SFIC WEEKLY ONLINE BRIEFING FOR FAITH LEADERS
PREPARING FOR SEASONAL HAZARDS
OF EXTREME HEAT AND WILDFIRE SMOKE

Thursday, June 17, 2021
8:30 am - 9:45 am

ZOOM REGISTRATION
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this extra step to model best practices for holding virtual meetings).


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As San Francisco prepares to ease COVID-19 precautions, looming on the horizon are other disasters that will demand attention. Climate change-related extreme heat events and wildfire smoke events are increasing in both frequency and intensity—and these events have serious health impacts, especially for the same communities that already suffer the greatest health burden. In this week's Online Briefing for Leaders, hosted by the San Francisco Interfaith Council and supported by the COVID Command Center's Joint information Center Virtual Outreach Team, the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Department of Emergency Management, and Office of Resilience and Capital Planning will provide background on San Francisco extreme heat and wildfire smoke events, identify actions you can undertake to prepare for and respond to extreme heat and wildfire smoke this summer, and outline a new initiative to implement medium-to-long-term strategies in order that the City may be more resilient to these events in the years to come. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY ONLINE BRIEFING MODERATOR

Michael G. Pappas, M.Div.
Executive Director, San Francisco Interfaith Council

WELCOME & READING OF SFIC STATEMENT

Kaushik Roy
Executive Director, Shanti Project

REFLECTIVE MOMENT

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern
Senior Minister

(Introduction of Guest Presenter and Presentation
by SFIC Executive Director Michael Pappas)
Adrienne Bechelli
Deputy Director
Adrienne Bechelli is a Deputy Director for the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management. She directs response operations, policy implementation, hazard and threat analysis, training and exercise development and planning. Prior to being appointed as a Deputy Director, she served as the Department's Chief of Staff. In her previous City and County of San Francisco employment, she also spent six years at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission as an agency planner, trainer and emergency analyst where she managed the Department’s emergency training and exercise program. Adrienne is an experienced emergency manager who has been deployed to respond to multiple emergencies affecting the San Francisco Bay Area. She has led the activation of the incident command system in both planned and emergency incidents, including leading San Francisco's response to COVID-19. She has spoken throughout California and Nevada on best practices during emergency incidents in the utility sector. Adrienne is a San Francisco native and graduate of St. Ignatius College Preparatory. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco.
Alex Morrison
Resilience GIS Analyst
Co-Manager of the Heat and Air Quality Resilience Project
Alex Morrison is a Resilience GIS Analyst for the Office of Resilience and Capital Planning (ORCP). He supports the climate and seismic resilience efforts of ORCP with through planning and mapping support. This includes supporting the Hazard and Climate Resilience Plan (HCR), the Heat and Air Quality Resilience Project (HAQR), and the Concrete Building Retrofit Program.
Tiffany Rivera
Deputy Director
Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Branch
Tiffany Rivera is the Deputy Director for Emergency Preparedness and Response Branch of the San Francisco Department of Health. Tiffany helps lead DPH's planning and operational responses to public health emergencies. She also oversees the County's Hospital Preparedness Program, which ensures that all hospitals and healthcare facilities are prepared to respond to disasters. Before taking this role, Tiffany spent 10 years as a Trauma/Emergency Room Nurse and was heavily involved in hospital disaster preparedness.
PANELISTS

Allison Biddinger, Disaster Program Manager

Derek B. Gaskin, Director
Department of Safety & Security – Risk Management

Rev. Hans Hoch, M.Div., Interfaith Chaplain
San Francisco Towers, a Front Porch Community

CLOSING REMARKS

SFIC Executive Director Michael Pappas

The SFIC extends special thanks to the COVID Command Center's Joint Information Center Virtual Outreach Team for facilitating technology support 
for this weekly series of Online Briefings for Faith Leaders.

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is a Cooperation Circle of the United Religions Initiative. 
San Francisco Interfaith Council | https://www.sfinterfaithcouncil.org/