2025 Local Solutions
September 18-19 2025: Local Solutions: Bouncing Forward to Create Resilient Communities
Click here for conference details.
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September 18-19 2025: Local Solutions: Bouncing Forward to Create Resilient Communities
Click here for conference details.
Keene is an energetic community that provides services, programs, and resources for a much greater population than the residents of the City alone. Although the conveniences and attractions of large metropolitan areas are close at hand, the community maintains a solidly residential working-class character, complemented by a landscape of rural areas, farms, and open space. The heart of the community is its vibrant, yet historic, downtown core. In an age when many communities are losing their “sense of place,” Keene has a firm sense of its identity, built on a foundation of the past and a clear vision of the future. – https://keenenh.gov/human-resources/who-we-are
Join the City of Keene, Ben Frost from the NH Housing Finance Authority, and Keith Thibault from Southwestern Community Services for a walking tour showcasing housing issues and opportunities in a “missing middle” neighborhood adjacent to downtown Keene. The 1.25 mile guided tour will begin and end at Pat Russell Park located on Carpenter Street.
Our room block at the Marriott Courtyard Keene Downtown Hotel located on Railroad Street in Keene is full.
There may still be rooms available outside of our block. Participants can check by calling the hotel directly and reference that they are with the “Climate Migration Conference” The direct number to the hotel is 603-354-7900
The Marriott Courtyard is located within easy walking distance to the conference locations. It is located less than a quarter mile from the Showroom, the location of Tuesday night’s reception, and less than a half mile from the Keene Public Library where our concurrent sessions will be taking place on Wednesday.
Additional hotels in the area include:
Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Keene Downtown – located right on Main Street, this hotel is located near the Courtyard Marriott and is also within convenient walking distance to our conference locations.
These three hotels are located right off the roundabout in Keene where routes 101, 10, & 12 meet Winchester Street. They are about 1.5 miles from the conference locations.
Hampton Inn & Suites Keene
Holiday Inn Express Keene
Best Western Plus Keene Hotel
Note: It is about 1.5 miles from these hotels to downtown Keene. You can get there from the Hampton Inn & Suites or the Holiday Inn Express via city streets/rail trail. You would need to cross the highway roundabout to walk to downtown from the Best Western Plus.
Parking in downtown Keene is available at metered spaces. You have two options to pay:
First download the Parkmobile app and set up an account to access all parking and lots in City of Keene
Contactless Parking with ParkMobile
How to Use a Pay Station:
2. Most parking areas also have meters that you can pay.
Parking near the Colonial Showroom for the evening reception, May 16th. The Commercial St. parking lot is the closest lot to the Showroom, which is located at 20 Commercial Street.
Parking near the Library for May 17th (Note: parking immediately adjacent to the Library is limited)
For those driving in, it is a 5 minute walk from the 20 Commercial Street or Gilbo Ave lot to Heberton Hall at the Library and metered parking is available in those lots for up to 10 hours.
There is limited short-term metered parking near the Library. There are a few non-metered disabled access spots in the Library Annex parking lot. Please note – the Library is located on Winter Street which is a one-way street, going from Court Street to School Street.
If you are staying in downtown Keene at one of the Marriott hotels or elsewhere close by, it will be easier to walk to the Library than to try to park nearby.
