Klein Conference Room

Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall, room A510

66 West 12th Street

As climate impacts intensify, local governments are recognizing that social resilience and ecological resilience are deeply intertwined. This session explores how municipal care systems, ranging from community support networks and social safety nets to public health and caretaking services, function as critical, frontline climate infrastructure. By centering equity, gender justice, and local governance, speakers will share experiences in how investing in care services and infrastructure and community well-being strengthens urban adaptability, protects vulnerable populations during extreme climate events, and builds long-term institutional resilience from the ground up.

Speakers & Program

Opening Remarks: Michael A. Cohen (The New School / Observatory on Latin America)

Moderator: Marina Barros (Executive Director, Instituto Alziras) 

Panelists:

Domenica Damião (Municipal Secretary of Housing, Environment, Climate and Energy – Francisco Morato, Brazil)

Aline Rocha Junqueira (Municipal Secretary of Sustainability and Climate Change– Juiz de Fora, Brazil)

Flavia Bellaguarda (Special Advisor for COP30, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change) 

Alex Gordon (Manager, Policy and Development, WEDO)

Diego de Leon (Out for Sustainability)

Jacqueline Leduc Estrada (Programme Officer Global Alliance for Care)

Additional speakers to be announced

Co-Sponsoring Institutions:

Observatory on Latin America (OLA) / The New School

Instituto Alziras

Frente Nacional de Prefeitas e Prefeitos (FNP / National Front of Mayors)

With the Support of:

Global Alliance for Care

Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)

Out 4 Sustainability

Institute for Climate and Society (iCS)

French Development Agency (AFD)

https://event.newschool.edu/climateweekhub2026

While this event is hybrid and we encourage in-person participation, here is the zoom link: https://NewSchool.zoom.us/j/98937887143?pwd=nQ7exwJHbtE9zJCVwgbdaaSJqZAbmS.1