Host: Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment
Region: Washington
Openings: 2
Project Focus: Climate Adaptation (e.g.,sea level rise planning, environmental justice, climate migration planning), Climate Mitigation, Disaster Response and Preparedness / Emergency Management (e.g.,flood prevention, wildfire prevention, coastal protection)
Skills Needed: Community Engagement, Project Management, Community Outreach, Environmental Justice,

Remote or On-Site Placement

On-site

Service Needs & Plans

The CivicSpark Fellow(s) will aid the Gonzaga Climate Institute, specifically the Climate Resilience Program Coordinator in executing the goals of the Climate Resilience Project. Capacity needs include staffing to carry out research, conduct community outreach, and offer general office support. The environmental equity issues addressed are the disproportionate impacts of extreme heat and wildfire smoke on vulnerable populations in the Spokane community.

Project Description

1. The overarching goal of the Climate Resilience Project is to save lives from extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change in Spokane, namely extreme heat and wildfire smoke.
2. The Fellow(s) will help oversee the establishment of Community Resilience Hubs which are community centers that aim to offer refuge to community members during extreme weather events. Fellow(s) will research hub needs, identify and communicate with potential hubs, help develop and carry out training for resilience hub staff, and adapt to hub needs as they arise. The Fellow(s) will also help to manage the Community Resilience Planning Group, a group of community members committed to informing smoke and heat readiness planning on a city-wide scale.
3. Project outcomes include the establishment of a network with at least ten Level 1 (Engagement) hubs and four Level 2 (Relief) hubs.
4. Having a Fellow or two on the team will greatly expand our staff capacity to pursue this project. After nineteen Spokane community members passed away during the 2021 Heat Dome in the Northwest, it became obvious that establishing trusted community centers where community members can seek refuge from extreme weather is of great importance to keep people safe.

Desired Skills

We would love a Fellow with GIS knowledge, but we can also provide training as needed. Fellows that speak Russian, Spanish, or Marshallese are encouraged to apply.

Organization & Workplace Highlights

Originally founded in 2021, the Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment provides resources and opportunities to students, faculty, community members, and leaders in the inland northwest to meet the unprecedented challenges facing humanity and the wider natural environment in the 21st century. The Climate Resilience Project specifically aims to educate community members on extreme heat and wildfire resilience while building community resources and infrastructure to keep people safe. The resilience team currently consists of the Director, Program Coordinator, two CivicSpark Fellows, and two student workers (Climate Project Assistants). Workplace culture is relaxed but inspired to be continuing this good and important work, and the Program Coordinator works hard to ensure team dynamics are healthy and thriving.

We demonstrate our commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion by centering historically disadvantage communities in our work. Our research on urban heat islands shows that communities of color and low income communities are disproportionately impacted by heat in Spokane, and we intentionally try to center those communities in our work.

We aim to offer an abundance of professional development opportunities for our staff, including frequent trainings provided by the university, regular check-ins with supervisors, and the opportunity to gain skills like using GIS maps.

Community Highlights

Gonzaga is located in the beautiful city of Spokane, and the Climate Institute serves the greater Spokane community with a particular focus on community members disproportionately impacted by climate change. Spokane is known for being “close to nature” with many hiking trails and water activities in or close to the city. Our current CivicSpark Fellows enjoy skiing at Mt. Spokane in the winter and biking some of the many bike trails when the snow has melted. Spokane is a mid-sized city with a small town culture, thriving diverse neighborhoods, good public transit, and beautiful parks.