Other Parking Options
| Climate Migration Resources | Speaker List and Bios | Demographic Questionnaire |
Activity |
Topic |
Speakers/Facilitators
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| Housing Resilience Walking Tour of Keene
3-4:30pm Pat Russell Park, Carpenter St, Keene, NH |
City of Keene hosts a Housing Resilience Walking Tour
Registration required for this pre-conference event. |
Ben Frost from the NH Housing Finance Authority & Keith Thibault from Southwestern Community Services |
| Reception
5-7pm The Showroom at the Colonial Theater |
Climate Leadership Conversation: How Massachusetts is achieving its net zero and related emissions reduction commitments | Melissa Hoffer, Chief Climate Officer, State of Massachusetts Abigail Abrash Walton, Director, Masters of Science, Environmental Studies |
Activity |
Topic |
Speakers/Facilitators |
| Breakfast & Check In
8:30-9:00 am |
Check in for the conference and pick up your name badge | |
| Welcome, Land Acknowledgement and Overview
9-9:15 am |
Mayor George Hansel, City of Keene Abigail Abrash Walton, Director, Masters of Science, Environmental Studies |
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| NEST Findings
9:15 – 10 am |
Top Level Findings, Climate Migration Demographics, and World Cafe Highlights | Linda Shi, Assistant Professor, Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University |
| World Café
10 am-12 pm |
Table Hosts from NEST and Antioch University Team. | |
| Lunch
12- 1:30 pm |
Funding from Federal Government to Local Communities | Rebecca Blanco, Assistant Director, Office of Disaster Recovery, HUD
Marcus Tate, HMPG Grant Manager at FEMA Region 1 Elizabeth McKenna, Special Assistant for Policy and Projects, Office of US Senator Shaheen Ariela Zycherman, Program Manager with NOAA CAP/RISA |
| Training Workshops
1:40-3:50 pm 2:45-3:00 pm Coffee Break |
Training Workshop on Engagement and Strategic Communication
Rural Regeneration, Resilience, and Climate Migration: Considerations |
Facilitators: Susanne Moser, Director and Principal Researcher & Consulting and Meredith Herr, Climate Access
Presenter: Hillary Brown, FAIA Professor Emerita, Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York Faculty, Interdisciplinary M.S. program Sustainability in the Urban Environment Program Presenter/Facilitator: Abigail Abrash Walton, PhD Faculty and Program Director, Environmental Studies M.S., Antioch University New England |
| Closing Session
4-5pm |
Welcoming Standard for Incoming Migrants
Closing: How to stay connected and next steps |
Molly Hilligoss, Network Director, Welcome America
Christa Daniels, PhD, Program Director, Resource Management and Administration M.S., Antioch University New England |
Our goal for this convening was to help build capacity for socially just and equitable migration and enhanced regional climate resilience. This convening was a culmination of the Northeast Safe and Thriving for All (NEST) project, funded by the NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnerships (formerly RISA) program to convene stakeholders to create an upper Northeast region that can become a climate refugia that is resilient, revitalized, socially just, and decarbonized.
Participants who attended were able to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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In order to ensure participants for the community of practice represent our primary audience, Antioch has established guidelines to ensure participation from these targeted groups. The purpose of this event is to identify climate solutions for the New England region; as such, priority will be given to applicants from that region. Additionally, the primary audience for this event are decision-makers already engaged in regional decision making. This includes but is not limited to:
Priority for selections will be based on applicants from the New England area, who are working in the capacities listed above.
Our commitment to representation includes government officials from all six New England states, as well as an explicit effort to bring the voices of vulnerable populations to the Community of Practice. We define vulnerable populations according to the current characteristics of climate vulnerability. This includes populations that are exposed, sensitive, and lack adaptive capacity in the face of climate impacts.
In order for this community of practice to be diverse and inclusive, applicants will be asked to list in the notes section how they represent vulnerable populations in their communities. In addition, we strive to reserve space for members of traditionally marginalized communities that extend beyond our limited definition of vulnerable populations. Grave injustices of the past, which have been allowed to perpetuate today, have created an unjust and inequitable society. Climate change exacerbates these inequities, as those who are the least responsible for climate change are often the most impacted — this includes Black people, Indigenous Peoples, people of color, and people with low incomes, and from low-income backgrounds. Therefore, the field of climate change adaptation must include professionals who can meaningfully represent the concerns of people with these identities and backgrounds. As such, we strongly encourage applications from people who hold these identities.
Apply now to be a part of the FCOP. We are selecting applications in order to ensure a diverse range of participants in the FCOP. It is important that every demographic of our targeted audience is included to create a roadmap that is representative of the region.
