Reducing wildfire risk through community action
With out-of-control wildfire seasons becoming the norm and threatening homes on both sides of the Cascades, a fully funded and comprehensive wildfire strategy is needed. Annual acres burned in Washington have grown from an average of 189,000 in the 2000’s to an average of 488,000 over the last five years. In 2020 alone, 812,000 acres burned.
This presentation will explore how a community-based social marketing framework, action-based resilience strategies, and a coalition of local partnerships can (and did) motivate residents across Washington to take action to reduce wildfire risk and help protect their homes, properties, and communities.
Hilary Franz | Commissioner of Public Lands
Elected in 2016, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz protects and manages nearly six million acres of public lands in Washington State – from coastal waters and aquatic reserves, to working forests and farms, to commercial developments and recreation areas. Commissioner Franz is committed to ensuring our public lands are healthy and productive, both today and for future generations. She is leading the push to make Washington’s lands resilient in the face of climate change, investing in carbon sequestration and clean energy with wind, solar, and geothermal infrastructure. As the leader of our state's largest wildfire fighting force, she has pushed for new strategies, innovations, and resources to protect our communities. To restore wildfire resilience in our forests, Commissioner Franz developed a 20-year Forest Health Strategic Plan. This plan will make more than one million acres of forest healthier and more resistant to wildfires – a scale and pace that is unprecedented. And she has prioritized investments in our rural communities, allocating millions of dollars to spark economic opportunities in struggling communities. She knows that our working lands – and the communities that depend on them for family-wage jobs – are integral to our success as a state, and she is investing in their success. Hilary is a third-generation farmer and small forest landowner and has raised three wonderful boys.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and a juris doctor from Northeastern University Law School.
Molly Brumley | Senior Vice President, C+C
Through her 20+ year career, Molly has helped organizations of all sizes connect and inspire customers by finding the one unexpected idea that makes their brand standout. Whether it’s producing an attention-grabbing national event for Alaska Airlines to own the Great American Eclipse from the sky, positioning Puget Sound Energy as the go-to utility partner to help small businesses during the pandemic or launching a campaign to motivate residents to take steps to reduce wildfire risk for Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Molly is there with a solution. She’s also passionate about media relations. Molly’s first career was working in a newsroom where she learned the art of storytelling. This has translated into her unique ability to find just the right story for the right reporter—gaining national and regional attention for groundbreaking client announcements. In short, Molly is obsessed with results and bringing together teams and resources to deliver integrated campaigns that are memorable and drive engagement and adoption. She has won numerous national industry awards for her work including PR Week U.S. awards and multiple Silver Anvil awards from the Public Relations Society of America.
Registrants will receive an email regarding Zoom Log-In information. This will be sent closer to the Forum date.
