Co-founder, Adaptation Planner & Facilitator

• Jun 2017 - Present

Erica brings over a decade of experience working with local governments, organizations and non-profits as a planner, researcher, facilitator and coach. With a background in community planning and climate change adaptation, she applies a deep understanding of change processes to the practicalities of policy, planning and community development. She is a certified Human Systems Dynamics Practitioner, bringing a keen understanding of systems thinking, pattern recognition and adaptive action to her work with organizations and collaborative initiatives. Erica's work has included a focus on tools and approaches such as theory of change, Collective Impact and adaptive action and learning to create learning cultures that support development and implementation of complex innovations in the public realm.

Associate & Facilitator

• Dec 2014 - Jun 2017

Working in collaboration with partners to provide facilitation, learning & development support for capacity-building and change processes supporting healthy & resilient communities in BC. Erica has worked with communities around the province--two examples are included in the links below.

Program Manager

• Dec 2013 - Dec 2014

Program Manager for the PlanH program, a partnership between BC Healthy Communities Society and Healthy Families BC that is informed by health authorities and other key stakeholders. The PlanH program supports local government engagement and partnerships across sectors for creating healthier communities. Recognizing that community policy, plans, and decisions affect health and well-being, PlanH provides learning opportunities, resources, and leading-edge practices for collaborative local action.

Adaptation Planner & Facilitator

• Dec 2014 - Jun 2017

Erica Crawford is a community and regional planner, researcher and facilitator specializing in environment, resilience, and climate change adaptation strategies. A skilled facilitator and process designer, Erica applies her understanding of local and regional climate change effects and engagement processes to adaptation planning with local governments, agriculture and other organizations. Erica Crawford is a community and regional planner, researcher and facilitator specializing in environment, resilience, and climate change adaptation strategies. A skilled facilitator and process designer, Erica applies her understanding of local and regional climate change effects and engagement processes to adaptation planning with local governments, agriculture and other organizations.

Adaptation Specialist

• Dec 2010 - Mar 2014

Erica was the lead researcher, planner and facilitator for the province-wide risk and opportunity assessment, published in 2012. The project aimed to build awareness and capacity within the BC agriculture sector to enhance resilience to climate change, as well as developing a baseline assessment of risks and vulnerabilities and opportunities for agricultural resilience in BC. The reports and regional adaptation strategies are available on the CAI website (link below). A policy paper based on this work, Strengthening BC Agriculture in the Face of Climate Change, was published by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions in 2013, and gained national media attention (link below). Based on this work, Erica worked as the lead planner and facilitator with the CAI team to produce the first 4 regional agriculture adaptation strategies in the province, in the Peace Region, Delta, Cowichan, and the Cariboo. Implementation of these strategies has since been stewarded by cross-sector steering committees (including local & regional government, provincial government, agricultural producers and associations) that were formed through the planning process.

Associate Member (Community Planner)

• Nov 2010 - Nov 2013

In her capacity as a Community Planner and Facilitator with SSG, Erica worked on a variety of projects, from local agriculture plans to climate change adaptation plans. She also contributed to work on planning and policy guidance for impacts of flooding and sea level rise due to climate change, including the "Sea Level Rise Adaptation Primer" (a nationally relevant document and explores the legislative and policy tools available to local government decision-makers, to adapt to sea level rise - see link below) and the "Evaluation of B.C. flood policy for Coastal Areas in a Changing Climate."

Associate Faculty, Masters Program in Disaster and Emergency Management

• Jan 2011 - Aug 2012

Director

• Jan 2011 - Mar 2012

Research Assistant, Climate Change Adaptation

• 2008 - 2009

Erica worked closely with a group of climate scientists to develop an early assessment of climate change impacts for flooding in Richmond, BC. Erica brought her perspective as a community planner to offer an applied perspective on how to approach climate impact assessments from a user-perspective. This led her to conduct a national survey of existing climate change adaptation planning work at a local or regional level, assessing the needs, interests and constraints facing the potential users of climate change impact assessments produced by Environment Canada scientists. Erica was a contributing author to the 2008 publication, "Canadian Communities Guidebook for adaptation to climate change."

Research Assistant, Community Resilience

• 2007 - 2009

Policy Analyst Intern, Science and Technology Division

• Sep 2005 - Aug 2006

Circulation / Office Manager

• Jan 2000 - 2002