2026 Florida Resilience Conference: Full Schedule

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7:45am EDT

Professional Exchange Break – Friday Morning Breakfast

Friday September 25, 2026 7:45am - 8:30am EDT

Friday September 25, 2026 7:45am - 8:30am EDT
Great Egret A

Professional Exchange Break, Friday Morning Breakfast

11:00am EDT

Building Resilient Infrastructure Faster: How the Corps of Engineers is Modernizing with RAPID Planning and Streamlined Environmental Compliance

Friday September 25, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am EDT

Great Egret A

Speakers

Dr. Gretchen Ehlinger

Coastal and Navigation Environmental Branch Chief, US Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District

Dr. Gretchen Ehlinger is currently the Coastal and Navigation Environmental Branch Chief in the Planning Division at the USACE Jacksonville District.

Friday September 25, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
Great Egret A

Closing General Session

11:00am EDT

Navigating Endangered Species Act Compliance for Coastal Projects: Updates to Key Programmatic Biological Opinions

Friday September 25, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am EDT

Great Egret A

Speakers

Kristen Donofrio

Chief, Coastal and Navigation NEPA Section, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District

Kristen Donofrio is the Chief of the Coastal and Navigation National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Section, where she leads NEPA compliance and supports Section 401 water quality certification for coastal storm risk management and navigation projects. Her experience spans from the... Read More →

Friday September 25, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
Great Egret A

Closing General Session

11:30am EDT

Statewide Resilience and Regulatory Updates

Friday September 25, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm EDT

Great Egret A

Speakers

Lainie Edwards

Deputy Director, Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Tim Rach

Program Administrator, Division of Water Resources, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Environmental Resource Permitting; Use of Sovereign Submerged Lands; wetlands; mitigation bank permitting; marina permitting; living shorelines rule development

Devin Resko

Environmental Administrator, Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Friday September 25, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm EDT
Great Egret A

Closing General Session

12:00pm EDT

Water Management Districts: The Importance of Resilience Planning for Florida’s Water Future

Friday September 25, 2026 12:00pm - 12:30pm EDT

Great Egret A

Moderators

Ann Shortelle

Senior Scientist, Bio-Tech Consulting

Speakers

Thomas Frick

Chief Resilience Officer, St Johns River Water Management District

Ana Carolina Coelho Maran, PhD, P.E.

Division Director, South Florida Water Management District

Carolina Maran, Ph.D., P.E. is the Chief of District Resiliency with the South Florida Water Management District. In her role, she is responsible for coordinating resilience efforts across federal, state, regional and local agencies, advancing scientific research and data analysis... Read More →