The first round of applications will be processed and selected by January 15th. There will be a final round on of applicants selected on February 15th. In order to increase your chances of being selected, we advise you apply before the first selection date. After the selection process you will be notified if you were selected and can then complete the registration form and payment.
Applications received by 12/31 will be notified by Friday, January 15th if they have been accepted
Applications received by 1/31 will be notified by Monday, February 15th if they have been accepted.
Those accepted to participate must register by March 9, 2021.
Facilitated Community of Practice Registration Refund Policy
All requests for refunds MUST be submitted by email to the Center for Climate Preparedness and Community Resilience, Antioch University New England and RECEIVED no later than 11:59 PM EST by the dates listed below. Telephone requests WILL NOT be honored. Written requests for refunds will be processed as follows:
Written REFUND requests via email may be submitted to:
Center for Climate Preparedness & Community Resilience – Antioch University New England
This facilitated community of practice (FCoP) started on March 16th, 2021 with our Keynote Speaker, Victoria Hermann and continued meeting 1-2 times a week until the final convening on May 6, 2021. Participants explored how to ensure the following community topics are equitable and climate resilient: Affordable and Accessible Housing, Sustainable Transportation and Mobility, Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy People, and Strong Local Economy and Green Workforce Development.
What is a Community of Practice
Communities of Practice are groups of people that share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in these areas by interacting on an ongoing practice (Wegner et al, 2002). It is based on the assumption that learning is a social process versus a passive transfer of knowledge between expert and participant. This type of learning relies on a two-way direction of learning and knowledge.
In order to implement equitable climate resilience, we need to work collaboratively to identify leverage points for transformational change. The community of practice model is based on cultivating relationships and social learning to support this type of change.
Participants:
Everyone at the table had access to exceptional speakers and workshop leaders that they’ve come to expect, only this time content is adapted to our new FCOP format. This format was intentionally designed to empower participants with a regional roadmap that will guide actionable steps that center equity in local and regional climate decision making.
The format began with a large group keynote on climate migration in the northeast, followed by several modules within designated sub-topics. These groups met over the course of several weeks and then reconvened as a full group to share findings and participate in a panel discussion on financing.
FCOP Focus Topics:
Affordable and Accessible Housing
How can housing, including affordable housing, be made more resilient to extreme weather and better prepared for the consequences of climate change? This FCOP will highlight best practices and lessons learned on implementing climate resilience in affordable and accessible housing.
Sustainable Transportation and Mobility
Transportation is integral to the prosperity of all communities and highly influential on where people live, work, and spend their free time. A sustainable resilient transportation system allows for mobility despite climate impacts. This type of system also provides multiple options that are accessible to all levels of income, seniors, children and disabled populations.
Healthy Neighborhoods and Healthy People
The overall health of a community is a key role when planning for a healthy, resilient, and sustainable community. Resilient neighborhoods and individuals are both physically and psychologically healthy. Good health prior to disasters supports greater resilience in the disaster setting. This FCOP will highlight best practices and lessons learned on implementing climate resilience for public health impacts.
Strong Local Economy and Workforce Development
Climate impacts will add to the economic challenged many communities already face. Having a climate-resilient economy is essential to a community’s well-being. This FCOP will highlight best practices and lessons learned on implementing climate resilience in your community’s local economy along with supporting a green workforce.
Who Should Attend?
Staff from local governments and regional planning councils, local elected and appointed officials, municipal committee members, and community-based organizations. In addition, organizations and service providers that support the target audience will need to be present.
What is an Equity Framework?
Excerpted From: Climate Action Through Equity report from Portland, Oregon and Multnomah County. This frame includes the following nine considerations in all discussions involving climate engagement strategies, planning and implementation. The frame is presented below in summarized form:
Monday: 4:30 PM
Followed by a panel discussion at 5:30 PM
Movie Screening: High Tide in Dorchester
The film, High Tide in Dorchester, aims to foster a conversation about climate change and related impacts of sea level rise and erosion, and leverage that conversation into action. The focus, Dorchester County, MD, is already experiencing the future that increasingly faces coastal areas worldwide. This low-lying county on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay is the fourth largest of Maryland’s 23 counties by land area, but it is destined to drop to the 14th largest by 2100 — or sooner — as waters rise and erosion worsens. Dorchester is the coal miner’s canary; ground zero for the Chesapeake Region.
