G. Maine Community Resilience Partnership: Supporting Local Climate and Energy Action

All Day Session – 8:30AM-10:30AM and 1:30PM-4:00PM
Augusta Room (2nd floor, North Wing)

Session Co-Chairs:

This session will bring together Maine communities (municipal & tribal government officials and citizens), Service Providers, and Regional Coordinators who are engaged in or considering the Maine Community Resilience Partnership, a program started by the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future in December 2021. With over 70 communities currently enrolled in the Partnership and counting, the program provides funding for member communities to implement local climate and energy solutions. Service providers (30+ non-profit organizations, individuals, and companies) and Regional Coordinators help communities become members and access funding and technical assistance. This will be an all-day “track” with morning and afternoon sessions and related poster presentations. Each session will focus on a different theme related to supporting local climate and energy action through the Partnership: what is the Partnership and why is it important; best practices for engaging communities & community members in Partnership activities (especially those who are underserved, at-risk, or high on the Social Vulnerability Index); individual community experiences with Partnership actions (i.e., heat pumps, broadband, community vulnerability assessments, etc.); long-term support for local climate and energy action. Ideally, each session will have some combination of panel presentations and roundtable discussions.

Morning Session: Community Participants and Regional Coordinators

8:30-8:45
Introduction to the Community Resilience Partnership (CRP)

What is the CRP, what has it been doing, and where is it headed?

  • Sarah Curran, Deputy Director for Climate Planning & Community Partnerships, Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future

8:45-9:30
Community Participant Panel Discussion

How are communities who have joined the Partnership using its resources to meet local resilience goals?

Moderator: Sharon Klein, Associate Professor, University of Maine; Board Member, WindowDressers; Sole Proprietor, Klein Energy Consulting

  • Kevin Buck, Selectboard and Sustainability Committee Member, Town of Tremont (solar, greenhouse gas inventory, vulnerability assessment, community resilience plan)
  • Lesley Fernow, Member, Climate Action Advisory Committee, Town of Dover-Foxcroft (extreme temperature plan)
  • Jasmine Lamb, Chair and Founder, Pleasant Point Resilience Citizen Committee (Passamaquoddy Tribe); Graduate Student, University of Maine (window insert building workshop; building capacity through new citizen committee)
  • Kate Devonshire, City Manager, City of Eastport (window insert building workshop, heat pump & weatherization bulk purchase campaign)
  • Melanie Nash, Island Fellow, The Town of Long Island (comprehensive plan, town implementation committee, beach erosion work, housing and groundwater planning)

9:30-10:10
Regional Coordinator Panel Discussion

What is a regional coordinator, and what have they been doing to help Maine communities join the CRP and meet their resilience goals?

Moderator: Johannah Blackman – Executive Director and Founding Member, A Climate to Thrive

  • Gabrian (Gabe) McPhail, Manager for the Region 1 Coordinator Collaborative (R1CC)
  • Tanya Rucosky, Region 2 Coordinator, Sunrise County Economic Council
  • Zach Gosselin, Region 3 Coordinator, Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments
  • Laurie Osher, Region 4 Coordinator, Eastern Maine Development Corporation

10:10-10:30
Breakout Discussions

Attendees will be able to choose from a variety of topics/groups discussed in the morning presentations to further explore with presenters and other attendees.

Afternoon Session: Service Providers

1:30-1:45
Introduction to the Community Resilience Partnership (CRP)

What is the CRP, what has it been doing, and where is it headed?

  • Sarah Curran, Deputy Director for Climate Planning & Community Partnerships, Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future

1:45-2:30
Service Provider Panel Discussion Part 1

What is a service provider, and what have they been doing to help Maine communities join the CRP and meet their resilience goals?

Moderator: Laurie Osher – Region 4 Coordinator, Eastern Maine Development Corporation

  • Johannah Blackman, Executive Director and Founding Member, A Climate to Thrive (Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Tremont)
  • Scott Vlaun, Executive Director, Center for an Ecology-Based Economy (Bethel, Casco, Hartford, Lovell, Norway, Otisfield, Oxford, Paris, Sumner, Woodstock)
  • Sharon Klein, Associate Professor, School of Economics, University of Maine; sole proprietor of Klein Energy Consulting; WindowDressers Board member (Eastport, Millinocket, Passamaquoddy communities of Pleasant Point & Indian Township, Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseets)
  • Kirsten Brewer, Climate Corps Coordinator, Volunteer Maine

2:30-3:00
Afternoon Break

3:00-3:30
Service Provider Panel Discussion Part 2

What is a service provider, and what have they been doing to help Maine communities join the CRP and meet their resilience goals?

Moderator: Tanya Rucosky, Region 2 Coordinator, Sunrise County Economic Council

  • Allen Kratz and Jesse Minor, Resilience Works, LLC (Blue HIll, Brooklin, Brooksville, Penobscot and Sedgwick)
  • Margarita Contreni, Board Member, Moosehead Lake Region Economic Development Corporation (Greenville, Beaver Cove, and Shirley)
  • Chloe Shields, New England Environmental Finance Center and Victoria Boundy, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg, Westport Island, and Woolwich)
  • Sinet Kroch and Deb Paredes, Changemakers Climate Adaptation Residents, The Nature Conservancy, Maine Environmental Education Association

3:30-4:00
Breakout Discussions

Attendees will be able to choose from a variety of topics/groups discussed in the afternoon presentations to further explore with presenters and other attendees.

About Our Session Chairs

Tanya Rucosky is a Community Resilience Coordinator helping municipalities in Washington, Hancock and Waldo Counties access funds and technical support to improve their climate readiness. Tanya holds a BA in English Writing, a BS in Natural Resource Management and a Master’s in Information Management. Tanya has worked in America, Asia and Australia as an archivist, park ranger, organic farm manager, foreign aid program manager, citizen science program manager and land trust director.