Resilient Communities Webinar Series

Part of the Local Government Education programming series, Resilient Communities webinars are a result of University of Illinois Extension and Prairie Rivers Network's collaboration to build capacity for technical assistance and education aimed to help communities navigate energy- and environment-related funding opportunities, provide guidance on community inclusion, and lead community-specific strategic planning. This outreach should help communities secure and manage resources to address legacy pollution, invest in clean energy technologies, and more.
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Submitting this registration form will register you for the Resilient Communities webinar series, including both the upcoming program listed below, as well as future programs in the series:

Ready for the Next Outage: Energy Resilience in Action  
Tuesday, June 23, at 12 noon CT
Is your community prepared for the next power outage? Join this webinar to learn how your community can prepare your energy infrastructure for extreme weather events. EnergySense Resilience Center will introduce the concept of energy resilience, share examples from communities across Illinois, and discuss how climate action plans can help communities prepare for and respond to energy disruptions. Collective Energy will highlight strategies for rural communities, including best practices from their work with rural health centers, and explore how technologies such as solar paired with battery storage can support local energy systems. 
 

Todd has led EnergySense since 2024, directing the staff of 16 to successful completion of $2.5M+ per year in externally funded programs and is responsible for oversight of the staff and the delivery of the unit’s energy, climate, and sustainability programs. Todd has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For the past 25+ years, he has focused his career to provide energy and environmental technical support for communities, institutions, businesses, and government agencies. Current and recent work includes energy audits for buildings and water treatment processes, energy and climate action planning for large government agencies and for communities, solar feasibility assessment and implementation support, and program launch and operational support for statewide clean energy workforce and contractor development programs.

Damon Taugher | Vice President, Operations and Partnerships, Collective Energy

Damon serves as Vice President of Operations & Partnerships at Collective Energy, working with more than 400 health centers nationwide to develop solar microgrids.

Damon has worked with health centers for over 20 years. Damon began his career at nonprofit Direct Relief in 2003 after graduating with honors from the University of California Los Angeles. He went on to found Direct Relief’s U.S.-based work, supporting health centers and other nonprofit medical providers, which became the first nonprofit organization licensed to distribute prescription medicines to all 50 states. That program raised over $100 million in grants and operating funds and distributed over $1 billion in medical aid. 

 

If you will need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please email mdelany2@illinois.edu. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs.

For more information on the Resilient Communities Webinar Series, contact: Linda Derhak, National Resources, Energy, and Environment, Illinois Extension, at lderhak2@illinois.edu