South Central Climate Resilience Catalyst

Co-led community-centered climate resilience engagement with Dr. Cassandra Jean in the Rio Grande Valley and northern Louisiana through the South Central Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP), supporting frontline organizations in identifying climate priorities, adaptation strategies, and pathways for long-term investment. This work prioritized non-Western approaches to climate adaptation, centering lived experience, organizing traditions, and narrative power as essential resilience practices.

The project integrated community organizing, participatory research, visual storytelling, and applied climate science to ensure that data, tools, and technical assistance strengthened rather than extracted from community-defined goals. In parallel, the work contributed to broader field-building efforts by strengthening cross-regional learning, supporting emerging leaders, and advancing equitable climate adaptation practices beyond individual projects.

What I did:

• Frontline Outreach & Relationship-Building

  • Fostered communication among under-resourced communities, local organizations, faith institutions, and regional networks, supporting sustained collaboration across South Texas and North Louisiana.

  • Conducted virtual and in-person interviews with frontline leaders and organizations to identify climate risks, priorities, and capacity needs.

  • Applied an intersectional environmental justice framework to assess how climate impacts intersect with housing, labor, health, youth development, and environmental harm.

• Community-Based Research & Assessment

  • Applied interviews and participant observation to understand climate risks, social vulnerabilities, and existing community assets.

  • Supported participatory storytelling approaches including PhotoVoice, oral history, and visual documentation to capture community experiences of climate impacts and resilience.

  • Conducted place-based resilience assessments integrating climate science, environmental justice, and community knowledge to inform adaptation strategies.

• Participatory Storytelling & PhotoVoice

  • Co-developed and supported a PhotoVoice and visual storytelling project with Planet Texas 2050 and Voces Unidas documenting extreme heat, water insecurity, environmental contamination, and community resilience.

  • Guided participants in using photography, video, and oral history as tools for evidence-building, advocacy, and narrative change.

  • Framed storytelling as witnessing, record-keeping, and power-building, ensuring community knowledge was elevated alongside data.

• Workshops, Technical Assistance & Project Pathways

  • Co-designed and facilitated community workshops to validate findings, align priorities, and co-develop place-based resilience strategies.

  • Supported communities in shaping place-based project pathways, including water justice, heat mitigation, youth leadership, environmental restoration, disaster resilience hubs, green infrastructure, and youth workforce development.

  • Identified technical assistance, funding, and partnership pathways to advance community-led climate resilience initiatives.

  • Provided technical assistance for long-term climate resilience planning, accounting for short-term political, financial, and capacity constraints.

Role
Climate Resilience Specialist, Adaptation International

Year
January 2023 – December 2025

Funder
South Central Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP), funded by NOAA’s Climate Adaptation Partnerships (CAP/RISA) Network

Partners
University of Oklahoma (OU), Louisiana State University (LSU). Community-based organizations in the Rio Grande Valley and Shreveport, Faith-based organizations and churches serving as trusted community anchors, Frontline environmental justice, worker-led, and youth-serving groups

Location
Rio Grande Valley, Texas (Brownsville, Hidalgo County, Lower RGV)

Shreveport, Louisiana (North Louisiana)