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How do we turn overwhelming climate risk into actionable hope?

In this Quick Hits episode, Sean caught up with Matt Gonser, Climate Resilience Officer for LA County, and Jonathan Parfrey, Executive Director of Climate Resolve. Together, we break down what resilience actually means and how it’s being put into action across Los Angeles.

Matt shares what it looks like to build climate resilience at the systems level, from extreme heat mitigation to coastal protections, and why government must center community well-being in its plans.

Jonathan offers sharp insights from years of policy and project work, including surprising lessons from disaster recovery that reveal how communities can thrive through change—not just survive it.

From fires to floods, housing pressures to extreme heat, this conversation challenges assumptions about displacement, community capacity, and what’s possible when we lead with both planning and compassion.

✅ Listen in if you want a clearer, more hopeful way to think about resilience—grounded in real policy, real projects, and real people.

If this episode sparks new ideas for you, help us spread the word.

🟣 Subscribe to Shared Ground on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app.

💬 Share this episode with someone who cares about building better futures, even in hard times.

And, as always, we’d love to hear your reflections—leave us a rating or drop a comment on Substack (seanknierim.substack.com)

Shared Ground is produced by Sean Knierim and Allan Marks. Thanks to Cory Grabow, Kara Poltor, Corey Walles (from The Recording Studio) for your support in launching this effort.

For more stories of resilience & rebuilding, kindness & generosity: visit shared-ground.com and subscribe to Sean's substack. We invite you to share your own stories of resilience at the Shared Ground website - whether in response to the January fires in LA or other situations.

Follow us at seanknierim.substack.com, Instagram, or wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc).