📅 Date and Time
Wednesday, Mar 12, 2025 | 2:00pm – 3:30pm ET | Zoom
🎤 Title
Building Inclusive Climate Resilience with Human-Centered Design in Government
Led by Elham Ali
🎙️ Speakers
- Elham Ali. Researcher at Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, Georgetown University.
- Liz Boyer. Climate Action Coordinator at the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota.
- Jorge Valens. Innovation Manager at the Miami-Dade County IT, Florida.
📢 Workshop Description
Climate resilience work in local government is complex—it requires meaningful community engagement, inclusive decision-making, and access to the right tech, data, and resources. But what enables municipalities to do this work well? And what stands in the way, especially given shifting federal policies?
This workshop explores the intersection of Human-Centered Design (HCD), climate resilience, and civic tech—not just how local governments apply HCD principles to climate action, but also what supports or hinders their efforts in developing tech-enabled climate solutions.
What to expect:
- 🏛️ A moderated Q&A discussion with local government staff, sharing real-world insights on the opportunities and barriers to effective climate tech resilience efforts.
- 🤝 Strategies for engaging communities and co-designing climate tech-enabled solutions that reflect their needs.
- 💻 A look at the challenges and nuances of implementing tech-enabled climate resilience initiatives, from data collection to enabling community-led actions.
- 📊 How to develop and use climate data tools with resources from local, state, and federal governments to support informed decision-making.
If you’re working in or alongside local government and want to understand what drives tech-enabled, community-centered climate action, join us for this timely discussion!
REGISTER HERE
About Elham Ali:
Elham Ali, MPH, PMP (she/ella) is an equity-centered design researcher and impact evaluator with over a decade of experience in civic tech and public health. At The Opportunity Project for Cities with the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, she has trained U.S. city and county governments in human-centered design for climate resilience and housing security. Previously, as Lead HCD Advisor at the Pima County Health Department, she led efforts for the $4M Advancing Health Literacy program to improve equitable COVID-19 vaccine access. Elham is currently pursuing her doctorate at Johns Hopkins University, researching the role of local governments in delivering equitable, nature-based climate solutions.
