April 7 • 1:00–2:30 PM
SPEAKERS
Mari Radford, Community Planning Lead, Mitigation Division, FEMA Region 3
Mari will discuss pre- and post- disaster resources such as their National Risk Index tool, FMA and BRIC funding, and the Advanced Assistance Grant (through BRIC funding) that local communities can use for technical assistance in assessing risks and needs.
Mari's Biography
Mari Radford is the Community Planning Lead for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Region 3 office. Mari and her team provide mitigation planning support to the six states and communities that make up Region 3; DC, DE, WV, MD, PA, and VA as required under the Stafford Act. In addition to planning she provides plan reviews and technical assistance, conducts training, and disaster response. She is a member of the Virginia Silver Jackets team.
Previously, she worked with the National Flood Insurance Program as a Planning Specialist and the US Department of State as a Community Liaison Officer.
Mari holds a M.S. degree in Community and Regional Planning from Temple University, and a B.A. degree in History from Willamette University.
Matt Dalon, Program Manager, Coastal Master Resiliency Plan, DCR
Matt will provide background information on the development of the Plan, a review of infrastructure projects identified as priorities in coastal communities, and options for funding these projects as the plan is implemented.
Matt's Biography
Matt Dalon is the Program Manager for the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan for the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Matt joined DCR in 2021 after 14 years of waterfront engineering and consulting in the private sector to manage the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan contract that was led by Rear Admiral Ann Phillips (USN, Ret.), former Special Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Adaptation and Protection (SACAP). Matt is a Professional Engineer, Certified Floodplain Manager, and has degrees in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University and Ocean and Coastal Engineering from Oregon State University.
About the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan
This first Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan is a call to action for the Commonwealth. From growing cities to migrating coastal wetlands, Virginia’s coast faces a new reality. As sea levels rise and severe weather intensifies, climate change is threatening our cherished coastal regions’ economic, cultural, and environmental resources.
The Master Plan leveraged the combined efforts of more than two thousand stakeholders, subject matter experts, and government personnel. Over the course of the past year, we have learned how essential this work is and how much more there is to do.
Abstract
The Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan builds on the 2020 Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Planning Framework, which outlined the goals and principles of the Commonwealth’s statewide coastal resilience strategy. Recognizing the urgent challenge flooding already poses, the Commonwealth developed Phase One of the Master Plan on an accelerated timeline and focused this first assessment on the impacts of tidal and storm surge coastal flooding on coastal Virginia.
The Master Plan is a guiding document for the Commonwealth to increase its resilience to flooding and sea level rise. It contains a list of projects identified by the Commonwealth and local leaders that will strengthen resilience in Virginia’s coastal areas. Additionally, the Master Plan pinpoints areas where there are gaps in resilience planning that may need assistance in the future.
Debbie Messmer, State Hazard Mitigation Officer, Virginia Department of Emergency Management
Debbie will inform participants about the recipients of the BRIC and FMA funding from FEMA, and the upcoming timeframe and focus of the next round of funding for mitigation and adaptation projects.
Debbie's Biography
Debbie Messmer has worked for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for 17 years as a Grants Administrator/Project Coordinator, and now as the State Hazard Mitigation Officer. She has managed over $100 million in mitigation grants across the Commonwealth ranging from acquisition and elevation of private residential properties to large-scale stormwater management projects to small educational opportunities. She is currently serving in the role of Earthquake Program Manager for the Commonwealth.
Prior to her time with VDEM, she worked for the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management managing over $80 million in mitigation grants through Hurricane Fran and Hurricane Floyd.
Debbie has four children and two dogs who keep her busy, along with playing tennis and serving on the Board for the Henrico Humane Society.
Shana Udvardy, Climate Resilience Analyst, the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Climate & Energy Program
Shana will review the resiliency-related aspects of the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (aka Bipartisan Infrastructure Act) and other federal legislation, such as the National Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act, which was recently introduced.
Shana's Biography
Shana Udvardy is a climate resilience analyst with the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. She conducts research and policy analysis to help inform and build support to increase resilience to climate change impacts. Prior to joining UCS, Ms. Udvardy provided consulting services on climate adaptation and flood risk management policy. She was also the climate adaptation policy analyst at the Center for Clean Air Policy, director of flood management policy for American Rivers, and water program manager at the Georgia Conservancy.
Ms. Udvardy also worked at the Smithsonian Institution’s Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nicaragua. Ms. Udvardy is a Certified Floodplain Manager, and holds a M.S. in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development from the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology and a B.A. from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School.
Ms. Udvardy is frequently called upon to speak on climate adaptation and flood risk management, including two State Department speaking tours in Bangkok and Manila in 2014 and Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos in 2012.
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