WA Climate Policy Panel: How is Climate Change Driving Policy Changes in Washington State and Are We Resilient Enough?
The Lands Council invites you to a policy panel discussion with some of Washington’s leaders featuring Lisa Brown, Director of Commerce; Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands; Michael Pellicciotti, State Treasurer; Dr. Umair Shah, Secretary of Health; and Amanda Parrish, Executive Director for The Lands Council. The panel will be moderated by Naghmana Sherazi, Climate Justice Program Director at The Lands Council.
Climate change is already affecting us worldwide. What will living and working in Washington State be like by the year 2030, or by 2050? What is being done to help our overburdened, aging, and at-risk/vulnerable communities? And to address health disparities? What are we doing to diversify our sources of income to ensure our economy is strong and resilient? Will our farmers and lands be able to address growing demands on food production? Do we have the land or will we need to encroach on public forests and lands? What are we doing to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, reduce our carbon footprint, and is it even possible to get to net zero carbon?
If we want to make a difference, we need to become better educated, create awareness, and change our habits (Meyers, Brett, 2022). Decisions we make today will affect every single aspect of our lives in the very near future. Climate change plays a big role in policies shaping the landscape, and the condition of our world that we leave for future generations. Our communities have distinct and dire needs that must be addressed. We must acknowledge climate change is driving the need for policies to mitigate the effects on our local population and the area we live and work in.
These and other thoughts will be at the root of our discussion at the panel. We hope you will join us and those driving these policies in Washington, on November 15th from 10:15 – 11:45 AM via Zoom.
If you have questions or, would like to partner with us on this venture, please email nsherazi@landscouncil.org. If you would like to ensure that we continue to bring such discussions to you, please make a donation to our Climate Justice Program here: www.landscouncil.org/donate.
Meet our speakers:
Lisa Brown
Dr. Lisa J. Brown is an economist and educator serving as the Director of the Washington State Department of Commerce. She served in both houses of the Washington State Legislature for 20 years, including 8 years as the first Democratic female majority leader of the Washington State Senate, representing District 3. From 2013 to 2017, Dr. Brown was Chancellor of Washington State University, Spokane where she led the health science campus. She currently resides in Spokane.
Hilary Franz
Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz leads Washington state’s wildfire fighting force and manages nearly 6 million acres of public lands – from coastal waters and aquatic reserves, to working forests and farms, commercial developments, and unparalleled recreation areas.
Commissioner Franz is committed to ensuring our public lands are healthy and productive, both today and for future generations. She has led efforts to protect our communities and environment from the impacts of a changing climate, increased development, and wildfire.
Franz has also prioritized supporting local communities, both urban and rural. The lands she manages sustainably generate hundreds of millions of dollars for schools and public services, like libraries and hospitals. And she has allocated millions of dollars to spark economic opportunities in struggling rural 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
Amanda Parrish
After studying comparative ecology and conservation in Ecuador, Amanda Parrish earned a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of San Francisco, California. She has worked in watershed restoration at The Lands Council since 2009, working in forestry with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in Northern Idaho before that. In 2021 she became The Lands Council's new Executive Director, and maintains that equity and collective action must drive our search for solutions to the problems that come with a changing climate.
Mike Pellicciotti
Mike Pellicciotti (Pelleh-chee-otti) was elected Washington’s 24th State Treasurer in 2020. As Washington’s chief financial officer, Mike is dedicated to financial transparency, protecting Washington’s financial health, and advancing policies that best serve our state’s working families and retirees. Before becoming Treasurer, he served two terms in the Washington House of Representatives, where he served on House fiscal committees, including the Capital Budget Committee. In the legislature, Mike fought for more equitable and open government, passing laws to get “dark money” out of politics and requiring that the legislature provide its public records. Before representing the 30th Legislative District of South King and North Pierce Counties, Mike was an assistant attorney general who managed a state unit that combatted economic fraud in Washington. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, and he received his Master’s in Rural Development as a United States Fulbright Scholar, where he studied economic development. His Juris Doctor is from Gonzaga University and is a lifelong fan of Gonzaga Basketball.
Dr. Umair A. Shah
Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, was appointed Secretary of Health for the great State of Washington by Governor Jay Inslee in December 2020. He is the first Asian-American physician of South Asian descent to serve in this leadership role in the history of Washington, home to over 7.6 million people.
His appointment came at a difficult time amid the severe winter wave of COVID-19 and only a few days after arrival of vaccines into the state. In assuming this leadership position at the nationally respected Washington State Department of Health, Dr. Shah made the transition from fighting the pandemic on the front lines of response in Texas as Executive Director and Local Health Authority for Harris County Public Health (HCPH) – serving the nation’s 3rd largest county with nearly five million people.
Dr. Shah earned his BA (philosophy) from Vanderbilt University; his MD from the University of Toledo Health Science Center; and completed an Internal Medicine Residency, Primary Care/General Medicine Fellowship, & MPH (management), at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. He also completed a global health policy internship at World Health Organization headquarters in Switzerland.
Upon completing training, Dr. Shah began a distinguished twenty-year career as an emergency department physician at Houston’s Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center. Following his passion, he started his formal public health journey in 2003 as Chief Medical Officer at Galveston County’s Health District before joining HCPH to oversee its clinical health system and infectious disease portfolio. Under his leadership, the agency won numerous national awards including Local Health Department of the Year from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), representing the nation’s 3,000 local health departments.
Dr. Shah has held several leadership positions with respected entities like the Association for State and Territorial Health Officials; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention; American Public Health Association (APHA); Trust for America’s Health; Network for Public Health Law; Texas Medical Association; and served as president of NACCHO (and its Texas affiliate). He has testified before the U.S. Congress, the state legislatures of both Texas and Washington, and responded to a multitude of large-scale emergencies both domestically and globally.
For his work, he has received numerous awards including the distinguished Milton and Ruth Roemer Prize for creativity in public health; APHA’s Public Service Award for Outstanding Service in Emergency Health; and the NACDS Foundation’s Excellence in Patient Care Award. One of his more lighthearted recognitions was being named ‘Ten Real Houstonians We’ll Need the Most in the Zombie Apocalypse’.
Over his career, Dr. Shah has been a clinician, innovator, educator, and leader in health. He has been a champion for underserved communities, at the intersection of health and healthcare, while charting a fresh course in health by centering on the cornerstone values of equity, innovation, and engagement.