Dr. Janice Barnes, founding partner of Climate Adaptation Partners, a NYC WBE emphasizing adaptation planning, advocacy, and partnership-building, prioritizes the relationship between climate change, design, and public health. She’s a member of the New York City Panel on Climate Change where she co-chairs the Health Working Group, a lead author for UCCRN ARC 3.3 COVID-19, Climate Change and Cities, a curriculum developer for UPENN on climate and health, and co-chair of the AIA National Resilience Advisory Group. Prior to starting CAP, Janice led the global resilience lab for Perkins+Will, working with 24 offices across multiple countries to advance resilience in concert with in-country initiatives. Janice has a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, a M.S.in Architecture from the University of Michigan, a M. Arch from Tulane University, a B. Arch. from the University of Tennessee and a Certificate in Municipal Finance from the University of Chicago and Lincoln Land.

Jeff Hicks co-founded Fernleaf on the vision that data can maximize the effectiveness and equity of climate adaptation. Through his work on Climate.gov, the US Climate Resilience Toolkit, and the National Climate Assessment, Jeff has helped to develop the foundational climate change indicators used nationally for decisions in government and beyond. Seeing a need to bridge these national insights to the scale of local decisions, Jeff has built Fernleaf’s practice to specialize in quantitative and solutions-oriented climate resilience assessments for local and regional stakeholders.

Prior to co-founding Fernleaf, Jeff helped develop several high-profile environmental assessment applications for NOAA, NASA, the US Forest Service, and Los Alamos National Laboratory; and for a global set of companies including Chevron, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Intel, Kodak, and Lockeed Martin.

Jeff is a product of the North Carolina public education system, having graduated from UNC Asheville and the NC School of Science and Mathematics. In his spare time, he’s likely wandering the forests of Western NC with his wife (who he met in Dendrology class), doing the bidding of his 3 cats, or writing music. He serves on the board of Irene Wortham Center in Asheville, a nonprofit dedicated to helping economically- and developmentally-challenged individuals live full lives.

Dr. Anne Waple is Founder of Earth’s Next Chapter – a membership organization and climate change consultancy. Anne’s current projects involve developing online courses (including ‘Climate Essentials for Small Business’), coaching climate and sustainability professionals, and supporting public engagement in how we collectively write a better next chapter! Previously, Anne spent over 12 years in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) where she led 'state of the climate' reports and managed NOAA's climate assessment program, also directing the Technical Support Unit for the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment. Anne then spent over three years as Vice President at Second Nature – a national non-profit – and established a climate resilience planning framework, adopted by well over 100 education institutions.