Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies Grantee and Bill Anderson Fund 2024 Convening

Wednesday, July 17 to Thursday, July 18, 2024
Location: Community Food Share, Louisville, Colorado

This convening brought together grantees of the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP) Disaster Relief & Recovery program and doctoral student fellows from the Bill Anderson Fund (BAF) for a second year in a row. The MACP Disaster Relief & Recovery program focuses on disaster preparedness, relief, and recovery, while the BAF aims to expand the number of underrepresented minority professionals in hazards and disaster research and practice. These two organizations seek to bridge the gap between research and practice through meaningful connections and partnerships. The main objective of this meeting was to build bridges and strengthen relationships between the grantees and fellows.

The 2023 convening laid the groundwork for future applied research projects and collaborations that leveraged the grantees' practical insights and the fellows' research skills to generate new knowledge that can inform improvements in the field. This year’s event aimed to foster new opportunities for partnership and learning. The Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, which has a longstanding relationship with both organizations, helped to coordinate this meeting for a second year. Therefore, the meeting was held in Colorado and again coincided with the Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop.

Meeting Photos

We hope you enjoy this selection of photos from the meeting of the BAF Fellows and the MACP grantees.

Expected Outcomes

Facilitated discussions, interactive presentations featuring MACP grantees, researchers, and local officials encouraged participants to collectively discuss themes of mutual interest and learn about how common recovery issues have unfolded within distinct local contexts. This year, participants identified pathways to collaboration while learning about recent disaster experiences in Colorado. They heard from local community members about their experiences with natural hazards as they learned about potential challenges and best practices in disaster relief and recovery.

These activities and experiences encouraged attendees to share ideas for applied, solutions-oriented research that can inform practice and that holds value for fellows, grantees, and the populations they collectively study and serve. Broadly, the event helped to sustain the momentum of existing collaborations and expanded the potential for future research and practice partnerships.

Agenda

Wednesday, July 17 (Day 1)

Location:
Community Food Share

TIME	LENGTH	TITLE	DESCRIPTION
1:00PM	30m	Gathering & Networking	Meet someone new to you! Exchange business cards
1:30PM	10m	Welcome
1:40PM	5m	Introductions & Announcements
1:45PM	30m	Icebreaker	What was your first experience with disaster, and what did you learn from it that you'll never forget?
2:15PM	45m	Who We Are, Where We Are	What's top of mind for the group? What do we want to take from our time in this place?
3:00PM	20m	Spotlight: Food Insecurity and Disaster Readiness and Response on the Front Range	Conversation with Community Food Share about their experiences in recent disasters
3:20PM	20m	Break
3:20PM	20m	Break
3:40PM	2h 00m	Panel Discussion: Manufactured & Mobile Homes as a Way Into Issues in Disaster Recovery for Vulnerable Populations	Housing continues to be a recovery barrier for any organization working in disasters. Objective of this session will highlight the issues around the Midwest's largest source of affordable housing: manufactured housing. Session will cover current research around mitigation for manufactured housing, legal issues for residents, and next steps for organizations that work with vulnerable populations within disasters.
5:40PM	20m	Networking Break
6:00PM	1h 30m	Dinner at Community Food Share	Catch up with your colleagues and make new connections!

Thursday, July 18 (Day 2)

Location:
Renaissance Flatiron Boulder Hotel (Morning Bus Departure at 8:15am)
Community Food Share (Morning Agenda)
Bus Tour, Various Locations (Late Morning, Lunch, and Afternoon)
Renaissance Flatiron Boulder Hotel (Evening Bus Drop-off, Dinner)

TIME	LENGTH	TITLE	DESCRIPTION
8:15AM	N/A	Bus Leave Renaissance Flatiron Boulder Hotel	Transportation from Renaissance Flatiron Boulder to Community Food Share
8:30AM	30m	Overnight Thoughts	Group invited to share reflections from previous day: what did you learn? What are you interested in learning about today?
9:00AM	1h 00m	Preparing to Learn from Place	Local leaders tee up issues the group will explore during bus tour
10:00AM	7h 30m	Bus Tour: Learning about Recovery Priorities from Disaster Impacted Communities	Morning – Louisville/Superior, CO Wildfire tour of Sagamore neighborhood and local resident/advocate who has tracked household rebuilding efforts Discussion of mental health considerations Late-morning/early afternoon – Lyons, CO Affordable housing after 2013 Front Range flooding - visit affordable housing developments in Lyons Discussion of flood buyout process and mitigation for future flooding Lunch at reconstructed park, LaVern Johnson Park Afternoon – Longmont, CO Resilient St. Vrain and Resiliency for All: equity considerations for building resilience to all natural hazards Dickens Farm Nature Area
5:30PM	1h 00m	Networking	Bus returns to Renaissance Hotel
6:30PM	2h 00m	Dinner at Renaissance Hotel	Group dinner in private room at Renaissance Hotel

Meeting Organizing Team

MACP Coordinators
Erin Dearborn Coryell, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
Bren Hampton, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies

Convening Advisors
Nancy Beers, Independent Consultant
Mark Buettner, Hackler Buettner LLC
Matt Hackler, Hackler Buettner LLC

Convening Coordinators and Research and Evaluation Team
Nnenia Campbell, Bill Anderson Fund and Natural Hazards Center
Mary Painter, Natural Hazards Center
Melissa Villarreal, Natural Hazards Center and Bill Anderson Fund

Project Principal Investigator
Lori Peek, Natural Hazards Center