Chief Resilience Officer Named in Seattle

Last week, City of Seattle Mayor Ed Murray appointed Jessica Finn Coven as chief resilience officer (CRO), a new position created to lead citywide resilience building efforts to help Seattle prepare for catastrophic events like heat waves and floods – and "stresses" – longer-term pressures like climate change, income inequality and impacts from Seattle’s unprecedented growth. Seattle was selected to be a founding member of the 100 Resilient Cities by The Rockefeller Foundation, which provided a grant to support and fund the position.

NRMCA's Build with Strength campaign has been encouraging designers, planners and building owners to mitigate for the potential impacts of natural disasters as well as long-term building issues, such as wildfires, increased flooding and climate change. Concrete is the material of choice for disaster resilience, mitigating the disastrous effects of flood, seismic and high winds. Build with Strength supports our members with resources to help members and state affiliates advocate for resilient construction, including model legislation, talking points, public relations and other key strategies.