Keeping Cool With Jane Gilbert, Chief Heat Officer, Miami-Dade County Artwork

Take It To The Board with Donna DiMaggio Berger

Think you know what community association life is all about? Think again. Residents must obey the rules, directors must follow the law, and managers must keep it all running smoothly! Take It to the Board explores the reality of life in a condominium, cooperative or homeowners’ association, what’s really involved in serving on its board, and how to maintain that ever-so-delicate balance of being legally compliant and community spirited. Leading community association attorney Donna DiMaggio Berger acknowledges the balancing act without losing her sense of humor as she talks with a variety of association leaders, experts, and vendors about the challenges and benefits of the community association lifestyle. If you've got questions, Take It To The Board with Donna DiMaggio Berger - We Speak Condo & HOA!

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Take It To The Board with Donna DiMaggio Berger

Keeping Cool With Jane Gilbert, Chief Heat Officer, Miami-Dade County

March 09, 2022 • Donna DiMaggio Berger

It’s common knowledge that Florida is one of the hottest markets in the U.S. – whether you’re considering a personal lifestyle upgrade or a new environment for your business. But that influx of people and industry, coupled with the state’s numerous sunny days, is a recipe for an extreme heat event and can spell disaster for an unprepared infrastructure.

Host Donna DiMaggio Berger and featured guest Jane Gilbert – the world’s first Chief Heat Officer – explore the dangers posed by extreme heat in highly urbanized areas and discuss how municipalities around the world are collaborating on solutions to protect both present-day and future communities.

Highlights include:

How Jane’s recent experience as a Chief Resiliency Officer prepared her to serve as the first-ever Chief Heat Officer and what this new role means for communities in Florida and beyond;
Defining the ‘urban heat island’ and how the green street vision for Miami-Dade helps reduce this;
Why awareness of the risk associated with extreme heat needs to be increased and whether naming heat waves would emphasize the importance of safety during rising temperatures;
How community association boards can adjust governing documents to encourage energy efficient practices – green spaces, reflective roof surfaces, upgraded A/C units, indoor/outdoor lighting choices, building weatherization, etc.;
Strategies when considering how to address the disproportionate impact of heat waves on already vulnerable communities, including seniors on fixed incomes, socio-economically disadvantaged, etc.;
Expansion of existing directives to ensure evacuation shelters have adequate backup power for cooling in the event of a widespread outage;
The connection between extreme heat and rising sea levels, and how Florida has integrated its climate action strategies to address both;
How community associations, local businesses, and incoming corporations can collaborate with Jane’s office to identify ways to protect outdoor workers in the construction, tourism, trade & logistics, public safety industries; and so much more.

BONUS: Donna and Jane share a little about what to expect from the county’s three-year action plan, scheduled for release in May 2022 and recommend viewing the Miami-Dade County’s Extreme Heat Toolkit for ways you can stay safe in South Florida.