ATLANTA, GA – We believe resilience is all about being prepared. Our home state of Georgia agrees.

That’s why this spring, 70 representatives from local government, industry partners, utility companies, regional commissions, conservation organizations and more convened for a Statewide Resilience Assessment meeting in Atlanta. This one-day event set out with the goal of creating a roadmap to a more resilient Georgia in the face of natural disasters, aging infrastructure, funding constraints, and an ever-changing world.

Through a mix of panels and discussion groups, participants discussed regional resilience efforts in Georgia, the unique challenges and opportunities of each region, and their shared goals. 

An afternoon panel welcomed Summer Modelfino, Deputy Chief of Resilience, and Eric Fosmire, Chief of Staff and General Counsel, from their state Offices of Resilience in Maryland and South Carolina, respectively. The panel discussed solutions at community, regional and state levels, including creating management plans, adjusting goals to prioritize resilience and sustainable resource use, funding resilience projects, and engaging communities.

IRIS, with support from the Pew Charitable Trusts, has co-hosted several convenings throughout Georgia leading up to this one. The first convening–a statewide Resilience Roundtable–took place in December of 2023, where a group of over 60 attendees shared information on Georgia efforts to reduce risk and opportunities to build resilience. 

Since then, IRIS staff including Director Brian Bledsoe, Associate Research Scientist Lynn Abdouni, Senior Resilience Engineer Zak Ruehman and Senior Research Fellow Gabrielle Pierre have held regional resilience meetings in four regions of the state: the Northwest (held in Dalton, GA), Northeast & Middle (Macon, GA) Southwest (Albany, GA) and Southeast (Jesup, GA). For the Mountains region of North Georgia, they held virtual sessions that included participants from the Northeast and Atlanta Regional Commissions, agricultural agents from Cooperative Extension, and experts in viticulture, weather, and grazing lands.

Each regional convening inspired and informed focused discussions at the statewide meeting. Flooding was identified as a significant concern in all regions, especially following October 2024’s Hurricane Helene, with participants across the state noting that aging stormwater infrastructure and increasing development pressures are intensifying flood risks. Participants also underscored concerns about other weather hazards, particularly wind, extreme temperatures and droughts.

Noting these concerns, the recent statewide convening placed a particular emphasis on how to structure resilience efforts to strengthen both state-level governance and individual community risk management. The meeting ended with collaborative discussions around key elements that a statewide resilience initiative should include—based on participants’ experiences across sectors, regions and disciplines.

Next steps for IRIS’s Georgia Resilience team include compiling a final report on the state of resilience in Georgia, which will incorporate the wide breadth of expertise and insight gained from the convenings.

Thank you to our speakers for an inspiring day of discussion:

Kristiane Huber, Officer of U.S. Conservation, The Pew Charitable Trusts

John Asbell, Georgia Power Executive, Georgia Power

Mark Masters, Executive Director, Georgia Water Planning & Policy Center, Albany University

Stephen Bontekoe, Executive Director, Limestone Valley RC&D

Andrew Parker, City Administrator, City of Dalton

Alec Eaton, Emergency Management Agency Coordinator, City of Brunswick Fire and EMA 

Eric Fosmire, Chief of Staff and General Counsel, SC Office of Resilience

Summer Modelfino, Deputy Chief Resilience Officer, MD Office of Resilience

Lynn Abdouni, Associate Research Scientist, UGA IRIS

Gabrielle Pierre, Senior Research Fellow, UGA IRIS

Brian Bledsoe, Director, UGA IRIS

Zak Ruehman, Senior Resilience Engineer, UGA IRIS

And the rest of our attendees!