Long-Term Disaster Recovery Planning in Florida

In this episode of the Resilience Roundtable podcast series, host
Jim Schwab, FAICP, speaks with Julie Dennis of OVID Solutions
about her experiences working as both an independent
disaster-recovery consultant and as a previous director of
community development for the Florida Department of Economic
Opportunity. Julie's vast experience in Florida saw her working
in the Florida Keys when Hurricane Irma hit; she says that the
department's focus on relationship building in the region helped
enormously to lay the groundwork for assisting post-disaster and
guiding redevelopment.


The conversation shifts into the personal when Julie shares her
experiences with Hurricane Michael, which destroyed her parents'
and other family members' homes in another part of the state: the
Florida Panhandle. Listeners hear not just about the harsh
reality of surviving in a post-disaster environment but also
about the moving displays of cooperation that Julie witnessed
again and again after the event. Julie and Jim discuss the work
she's focusing on now, including guiding some communities in the
Panhandle in their first-time planning work. Throughout the
episode, Julie shares invaluable insights from working in a state
that's on the nation's frontlines of disaster-recovery planning.