High Tide in Dorchester is a wake-up call: It’s time for a retreat from the shoreline, of which the Chesapeake estuary has some 11,000 miles. Historically, millions of people have sought to live as close to that shoreline as possible, but few communities are doing adequate planning to meet the imminent challenges of restraint, retreat and adaptation to living on the edges of a rising tide. A panel discussion will begin immediately after the end of the hour long film.
Moderator: Brian Ambrette, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy;
Kate Charbonneau, Executive Director, Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays;
Julie LaBranche, Senior Planner, Rockingham Planning Commission, NH;
Brian Soper, Environmental Planner, Dorchester County, Maryland
Brian Ambrette joined the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy in 2014 to lead theCoastal Resilience Program. The program assists local governments in preparing for sea level rise, coastal hazards, and climate change impacts. Brian also provides leadership and logistical support to the Eastern Shore Climate Adaptation Partnership, a regional climate collaborative with members from eight local governments and more than a dozen state agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations.
Brian previously worked with The Nature Conservancy developing conservation and planning tools for coastal resilience in Connecticut and with the Environmental Defense Fund in fundraising and donor engagement. He has also worked on traditional sailing schooners and as a coach and director at a community rowing club. He has a master’s degree from Yale University’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, with a focus on marine and coastal resource management and stakeholder engagement. His undergraduate degree is in physics and geology from Middlebury College in Vermont.
Kate Charbonneau is Executive Director of the Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays. She has worked in federal, state, and local government settings implementing environmental policies. In her work at the Critical Area Commission, Ms. Charbonneau has led efforts to incorporate consideration for sea level rise and coastal resiliency into development projects pursued by the State of Maryland, as well as exploring means to assist local governments and citizens in preparing for the future. Ms. Charbonneau is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners and a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program. She holds a Masters in Forest Resources from the Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Julie LaBranche is a Senior Planner with the Rockingham Planning Commission in Seacoast New Hampshire. She has extensive experience in climate change and adaptation planning including her previous employment with the State of Maryland and participation in the Chesapeake Bay Program. Her work in New Hampshire includes assisting communities with: preparation of Master Plans and municipal policies; preparation of zoning ordinances and regulations relating to land use, natural resource protection, climate change, energy, and stormwater management; and integration of land use and transportation planning concepts. Julie participates as a member of the NH Sea Grant Policy Advisory Committee, the NH Coastal Adaptation Workgroup, and Vice President of Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association (2009-2015). She holds a BS in Geological Sciences from Salem State College, MA and a MS in Earth Sciences-Geology from Montana State University, Bozeman.
Brian Soper is the Environmental Planner for Dorchester County, Maryland with a focus on Floodplain, Critical Area, and Coastal Resiliency Planning. Brian obtained a Bachelor of Arts in History and Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management from the University of Maryland at College Park. He previously worked for the Maryland Department of the Environment performing technical review for the TMDL Program and for Queen Anne’s County, Maryland as a Soil Conservation Planner.
“Adaptability was the key,” says John Clayton, executive director of the Manchester Historic Association, whose museum is one of several housed in Mill No. 3. “Unlike the dinosaurs, they managed to change as the circumstances did.”
Transformation change doesn’t have to be something scary! Come on a walking tour of Manchester’s revitalized millyard where transformation has resulted in helping the city of Manchester thrive. Hear about how in the face of a new era, the city decided to transform in the face of change rather than fight to keep the existing infrastructure to continue as it was. This walking tour is a great example about how to think about our communities and adapting to change as we face projected climate impacts. In addition, the reuse of existing buildings with an average level of energy performance consistently offers immediate climate-change impact reductions compared to more energy-efficient new construction.
