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How do communities recover after disaster? And what happens when leaders try to move forward quickly, speeding past a process that would honor what has been lost?

In this episode, Sean sits down with Jennifer Gray Thompson, founder of After the Fire USA. Jennifer has walked into some of the hardest-hit communities across the country, helping people navigate recovery after megafires.

They talk about what defines a megafire, why grief cannot be skipped, and how communities find strength not in strategy documents, but in each other.

Jennifer offers sharp insight into what makes Los Angeles both powerful and vulnerable. She also shares what gives her hope after years of doing this work. And how she cares for herself while caring for others.

If you care about climate, loss, leadership, or recovery, this conversation will stay with you.

Listen to hear:

• Why resilience requires opening ourselves to accept grace
• What makes megafires different from other disasters
• How communities like yours can show up for one another

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).