Community Change Grant Technical Assistance
Climate Resilience Planning & Community Engagement
This work advanced community-led planning, grant readiness, and implementation capacity, with a focus on climate action and pollution-reduction strategies, including resilience hubs, green infrastructure, healthy and energy-efficient housing, heat and flood mitigation, workforce development, and environmental health.
Impact & Outcomes
Advanced community-led, site-based climate resilience projects in St. Thomas, USVI and Northwest Roanoke, VA
Strengthened local capacity to pursue EPA Community Change funding
Translated frontline priorities into grant-ready resilience strategies
Facilitated equitable engagement between communities, designers, and federal partners
Positioned community organizations for long-term investment in heat, flood, food, and environmental health solutions
My Role: Climate Resilience Specialist & Plan Engage Lead, Adaptation International
Year: 2024–2025
Location: Remote | St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands & Northwest Roanoke, Virginia
What I Did
Through structured technical assistance, I supported communities in shaping competitive grant narratives, aligning design and engineering concepts with lived experience, and navigating complex federal requirements, strengthening local capacity to pursue long-term investment and sustain climate resilience efforts beyond a single funding cycle.
Served as Plan Engage Lead, coordinating technical assistance, community engagement, and grant alignment under Adaptation International.
Facilitated multi-stakeholder meetings with CBOs, residents, designers, engineers, and EPA technical staff.
Led and supported site visits and design charrettes to assess climate risks, assets, and project feasibility.
Guided communities in aligning project concepts with EPA Community Change evaluation criteria, including equity, engagement, and climate impact.
Supported development of design narratives, co-benefits, and engagement strategies suitable for federal grant submission.
Led community-centered technical assistance and grant development for frontline communities in St. Thomas, USVI and Northwest Roanoke, VA to support applications to the EPA’s Community Change Grant program.
Serving as Plan & Engage Lead, I coordinated sustained engagement across community-based organizations, residents, designers, engineers, and federal partners facilitating regular planning meetings, site visit preparation, and design charrettes to translate community priorities into grant-ready, place-based climate resilience projects.
Client
We Grow Food Inc. (USVI)
Community-based organizations in Northwest Roanoke, VA
Funder
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Community Change Grants (IRA)
Partners
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands:
We Grow Food Inc.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute as part of the Caribbean Climate Adaptation Network
ONE Architecture & Urbanism; Elevate Engineering
Northwest Roanoke:
Northwest Roanoke Residents
The Melrose-Rugby Neighborhood Forum (MRNF)
The Hope Center, Antwyne Calloway
Virginia Tech, City of Roanoke
Roanoke Redevelopment Housing Authority
ONE Architecture & Urbanism
Farr Associates
Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc. (JMT)