2021 Critical Issues Series: Risk & Resilience Forum

Description

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What: Risk and Resilience Forum: Ensuring Business Continuity in Challenging Times 

Who: Coordinated by The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro and presented by 97.9 The Hill & Chapelboro.com, Duke Energy, and Durham Technical Community College

When: Thursday, June 24, 2021 from 8:30-10am

Where: Zoom (register to receive the link)

About the Forum: The Risk and Resilience Forum will allow the local business community to reflect on the importance of business continuity in challenging times. The forum will feature leaders of critical infrastructure, utilities, and services that keep the Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro region rolling and will engage participants in a candid conversation about what it means and what it takes to have modern and resilient infrastructure in the face of man-made and natural disasters.

Framing: It’s not if, but when, the next natural or man-made disaster occurs. In Texas, the winter storm of 2021 led to the electric grid operators losing control of the power supply leaving millions in extended blackouts and many customers with skyrocketing bills. In Chatham County, a cyber incident in 2020 temporarily shut down several county functions, disrupted public access to services, and resulted in stolen data sold on the dark web. And in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, the water system suffered two watermain breaks in 2017 and 2018, which led to 80,000 customers without drinkable water and resulted in massive employer shutdowns, hotel evacuations, the university closing for days, and hundreds of patients at UNC Hospital in precarious positions.

These threats are just some of the many risks we face daily, all while our local economy is just beginning to recover from the pandemic-related economic recession. The goal of this candid conversation is to hear reports from infrastructure, utility, and service providers on current risks and resiliency measures underway to ensure business continuity in challenging times and engage in a candid conversation about what it means and what it takes to have a modern and resilient community.

Segments & Speakers: 

• Welcome and Framing: 
  • Jamezetta Bedford, Vice Chair, Orange County Board of Commissioners
  • Aaron Nelson, President & CEO, The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro
• Energy: 
  • Mark McIntire, Director of Government Affairs, Energy, and Environment, Duke Energy 
  • Jeff Brooks, Power Delivery and Grid Improvement Communication Manager, Duke Energy
• Water: 
  • Todd Taylor, Executive Director, OWASA 
  • Victoria Hudson, Environmental Health Director, Orange County Government
• Cyber: 
  • Steve Newton, Director, Emergency Management, Chatham County Government
  • Antwine Jackson, President, Enitech IT Support and Consulting 

About the Critical Issues Series: The Chamber's Government Affairs Committee coordinates the 2021 Critical Issues Series (formerly known as the Policy Series), which includes ten forums and features influential guest speakers who address timely topics for Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro related to the economy, economic development, public policy, and elections. The series is presented by 97.9 The Hill & Chapelboro.com, Duke Energy, and Durham Technical Community College. Follow the critical conversations at #CHCCriticalIssues. 

Contact: For questions, contact Katie Loovis, Vice President of External Affairs for The Chamber at (919) 696-0781 (cell) or KLoovis@carolinachamber.org.