The Puget Sound Climate Preparedness Collaborative will be attending and presenting at the 2026 National Adaptation Forum between May 12–14 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The National Adaptation Forum is a biennial convening for adaptation professionals to innovate, network, and focus on established and emerging climate adaptation issues of the day. You can find more about the Forum here.

You can find the Collaborative at the following presentations/sessions:

Margaret A. Davidson Networking Reception & Poster Session 

Tuesday, May 12th, 5:15pm–7pm 

Poster: Puget Sound Climate Preparedness Collaborative Community Needs Survey Results and Analysis (P24) 

As part of the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge (CRRC) grant awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Collaborative launched a Community Needs Survey to understand the status of local work on climate preparedness and to identify opportunities for Collaborative support of that work. Further, insights from these responses will be used to inform the support provided to the Small Communities Cohort Program (SCCP) which is designed to support community-identified climate preparedness projects in nine to 12 smaller and less-resourced jurisdictions and Tribes in the Puget Sound region. 

Results of this survey offer insights into how communities and Tribes in the Puget Sound region are approaching climate preparedness and the challenges they face in doing so. The survey confirms barriers identified in the literature, such as limited staff/capacity, uncertain funding, and institutional complexity. Further analysis compares the results between those of small and large communities. 

Collaborative Speaker(s): 

Emma Van Orsow 

King County, Department of Natural Resources and Parks, NOAA Coastal Resilience Fellow 

Adriana Apintiloaiei 

King County, Department of Natural Resources and Parks, NOAA Coastal Resilience Fellow 

Poster: Hot Environments, Cool Collaboratives: Regional Approaches to Extreme Heat Resilience (P44) 

The United States is already experiencing an increase in deadly and destructive extreme heat, including extended heat waves and heat emergencies, and this is further exacerbated by climate change. Like flooding, extreme heat doesn’t stop at municipal or government boundaries, and solutions require an inter-sectoral, multi-scale regional approach. This poster showcases regional approaches to planning for, preparing for, and adapting to climate-driven heat. King County will be represented through their participation in the Collaborative on Extreme Heat Events which includes King County (Washington), Multnomah County (Oregon) and Vancouver (British Columbia). Other regions included in the poster are Metro Boston, MA; LA County, CA; and San Diego, CA. 

Collaborative Speaker(s): 

Daaniya Iyaz 

King County, Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Climate Preparedness Project Manager 

How do you Prepare Colder Places for Hotter Weather?  

Wednesday, May 13th, 11am–12:30pm 

More information about the session here.

In this session, King County, Santa Clara, and San Francisco will lead attendees in small group exercises to identify and address unique barriers to heat adaptation in cooler cities, and present lessons learned from their own initiatives. By the end of this session, attendees will have new insights on how to collaborate with health practitioners to build capacity through (1) expanding networks, (2) leveraging data, (3) changing behaviors, and (4) identifying interventions with health co-benefits. More information about the session here.

Collaborative Speaker(s): 

Daaniya Iyaz 

King County, Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Climate Preparedness Project Manager 

Implementing Sea Level Rise Solutions: Lessons from the Field

Wednesday, May 13th, 4PM–5:30PM 

More information about the session here.

As more communities move from planning to practice, the realities of implementing climate adaptation actions are becoming increasingly evident. This session will explore some of the practical realities of implementing local sea level rise projects and how communities are adjusting their approaches in response. Through case studies and discussion, climate adaptation practitioners from Seattle, Washington; Charleston County, South Carolina; the Port of San Francisco; and Olympia, Washington will share how they are working with communities and elected officials on implementing sea level rise solutions, lessons learned to date, and how they are positioning their work going forward. Session participants will learn how: 

• Seattle is prioritizing water resilience in neighborhoods most vulnerable to sea level rise-related flooding and beginning to implement solutions in partnership with these communities; 

• Charleston County is standardizing regional hazard vulnerability data and shared metrics across 16 municipalities to streamline the deployment of multi-jurisdictional infrastructure and ensure equitable access to resilience resources;  

• The Port of San Francisco is completing the San Francisco Waterfront Flood Study and advancing projects to increase the resilience of its waterfront; and  

• Olympia is exploring options for financing sea level rise projects outlined in the Olympia Sea Level Rise Response Plan that are designed to alleviate coastal flooding in Washington State’s capital. 

Collaborative Speaker(s): 

Lara Whitely Binder 

King County, Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Climate Preparedness Manager 

Natalie Weiss 

City of Olympia, Climate Resilience Coordinator 

Ann Grodnik-Nagle 

City of Seattle / Seattle Public Utilities, Senior Advisor, Climate Adaptation and Built Environment