Join us on Thursday, March 6th from 12 – 1pm for an insightful lunch and learn with Ellen Chappelka and Kevin Zerbe, two leaders in hazard mitigation with the Washington State Emergency Management Division. Ellen and Kevin will share their experiences, insights, and recommendations on how to intersect hazard mitigation planning with community conservation, resilience and restoration goals. The session will include a brief introduction to hazard mitigation planning with a focus on data and resources to support practitioners in making the most of their mitigation plans.
This lunch and learn will be co-hosted with the Washington Coastal Hazards Resilience Network (CHRN) to stimulate cross-network connections between floodplain managers working in coastal, estuarine and riverine environments. The Washington Coastal Hazards Resilience Network’s (CHRN) mission is to strengthen the resilience of Washington’s coastal communities through collaboration, education, and knowledge exchange. CHRN does this through:
- Supporting a peer network of coastal hazards practitioners
- Providing coastal hazards information for Washington
- Sustaining network capacity while adapting to changing needs of Washington’s coastal communities and resilience practitioners
Please check out the CHRN’s website with a curated selection of relevant science, best practices, and other resources related to coastal hazards in Washington.
Ellen Chappelka Bio
Ellen Chappelka is a Coastal Resilience Specialist for the Washington State Emergency Management Division. Ellen works on the interagency Coastal Hazards Organizational Resilience Team (COHORT) with Washington Sea Grant, WSU Extension, and Washington State Department of Ecology. She assists communities in addressing coastal hazards through coordination, resource connection, technical assistance, and planning. She’s particularly interested in strengthening connections between state agencies and local communities.
Ellen holds a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University in New Orleans where she double majored in Public Health and Homeland Security. Her time in Louisiana helped her develop a lifelong passion for coastal areas and the hazards that impact them.
Kevin Zerbe Bio
Kevin Zerbe is the Hazards Analysis & Resilience Planning Program Supervisor at Washington Emergency Management Division. Hazards Analysis & Resilience Planning, HARP for short, is responsible for providing the state with a scientific basis for effective and data driven decision-making for disaster resilience. This includes statewide natural hazard risk assessments, developing state and local hazard mitigation plans, and working directly with local partners to identify and design effective risk reduction projects. Kevin’s background is in climate adaptation and spatial statistics, and he’s been with WA EMD for about five years.”
