How to build climate resilience ‘From the Ground Up’

February 26, 2026
Climate resiliency expert Jainey Bavishi will give a lecture in Corless Auditorium at URI’s Narragansett Bay Campus on Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. (Photo Courtesy Jainey Bavishi)

Climate adaptation and resiliency expert to speak at GSO’s Fish Lecture

February 26, 2026

URI GSO will welcome Jainey Bavishi, an expert on climate adaptation and resilience, as the guest speaker for the Charles and Marie Fish Lecture on Tuesday, March 10, at 6 p.m.

The event will be held at the URI Narragansett Bay Campus, Corless Auditorium, at 215 South Ferry Road in Narragansett. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested.

As climate impacts accelerate and uncertainty grows, communities across the country are redefining what it means to be resilient. In a fireside chat, “From the Ground Up: Communities Leading the Next Chapter of Climate Resilience,” Bavishi will explore how equity, local leadership and civic collaboration form the backbone of effective climate action, even as traditional systems face strain.

J.P. Walsh, URI professor of oceanography, will moderate the conversation.

Bavishi most recently served as assistant secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and deputy administrator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), where she provided agency-wide direction for climate resilience, fisheries, and coastal and ocean programs, including efforts related to NOAA’s implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Previously, Bavishi acted as director of New York City’s Office of Climate Resiliency, overseeing the implementation of climate resilience strategies. She also worked as associate director for climate preparedness for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Her work connects national policy to neighborhood-scale action, helping shape a more just and durable approach to resilience.

Bavishi holds a master’s degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in public policy and cultural anthropology from Duke University.

The Charles and Marie Fish Lecture is an annual public lecture endowed by the family of Charles and Marie Fish. The Fishes established a marine biological program at the University of Rhode Island in 1935 and eventually a graduate program in oceanography at the Narragansett Marine Laboratory, which later became URI Graduate School of Oceanography.