Book Launch: Rethinking Readiness by Jeffrey Schlegelmilch

Columbia Climate School Aug 21, 2020
Please enjoy this recording of the launch of Rethinking Readiness, by Jeff Schlegelmilch, which offers an expert introduction to human-made threats and vulnerabilities, with a focus on opportunities to reimagine how we approach disaster preparedness.

Introduction:
– Ruth Defries, University Professor; Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology; Chair of the Faculty, the Earth Institute

Speakers:
– Jeff Schlegelmilch, Director for the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, the Earth Institute
– Chloe Demrovsky, President and CEO of Disaster Recovery Institute International

Jeff Schlegelmilch is a Research Scholar and the Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. In this role he oversees the operations and strategic planning for the center. Before becoming director, he served as the center’s deputy director for more than five years. He also oversees projects related to the practice and policy of disaster preparedness, including the multi-award winning Resilient Children / Resilient Communities Initiative. His areas of expertise includes public health preparedness, community resilience and the integration of private and public sector capabilities. Prior his role at Columbia, he was the Manager for the International and Non-Healthcare Business Sector for the Yale New Haven Health System Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response. He was also previously an epidemiologist and emergency planner for the Boston Public Health Commission. He has advised leaders on preparedness systems and policy at all levels of government. He is an Opinion Contributor with The Hill and is frequently utilized as a subject matter expert for numerous media outlets.

Chloe Demrovsky is the President and CEO of Disaster Recovery Institute International, the oldest and largest nonprofit that helps organizations around the world prepare for and recover from disasters by providing education, accreditation, and thought leadership in business continuity, disaster recovery, cyber resilience and related fields. Founded in 1988, DRI has certified 15,000+ resilience professionals in 100+ countries and at 95 percent of Fortune 100 companies. In her previous role as Executive Director, she led DRI to a record number of certified professionals with a 42% increase and oversaw the launch of a number of valuable initiatives including the DRI Online Library, the Collegiate Conference Program, the DRI Webinar Program, the Future Vision Thinktank, a new risk management training and certification program, the launch of DRI’s premier organizational certification, and the most substantive revision of DRI’s core training program in the history of the organization. She designed DRI’s international market development strategy operating in over 50 countries. During her tenure, DRI’s conference reached a record level of attendance and the organization launched a series of new committees dedicated to better serving the industry’s diverse needs including Women in Business Continuity, Young Leaders in Resilience, and the Veterans’ Outreach Program. She built the relationship with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, is a Board Director for the DRI Foundation, and a Certified Business Continuity Vendor (CBCV). She is a senior Forbes contributor, has appeared on Bloomberg TV, MSNBC and Fox and has served as an expert source for The Associated Press, USA Today, LA Times, Conde Nast Traveler, ABC News and more. She has presented at dozens of events across four continents, is a Rockefeller 100 Resilient Cities Subject Matter Advisor, and served as an editor for the 2017 verversion of The Professional Practices for Business Continuity Management and the coordinator for the first International Glossary for Resiliency. She is an adjunct professor at New York University, a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a US-Japan Foundation Scott M. Johnson Fellow and a French-American Foundation 2019-20 Young Leader. She holds a Master’s of Science in International Business from New York University, a Bachelor of Arts from Bard College at Simon’s Rock and speaks four languages. Follow her @ChloeDemrovsky.

Order your book here, or from any fine bookshop: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/rethink…
For a signed copy, visit: https://www.riverbendbookshop.com/ret…

See related:

• MA in Climate and Society Admitted Student Faculty Panel: March 14, 2024
• It may already be too late…

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Global Ecovillage Network – Community for a Regenerative World

The Global Ecovillage Network‘s shared purpose is to link and support ecovillages, educate the world about them, and grow the regenerative movement – to inspire, scale and facilitate communities and people from all walks of life to become active participants in the transition to a resilient and regenerative human presence on Earth.

GEN Africa is a membership organisation born in 2012 in Sekem Ecovillage, Egypt with registered nonprofit status in Senegal and a close founding tie with GEN Europe. GEN Africa is managed by a council of 5 members elected in December 2012 in Egypt, in addition to 3 coordinators of the youth network NextGEN and a five member Advisory Council. GEN Africa forms part of GEN International, an NGO with consultative status at the UN-Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) commission, and a partner of United Nations Institute for Training and Research, UNITAR.

Vision, Mission and Values of GEN Africa

Vision

We envision the re-emergence of a sustainable and abundant Africa growing out of an alliance of self-empowered and resilient communities.

Mission

As a solution based alliance, GEN Africa makes visible examples of best practices, and develops educational tools to inspire societal transition to resilience.

Values

• Faith in the inherent goodwill in mankind
• Unity through diversity, without discrimination
• Basic human and earth rights and equitable access to resources
• Equal opportunity and justice for all
• Balance between cooperation and competition
• Good governance
• Care of the Earth and people
• Transparency
• Solidarity
• Inclusiveness
• Honesty

We work in the following thematic areas:

Education & capacity building

Promoting the development of curricula derived from good practice within ecovillages (Gaia Education, grown out of GEN has created valuable educational materials freely downloadable from www.gaiaeducation.org)

Model ecovillages and training centers

Model ecovillages provide holistic designs for urban and rural communities for sustainable living environment. Training centres provide education, training and research to achieve order to pass on knowledge, methods and skills for sustainable living.

Advocacy

Promoting policies and practices that will make for a more just, sustainable and equitable society.

Cultural heritage

Africa being the cradle of Civilizations, GEN Africa will strive to apply the ecovillage movement profoundly based on the diversity of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in Africa.

