“From Recovery to Resilience” is the theme of the fifth annual Regional Resiliency Summit, which will be hosted by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and its Regional Resiliency Coalition on May 15 and 16 at the Palmetto Marriott Resort.
Registration is open until Friday, May 9.
The plenary speaker is Aris Papadopoulos, founder of the Resilience Action Fund, a non-profit that advances greater awareness, transparency, and education about resilience in the built environment. He authored the book ResilieNomics, Value in an Age of Disasters, and Resilience, The Ultimate Sustainability.
This groundbreaking new book explores how the very forces that created vulnerability in our communities can also be used to reverse it. Papadopoulos will be available for an exclusive book signing at the event.
The event will also feature experts in resilient building and economic recovery, including Marshall Gobuty of Pearl Homes, Pinellas County Property Appraiser Mike Twitty, and Bemetra Simmons of the Tampa Bay Partnership.
The event will close with a presentation by Rod Scott, chairman of the Flood Mitigation Industry Association (FMIA). In 2009, Scott traveled to Louisiana to assist in the start-up of a multi-million-dollar flood hazard mitigation/elevation company that elevated over 1,500 homes in Louisiana. Scott also developed and deployed the first flood mitigation/elevation industry public education outreach programming in upstate New York, following the regional devastation brought on by Hurricane Irene. This outreach education effort was improved and redeployed in New Jersey and New York after Hurricane Sandy and was awarded the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) 2014 Floodproofing Award.
The Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition, which now includes seven counties and 26 cities, was established in 2018 to address the numerous issues related to climate change on a regional level. Its Regional Resiliency Action Plan includes 10 high-level goals with dozens of objectives and recommended actions. The Regional Resiliency Summit brings local governments together with experts who can help guide actions on both a regional and local level across Tampa Bay. The summit will conclude with the 31st Future of the Region Awards Luncheon on May 16th.
For more information and a complete agenda for the summit, please visit tbrpc.org/summit2025.