaders work together to address local climate impacts and take steps toward resilience. The Resilience Dialogues launched in 2016 as a unique public-private partnership.  ASAP’s co-leadership follows the American Geophysical Union (AGU), who served as founding co-lead from 2016-2017.  

“AGU was honored to be part of creating the dialogues and we will continue, as a partner, to offer scientific expertise and support,” said Chris McEntee, AGU’s Executive Director and CEO.  “Resilience requires more than science, and ASAP, with its expertise in connecting and supporting resilience practitioners, is well-suited to help the dialogues continue to evolve.”

Following the transition, AGU will continue to serve on a leadership advisory team along with MIT Co-Lab, American Meteorological Society, Meridian Institute, and the Institute for Sustainable Communities.

As a nationally-recognized networking, curating, and convening power, ASAP brings deep experience with the adaptation field of practice and the potential for new, innovative partnerships. ASAP Executive Director Beth Gibbons currently serves on the Resilience Dialogues Leadership Team and helped launch the Resilience Dialogues in 2016, recruited practitioners to engage in the first dialogues, and worked with communities  to ensure local leaders got the information they needed to support community resilience.  

ASAP and the Resilience Dialogues share the goal of empowering equitable, ethical, and effective climate adaptation and resilience action,” said ASAP Executive Director Beth Gibbons. “We look forward to working with USGCRP’s agencies and all partners to inspire action in more communities, especially small and underserved communities.”

The Resilience Dialogues is a natural addition to ASAP’s portfolio of programs which curate, apply, and promote resources and processes that enable adaptation action. The program will open valuable opportunities for ASAP to expand professional development and professional service opportunities for members, apply the content ASAP is developing for standards and training development, and assess emerging needs in the adaptation and resilience fields.

USGCRP will continue to co-lead the Resilience Dialogues and with ASAP. As a Federal program mandated by Congress, USGCRP coordinates and integrates global change research across 13 Federal agencies.  USGCRP has three goals: coordinate science, produce science outputs, and help communities use those outputs to become more resilient.  The Resilience Dialogues is a key part of meeting the third goal.

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American Society of Adaptation Professionals is the nation’s leading professional society for adaptation and resilience practitioners. The organization connects and supports climate adaptation professionals, while advancing innovation and excellence in the field of climate change adaptation. Through ASAP’s website, affinity groups, webinars, and meetings, climate adaptation professionals interact, share what’s working, collaborate with their colleagues, and build essential climate resilience for communities across the United States. ASAP is committed to ensuring that climate adaptation and resilience work is equitable, ethical, and effective. Learn more at www.adaptationprofessionals.org.  

The Resilience Dialogues helps communities, especially small and underserved communities, launch climate adaptation, preparedness, and resilience activities. It leverages the array of federal, regional, and private sector resources within the Resilience Ecosystem through facilitated dialogues among scientists, practitioners, and community leaders. The Resilience Dialogues is built on the idea that well-facilitated conversations among carefully-chosen people can result in new knowledge and connections that advance action. Learn more at: www.resiliencedialogues.org.

ASAP and Resilience Dialogues are supported by The Kresge Foundation.


The American Society of Adaptation Professionals Contact:
Beth Gibbons, Executive Director
[email protected]
+1 734-219-3529