Dante (self‑identified as Dante Chester), climate resilience program manager at the Gonzaga Climate Institute, presented the Spokane Community Resilience Collaborative’s work to develop community‑driven resilience plans for extreme heat and wildfire smoke on Jan. 8.

Dante said the collaborative—formed in 2024 and now with about 15 member organizations—published separate draft heat (June 2025) and smoke (July 2025) plans and is revising them into a single resilience plan to make actions more actionable and aligned with the city’s Sustainability Action Plan. The working draft currently lists five goals, 13 strategies and 36 draft actions; a key change is adding a research section to identify topics requiring study (for example, whether ventilation corridors are appropriate for Spokane).

Dante said Version 2 is expected by May–June 2026 and emphasized that the collaborative is seeking named implementation partners and accountability metrics so actions have responsible organizations and timelines. Sarah Nas, the city’s director of emergency management, described the city’s role as a funding and coordination partner for community organizations during weather‑related events and emphasized the need to secure sustainable funding to move plans from recommendation to implementation.

Board members praised the collaborative’s community‑led approach and asked several practical questions about crosswalks with the comprehensive plan, funding, expanding hazard coverage (for example, extreme cold), and how to involve partners such as credit unions or realtors in outreach. Dante and Sarah encouraged organizations that want to participate to submit letters of intent; the collaborative reviews new members and votes to add them.