RPC Legislative Forum POSTPONED

Regional Resilience, Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020-11-10

The 2020 Rockingham Planning Commission Legislative Forum scheduled for Wednesday, November 18, 2020 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m is POSTPONED. We apologize for the late notice; however, it was necessary due to the illness of one of our key presenters. We will notify you of the rescheduled date for the webinar on Regional Resilience, Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic as soon as possible.

Thank you for your interest in our event. We appreciate your time and look forward to holding the event soon.

You are cordially invited to the 2020 Rockingham Planning Commission Legislative Forum being held Wednesday, November 18, 2020 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. We are not meeting in person at Unitil Headquarters as in years past. Instead, we will be presenting a Webinar on Regional Resilience, Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

RPC has assembled a panel of experts to discuss resilience and pandemic planning and lessons learned from our region’s response to the COVID-19 public health crisis. Julie LaBranche, RPC Senior Land Use Planner will lead off with a regional overview of community resilience. She will highlight ongoing regional resiliency efforts across a variety of municipal sectors. Theresa Walker, REDC Disaster Response Coordinator will provide examples of local resiliency efforts by municipalities and organizations. Darren Winham, the Town of Exeter’s Economic Development Director, will summarize a multi-faceted response to support “Main Street” business through the COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent recovery. The panel presentations will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions and share additional ideas.

Pre-registration for the Zoom webinar is required.

Speakers

Regional Resilience - Julie LaBranche, RPC Senior Planner

Julie has 21 years of planning experience with particular interest in climate change planning which she began while employed by the State of Maryland and as chair of the Chesapeake Bay Program Climate Workgroup (1999-2005). Her work in the region includes assisting communities with: development of Master Plans and policies; zoning ordinances and regulations relating to land use, natural resource protection, climate change, energy, and stormwater management; and integrating land use and transportation planning concepts.

Farms and Local Food Supply – Theresa Walker, REDC Disaster Recovery Coordinator and RPC Consulting Planner

Theresa has worked with the RPC and communities in the region since 1986 on a wide variety of land use and natural resource protection projects. She currently assists the RPC with hazard mitigation planning, water quality and quantity protection planning, and municipal Master Plans. In addition, Theresa works with the Regional Economic Development Center as the Disaster Response Coordinator, assisting municipalities with resiliency and pandemic response planning.

Economics: Main Street Resiliency – Darren Winham, Town of Exeter Economic Development Director

Darren has two decades of economic development experience at the local, state, county and federal levels. Darren is the Economic Development Director for Exeter, NH and owner of DarWin Dynamic Solutions, small economic development consultancy.