Healing and reconciliation

The basis of GEN Africa values lies in the success of authentic healing and reconciliation. The pains we carry on an individual level are reflected in our current economic, social and ecological realities and vice versa.

Food sovereignty

Gen Africa promotes African communities that are self reliant, independent and enjoy abundance of a diversity of indigenous foods that result from creative use of local resources.

Natural resources and restoration

To support, promote and document the work of every community in becoming a model for energy autonomy, reforestation, regenerative water cycles, healthy soils, and mutually beneficial relationship with wildlife.

Ethical business and fair trade

GEN Africa must assure self-reliant and interdependent communities by providing a progressive ecovillage business model in the existing destructive mainstream market. Overcome poverty and regenerate natural resources investment.

Communication and information technology

GEN Africa through IT will facilitate effective and efficient communication also makes information available and accessible to everybody interested in GEN Africa activities.

What we do:

The African Ecovillage Network assists, educates and supports villages and communities towards self sufficiency, through social entrepreneurship and development of grassroots projects, while building solidarity and cooperation between people.

We encourage, advise and teach communities to use clean energy, water purification and desalination processes, and actively encourage people to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Regarding the land and food, we promote organic farming and permaculture. For example growing local medicinal plants, planting trees as windbreaks, saving endangered species of plants and crops, growing fruit trees, composting with zero waste, use of bio-digesters. Hand in hand with this we share the importance of the conservation of ecosystems.

Regarding building and construction we promote building with natural local materials, using both tried and tested traditional methods and crafts, combined with modern design and building techniques.

For the people we offer new paradigms in schooling, medicine, ecotourism, eco-farm retreats, and much more.

In addition GEN Africa exists to :

1. Makes visible to the world the dynamic and impressive work already being done on the ground to develop sustainable community solutions all over Africa

2. Empower African indigenous projects and the people involved by connecting them to each other and to like-minded individuals and organisations worldwide

3. Facilitate South-South and South-North exchange of inspiration, information and training amongst ecovillages and related projects in Africa and the world

4. Invite traditional village networks into the ecovillage network on the basis of deep respect for the wisdom they still hold

5. Hold a special focus on and acknowledgement of the need for North-South reconciliation work

Our Philosophy

Within GEN Africa, we experiment in re-knitting trustful relationships and honouring low impact life styles. Our strength lies in co-developing and co-designing economic, social, cultural and ecologic solutions that support local ownership of sustainable futures. Honestly sharing the questions we face in this process is as important as sharing any answers we find. Making visible people’s projects that deeply care for local community while embracing global community is a vibrant tool for empowerment.

GEN Africa is not prioritizing the replication of ‘the ecovillage model‘ as a whole and the creation of more and more ‘green islands’ out in the countryside. The demonstration sites we have are invaluable and we can certainly do with more. But the focus has long moved on. Today we need every village to become an ecovillage and every city to become an ecocity. The whole of society needs to transition to a low-impact lifestyle in order to survive. All social networks need to reintegrate values of solidarity and mutual trust in order to become resilient enough to face the future creatively. The focus of GEN has shifted to sharing best practice – ecovillage-patterns that work!

GEN consists of a constantly expanding network of intentional communities and ecovillages bridging all cultures and continents.

GEN envisions the emergence of a diverse yet shared global pool of wisdom for sustainable living.

GEN believes that the most underutilized resource we have is the good intentions and creativity of citizens and our willing­ness to make a difference.

GEN promotes the building of community and solidarity as core to transition to resilience.

GEN promotes the development of sustainable settle­ments in all of Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

See related:

• MA in Climate and Society Admitted Student Faculty Panel: March 14, 2024
• It may already be too late…

* * * *

MA in Climate and Society Admitted Student Faculty Panel: March 14, 2024

Columbia Climate School Mar 16, 2024

This information session is dedicated to accepted students to the Columbia Climate School’s MA in Climate and Society program. This session features Columbia Climate School Faculty Panel. Panelist include:

Professor Sheila Foster – Is a Professor of Law and Public Policy at Georgetown University, is appointed as Visiting Professor of Climate during the 2023-2024 academic year. Professor Foster is a leading scholar of environmental and climate justice. Her research spans a broad range of topics, including innovative resource governance regimes, land use policy, and the role of subnational governments and local leaders in addressing cross-border challenges such as climate change.

Professor Melissa Lott – Is a Professor of professional practice at the Columbia Climate School. In addition to her role at the Climate School, she will continue to serve as senior director of research at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP). Melissa’s work focuses on analyzing and modeling the technological, economic and public health tradeoffs resulting from changes in the energy system, with a particular focus on the transition to a net-zero energy system. She is currently serving on the United Nations Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, an independent advisory council to the UN Secretary-General.

Professor Jeff Schlegelmilch – Is the Director for the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia Climate School, Columbia University. In this role, he oversees the operations and strategic planning for the center. He also oversees projects related to the practice and policy of disaster preparedness. His areas of expertise include public health preparedness, community resilience, and the integration of private and public sector capabilities. Prior to his role at Columbia, he was the Manager for the International and Non-Healthcare Business Sector for the Yale New Haven Health System Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response.

Professor Jason Smerdon – Is a Professor of Climate within the Columbia Climate School, Co-Senior Director for Education, and Co-Director of the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development. He teaches courses on climate, environmental change and sustainable development to undergraduate and graduate students. Smerdon also lectures widely in public and private settings on the subject of climate change and its social dimensions. Smerdon’s research focuses on climate variability and change during the past several millennia and how past climates can help us understand future climate change. He publishes widely in the scientific literature on paleoclimate reconstruction techniques, the dynamics of past climate change and variability, and on assessing climate model simulations of the past and future using paleoclimatic information.