Tour led by John Clayton
John Clayton is the executive director of the Manchester Historic Association and Millyard Museum. He previously spent 25 years as a reporter and columnist for the New Hampshire Union Leader, and he is the author of seven books about Manchester and New Hampshire. Clayton’s “In the City” column was a fixture on the front page of the Union Leader for more than 20 years and won numerous awards, including best local column from the New England Associated Press News Executives and “Best Local Author” from the readers of “New Hampshire” magazine.
Clayton received an Emmy Award for his work with New Hampshire Public Television where he was the long-time host of “New Hampshire Crossroads” and he was recently honored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council as one of its “40 over 40” cultural icons.
Join InTown Manchester for a fun walking tour of the downtown. Sara Beaudry, Executive Director, will lead this tour as we learn about Manchester’s revitalization and vibrant social and cultural capacity.
Sara Beaudry is Intown Manchester’s Executive Director. Sara manages our awesome maintenance team, communications, public outreach, and press relations while keeping it light and fun. She also oversees Intown’s events and seasonal programs. Sara lives in Manchester with her husband, daughter, and two border collies. Her hobbies include shopping for antiques and watching Duck Dynasty and documentaries about sharks. Contact:
Join us for a short bike trip from the hotel to Manchester’s beautiful Hands Across the Merrimack Bridge and Piscataquog Rail Trail. The Piscataquog Trail runs for 2 miles between the east bank of the Merrimack River and Pinard Street at Electric Street. On the east end, the trail begins near the New Hampshire Fisher Cats baseball stadium along an abandoned right-of-way of the old Boston and Maine Railroad. The trail crosses the river on the Hands Across the Merrimack pedestrian bridge and follows the Piscataquog River on the west side of Manchester. This tour will be co-led by Bruce Thomas, P.E., Design Engineer for the Manchester Department of Public Works and Derek Shooster, Associate Planner, Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission and Chair of Bike Manchester.
Please bring a bike helmet. Space in the bike tour is limited by the number of loaner bikes available. Bring your own bike to be guaranteed a spot. Sign-ups for the tours will happen at the conference registration desk on Tuesday morning.
Derek Shooster is an Associate Planner with SNHPC. His work encompasses a wide range of programs at the commission, including transportation planning, land use planning, and economic development. Derek received his B.A. in Sociology from Northeastern University in 2012, followed soon after by a Master of City Planning from Boston University in 2015. He has a broad interest in characteristics that affect our built environment, including business growth, natural resources, social welfare, historic preservation, smart growth, progressive design, and age‐friendliness. Derek has also been very active in promoting safer bicycle and pedestrian facilities across the region, so much so that he was recently named the new Chair of Bike Manchester, the local bike advocacy organization. Derek’s interest in planning grew from a combination of 20 years playing SimCity and from living in vastly different communities around the world—including Boca Raton, FL; Boston, MA; Cape Eleuthera, The Bahamas; Los Angeles, CA; Kezar Falls, ME; and Thessaloniki, Greece. These experiences and others have armed Derek with many valuable skills to affect positive change across the 520 square miles that make up the SNHPC region. Don’t be surprised if you bump into Derek winning at bar trivia or cycling down Elm Street.
Bruce Thomas has been a Professional Engineer with the Manchester Public Works Department for over thirty years. He has a Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Maine and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from New Hampshire College (now Southern N.H. University). Bruce has worked on countless roadway, sewer, drainage and Bridge projects during is time with the City. He is currently administering three rail trail projects for the City. These are the South Manchester Rail Trail and the Downtown Rail Connector Project that will connect the downtown area of the City to the area around the airport. The third project is the Rockingham Trail that will extend the Rockingham Trail from Lake Shore Road (near Lake Massabesic) to Mammoth Road. Bruce also created the City of Manchester’s Bicycle Master Plan. In his spare time, Bruce is an avid bicycler and enjoys biking in the Greater Manchester area.
Center for Climate Preparedness and Community Resilience
Antioch University New England
40 Avon Street
Keene, NH 03431-3516
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