Understanding Climate Readiness for Sonoma County

There are several  documents that can help you understand the impacts of climate change – and how we can adapt to those impacts – in Sonoma County.


8:00 AM  – Breakfast and Registration


8:30 AM – Welcome

Suzanne Smith, MC. Executive Director, Regional Climate Protection Authority and Sonoma County Transportation Authority

Jake Mackenzie, Past Chair, Director, and Chair of the Local Government Commission, Councilmember City of Rohnert Park


8:45 – State of the County – Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Solutions in Sonoma County

Susan Gorin, Chairwoman, County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors


9:05 AM – Panel: Extreme Weather Science – Drought and Deluge in Sonoma County

Moderator: Jay Jasperse, Sonoma County Water Agency

  • Tim Doherty, Coastal Planner, NOAA Office for Coastal Management (Baldwin Group)
  • Dr. Marty Ralph, Director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at Scripps Institution of Oceanography
  • Dr. Julie Kalansky, Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
  • Dr. Lisa Micheli, Executive Director, Pepperwood Preserve, Co-founder of NBCAI and Co-founder of Terrestrial Biodiversity and Climate Change Collaboration (TBC3)

10:30 AM – Networking Break


10:45 AM – Panel: Adapting to Extremes: Managing the Risks of Climate Change in Sonoma County through Planning and Response

Moderator: Justin Witt, Brelje & Race

  • Amy Lyle, Planner III, Sonoma County Permit & Resource Management Department (PRMD)
  • Brian Vaughn, Director of Health Services, Health Policy, Planning and Evaluation (HPPE) Division County of Sonoma
  • Chris Helgren, Sonoma County Emergency Management Division
  • Tom Jacobson, Director, Sonoma State University Center for Sustainable Communities

12:00 PM – Ignite! Short presentations on real, working solutions for responding to climate change

Moderator: Jake Mackenzie


12:30 PM – Networking Lunch


1:30 PM – Welcome and Overview of Sustainability at Sonoma State University

Andrew Rogerson, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs


1:35 PM – Moving the Needle: Changing the Conversation about Climate Change

Josh Fryday, COO of Next Generation


2:00 PM – Panel: The Role of Agricultural and Open Space Lands in Responding to Climate Change

Moderator: Karen Gaffney, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District

  • Ed Thompson, California Director, American Farmland Trust
  • Karen Gaffney, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
  • Valerie Minton, Sonoma Resource Conservation District
  • John Green, Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District

3:00 PM – Networking Break


3:15 PM – Ignite! Short presentations on real, working solutions for responding to climate change

Moderator: Jake Mackenzie

Summary: Kate Meis, Executive Director, Local Government Commission


4:15 PM – Closing Keynote Speaker – Fostering Resilience in Sonoma County

Dr. Glenda Humiston, State Director, California Rural Development, US Department of Agriculture

Introduced by Supervisor James Gore, Fourth District, Board of Supervisors, Sonoma County


5:00 PM – Wine Reception