Climate Action

THUR-B02: Funding the Future: Creative Financing to Support Climate-ready Communities

Thursday, September 17, 2026

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM PT

1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW

Speaker(s)

Chi Chi Truong, PE, WEDG, LEED Green Associate (he/him/his)

Senior Civil Engineer
Arup
New York, New York
Daniel G. Hernandez (he/him/his)

Project Manager
Baldwin Hills and Urban Watersheds Conservancy
Los Angeles, California
Amitabh Barthakur, AICP (he/him/his)

Partner
HR&A Advisors
Los Angeles, California

Discover new ways to fund climate‑ready design. This session reveals how designers, economists, and agencies are advancing resiliency through creative financing from collective action in Boston to Honolulu’s climate financial risk and funding roadmap to innovative community‑driven models in Los Angeles. Learn strategies you can apply to your own projects.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify innovative funding pathways that include shared‑investment models and avoided‑loss economics to advance resilient landscape projects when traditional public funding is constrained.
Evaluate how co‑benefits and climate‑risk data can be translated into compelling financial arguments that attract cross‑sector partners and unlock new investment.
Implement equitable engagement strategies that elevate community‑based organizations and support inclusive decision‑making in resilience project financing and delivery.
Develop a project‑ready approach for mapping stakeholders, funding mechanisms, and implementation roles to accelerate district‑scale and community‑driven climate resilience initiatives.