
Make Your Water Heater Work for You, Plus a SNEW Project Highlight
Learn about ways you can save energy and money through the WatterSaver program and how SNEW services are helping our community.
Communications Manager
On February 17, Deputy Secretary Jessica Morse joined Sierra Business Council’s President Steve Frisch in a fireside chat moderated by our partners at Community Adaptation Learning Exchange (CALE).
Sierra Business Council’s Sierra CAMP co-hosted this session in partnership with CALE to explore the common challenges around communicating climate risk in rural areas that stem from rural economic interests and hurdles, the relative isolation of unique communities, financial capacity, sociopolitical resistance to change, and other barriers.
This conversation explored catalysts that drive climate adaptation successes in rural California, including legislative incentives, the economic and cost-saving benefits of proactive climate action, and the urgency of unprecedented climate crises such as wildfires.
‘Tribal stakeholders are crucial, especially in the inner mountain West, they bring cultural knowledge of land management to the table.’ — Steve Frisch
‘[Climate advocacy is…] way more powerful when it’s delivered by people who live in the community’ — Steve Frisch
‘The healing aspect of engaging rural communities in a climate discussion is to create opportunities for their residents to participate, be in charge of their own destiny and have a stake in it.” — Steve Frisch
Jessica Morse is the Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildland Resilience of the California Natural Resources Agency. In this role, she is working to increase the pace and scale of science-based forest management to restore healthy forests, improve watershed health, protect California’s unique ecosystems, and make Californians wildfire resilient. Before joining Governor Newsom’s administration, Jessica spent nearly ten years in National Security working for the Defense Department, State Department, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Her assignments included a year and a half in Iraq and tours in India, Myanmar, and US Pacific Command. In 2018, Morse ran for U.S. Congress in California’s 4th Congressional District in the Sierra Nevada region. Jessica is a fifth generation Northern Californian. She and her family still own and manage their original homestead forestland in the Sierra foothills. An avid backpacker, Jessica has hiked over 500 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Steve Frisch is President of Sierra Business Council, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that serves the environmental, economic, and community interests of the Sierra Nevada region through proactive work in economic empowerment, climate action, and regional advocacy. Sierra Business Council programs include Sierra Climate Adaptation & Mitigation Partnership (CAMP), Sierra Nevada Energy Watch, and the Sierra Small Business Development Center, which advances sustainable business practices and links new and expanding businesses to funding opportunities. Sierra Business Council’s goal is a diverse, inventive, and sustainable region where the economy is vibrant, the land is thriving, and the communities offer opportunity for all. As President, Steve manages Sierra Business Council’s triple-bottom line strategy, regional advocacy efforts, and programmatic development.
Learn about ways you can save energy and money through the WatterSaver program and how SNEW services are helping our community.
Please join Sierra Business Council at an upcoming workshop designed to collect important community feedback on broadband access and digital equity in the Sierra Nevada on May 12 from 10 am to 2:30 pm.
Make an impact in your community through the CivicSpark program! CivicSpark is an AmeriCorps program dedicated to building capacity for local governments in California, Washington, and Colorado to address emerging environmental and social equity resilience challenges such as climate change, water resource management, affordable housing, and mobility.