TownGreen, the Cape Ann non-profit focused on climate awareness education for Cape Ann, is presenting "An Evening with Melissa Hoffer, Massachusetts Climate Chief," from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, at Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport.
As one of the first official acts on her first full day in office, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced last year a new Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience within the governor's office and secretariat-level climate officers—including tapping Hoffer to oversee the office in a position reporting directly to the Governor—within each of the state's executive offices to develop agency-specific plans to advance climate policies.
Among Healey’s climate resilience goals is achieving a 100 percent clean electricity supply by 2030 and electrifying public transportation with clean power by 2040.
Hoffer is an alumna of President Joe Biden's Environmental Protection Agency and Healey's Energy and Environment Bureau in the state's attorney general's office. Hoffer’s role includes advising Gov. Healey her on policy matters, legislation, regulations, initiatives, capital investments and funding opportunities related to climate.
“We are very excited that Chief Hoffer is visiting Cape Ann to talk about state-level climate initiatives as well as how those initiatives apply to our Cape Ann coastal communities,” says Maureen Aylward, TownGreen’s executive director. “Climate change is accelerating, and this is most pronounced in coastal areas like ours. This is a chance for our community leaders and residents to come together to learn about Chief Hoffer’s approach and climate leadership.”
During her visit to Cape Ann, Hoffer is expected to address state-level policy approaches to coastal adaptation; how to look practically at sea level rise regionally for municipalities and residents as they engage in challenging conversations like prioritization (in other words, what to save and what to let go as change happens); and share details on “ResilientCoasts Initiative,” a holistic strategy to address climate change impacts led by the state’s Office of Coastal Zone Management.
Hoffer will be joined by Jonathan Schrag, Deputy Chief of Climate and Director of Investment for Decarbonization and Resilience, who will present on climate financing, specifically how the state is exploring ways to help municipalities find the money to pay for climate initiatives. Hoffer and Schrag will be available for Q&A after their presentations.
The program is free and open to the public. Registration is required through EventBrite.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the event is general admission seating.
