Beating Extreme Heat: Designing and Investing in Resilience

Heat is deadlier than any other weather-related disaster in the US, but extreme heat events don't fit neatly within the current federal disaster declaration framework and connected funding mechanisms.

Advancing heat resilience strategies to protect communities requires substantial, nimble investments. Collaboration across the philanthropy, finance, and insurance sectors is critical to the design and implementation of effective heat resilience approaches. This panel brings together experts from diverse sectors to discuss challenges, investment needs, and actionable solutions for addressing extreme heat now and in the future.

The panel will be moderated by Ashley Ward, PhD, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. The Heat Policy Innovation Hub is the first program in the United States dedicated to cross-disciplinary collaboration advancing extreme heat policies and practices.

Panelists will include:

Francis Bouchard, Managing Director, Climate, Marsh McLennan
Rev. Dallas Conyers, Climate and Health Advocate; Faith and JEDI Manager, Southeast Climate & Energy Network
Evan Kodra, Senior Director for Climate and ESG, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)
Sonali Patel, Partner, The Bridgespan Group
Galen Treuer, Climate Tech and Economic Innovation Manager, Miami-Dade County

The event is organized by the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University and the Office of Climate and Sustainability at Duke University. The event is aligned with the Duke Climate Commitment, a university-wide, impact-oriented effort to address climate challenges.

Duke University is a proud partner of The New York Climate Exchange ("The Exchange"), a first-of-its-kind collaborative model for accelerating climate change solutions for New York City and beyond. Powered by its strong partnerships and future home on Governors Island, The Exchange will use education, research, an innovation hub, job training, and public programs to prepare communities to respond to climate challenges.

This event is hosted by Holland & Knight , a global law firm with over 2,000 lawyers and professionals in 34 offices throughout the world. The firm is on the cutting-edge of climate change and sustainability issues with extensive experience in environmental law, energy, governmental