Resilient Futures: Climate & Health Justice in NYC is a four-part workshop series created by the NYC Preparedness & Recovery Institute (PRI) and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) to equip New Yorkers with practical tools at the intersection of climate change and public health, with equity at the center. Earlier sessions covered why climate change is a public health issue, emerging threats and preparedness, and how to communicate for impact. The final session, Civic Engagement and Call to Action, partnered with the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and moved the series from ideas to implementation.
The half-day, in-person workshop brought together leaders from government, academia, community organizations, and business to co-create next steps for climate and health justice. Held at The Interchurch Center, the program opened with welcoming remarks and a panel discussion before participants broke into four concurrent sessions focused on specific topics of interest.
Each breakout invited participants to share experiences, identify challenges, and develop practical strategies for collective action. The day concluded with report-backs and a discussion on how to carry this work forward beyond the workshop .
What the Day Delivered
“Civic engagement is an important framework for how we respond to the challenges we face. It reminds us that we are part of something bigger, and that we owe care to each other as members of a community.” — Julian L. Watkins, MD, Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of Health Equity Capacity Building, NYC DOHMH
The day started with a powerful panel conversation on how public health, climate action, and community resilience intersect. The discussion set the tone for the day, grounding the idea of preparedness in relationships, trust, and shared responsibility.
Panelists reflected on what it means to move from individual acts of sustainability to collective civic engagement, emphasizing that community power, not just policy, drives lasting change. They challenged attendees to reimagine preparedness as love and accountability in action, to see public health as something built through connection rather than compliance.
“Words like ‘capacity building’ make it sound like capacity doesn’t exist. Communities already have it. Our job is to support it, not to extract from it.” — Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, MBA, MPH, Director, National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Columbia Climate School, Columbia University.
The conversation also touched on the long history of community knowledge, the tension between research institutions and the neighborhoods they serve, and the urgent need to honor local expertise. Speakers discussed the limits of “capacity building” as a top-down framework, instead calling for shared leadership and equitable partnerships that center those most affected by climate and health crises.
“Communities remember how you left, not how you arrived. If you disappear and come back ten years later with a new idea, that memory shapes everything.” – Ann-Gel Palermo, DrPH, Project Director, East Harlem COAD
Following the panel, participants joined hands-on breakout discussions facilitated by Joshua DeVincenzo, Mitch Stripling, Julian Watkins, and Ann-Gel Palermo. Each group explored a different path toward civic action: Building Trust and Mobilizing Marginalized Communities, Storytelling and Advocacy for Climate Health Justice, Working with NYC DOHMH to Drive Climate and Health Justice in NYC, and the Action Lab Refinery, where ideas evolved into concrete next steps.
These discussions surfaced both challenges and optimism, from how to sustain trust in long-term partnerships to how to translate climate anxiety into meaningful action. The day concluded with report-backs from each group, weaving together a shared understanding that resilience in New York City depends on collaboration across communities, government, and institutions.
Why Resilient Futures matters
From the outset, Resilient Futures positioned climate justice as a public health imperative, inviting participants to build strategies and skills that move beyond the room and into neighborhoods across the city .
“Creating a thriving New York City means giving every neighborhood the tools to act on climate and health challenges,” said Mitch Stripling, MPA, Director, NYC Preparedness & Recovery Institute. “Our goal is to make resilience practical with real strategies, real tools, and real partnerships that protect people where they live.”
Across the four part series, the sessions moved from framing and threats to messaging and civic engagement, giving participants actionable tools and relationships to carry forward. PRI, in partnership with the NYC DOHMH and others, will continue supporting the work necessary to strengthen climate and health resilience and keep translating collaboration into sustained action across New York City.