February 2024 Chapter Meeting with a presentation from Dana Brechwald of BCDC

Dana Brechwald, Assistant Planning Director for Climate Adaptation at the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, will provide an overview of the state of regional planning and permitting in the Bay Area through BCDC’s Bay Adapt initiative. 

The Bay Adapt Joint Platform established a collaboratively-developed set of goals, actions, and tasks for the region to help overcome adaptation challenges ranging from community engagement to planning, funding, permitting, constructing, and monitoring strategies. Since its adoption in 2021, several key studies, policies, and plans have been advanced to help implement the Joint Platform, involving and impacting stakeholders around the region. 

Most recently, BCDC is developing a set of guidelines for consistent adaptation planning throughout the region that will help set the standard for how cities and counties move towards decision-making and implementation for adaptation. These guidelines were mandated by the passage of SB 272 (Laird) in 2023, establishing mandatory subregional adaptation plans for the Bay and outer coast.

Dana Brechwald is the Assistant Planning Director for Climate Adaptation at the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). She works with regional stakeholders to develop innovative climate adaptation and resilience solutions for the Bay shoreline and is the Project Director for BCDC’s Bay Adapt initiative.

Previously, she was the Adapting to Rising Tides Program Manager at BCDC and a Resilience Planner at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission/Association of Bay Area Governments, focusing on hazard mitigation and long‐term disaster recovery planning, where she designed and managed several projects aimed at increasing resilience to earthquake and climate change hazards. She has also worked in partnership with FEMA, the EPA, and local jurisdictions on long-term recovery planning, multi-hazard vulnerability assessments, and integrating resilience into General Plans.

Dana has also worked as a sustainability consultant, and with the Salvation Army and the City and County of San Francisco to develop disaster recovery guidelines and best practices. Dana holds a Bachelor of Architecture from UC Berkeley, and a Master of Urban Planning from Harvard Graduate School of Design.  

Interesting in displaying your products at this event? Tabletops are available for $250 each. Contact Jerry Veiluva or Jorge Navarro if you are interested.

Any questions about the event can be directed to [email protected]

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