Thriving Futures Roundtable: Community Advocacy and Resilience After Natural Disasters

The CDLS Thriving Futures Roundtable Series are informal panel discussions where CDLS Fellows and community members come together to discuss how collective action can create a sustainable economic future. For our second roundtable, we are excited to be hosting a discussion on “Community Advocacy and Resilience After Natural Disasters,” with a focus on regional challenges such as LA wildfires and hurricanes in the Southeast U.S. RSVP to join this online event on April 9, at 3:30pm.

This conversation will explore how communities and institutions are responding to the growing challenges of climate-driven disasters. As extreme events become more frequent and costly, regions are facing increasing pressure on insurance systems, infrastructure, and long-term recovery efforts.

The panel features Essence Tornabene, a Biological Sciences PhD student at the University of South Carolina; Olivia Zhang, a Geography & Data Science student at the University of Florida; Catherine Banach, an Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences PhD student and Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellow at UCLA; and Sam Lopez, Policy Coordinator for the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians. Together, they will share perspectives on community advocacy, resilience planning, and the role of local knowledge in shaping responses to climate-related disasters. This virtual program hosted by CDLS is organized by Early Career Fellow Matthew Cherfane and open to all.