Lotus Newsletter January 2026
Resilience in 2026
Welcome New Lotus Team Members!
Lotus News
Lotus Speaking at Resilience Conferences
Over the last two years Lotus has evolved and expanded our service offerings for Climate Mitigation and Resiliency Planning, including completing climate risk and vulnerability assessments, and comprehensive climate adaptation work. Lotus is excited to announce that our staff will be speaking about our recent resiliency work with the City of Birmingham (AL), and the City of Edmond (OK) at two upcoming conferences in 2026.
The 2026 National Adaptation Forum will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from May12-14, 2026. The National Adaptation Forum is a biennial convening for adaptation professionals that seeks to innovate, network, and focus on existing and emerging climate adaptation challenges. The Forum provides opportunities for professional development through training sessions, facilitated presentations and panels, and formal and informal networking sessions. Lotus’s Rachel Meier and Shelby de Jongh will be presenting on the vulnerability mapping tool and vulnerability analysis that Lotus developed for the City of Birmingham.
Learn more about Lotus’s work with Birmingham here!
The South Central Climate Resilience Forum (SCCRF) will be held in San Antonio, Texas from April 15-17, 2026. The SCCRF is a three-day, in-person event focused on fostering meaningful dialogue and action on climate resilience and adaptation across Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The forum seeks to increase the understanding of climate-related challenges faced in the region and bring awareness to resiliency work in the region. Hillary Dobos, President and Owner of Lotus, will be speaking on Lotus’s resiliency work with the City of Edmond, Oklahoma.
Learn more about Edmond’s Resiliency Action Plan here!
We hope to see some of you at these events.
Photo Credit: Visit Pittsburgh
Lotus Staff are ClearPath 2.0 Certified!
Lotus is excited to announce that we have three team members certified in ICLEI and Climateview’s ClearPath 2.0, the newest version of the software for transforming climate and sustainability action. Lotus is a long time partner with ICLEI, USA. Currently we have three certified ClearPath 2.0 Trained Professionals, two staff that have completed the Academy, and more staff actively enrolled in the program.
Trained Professionals are recognized implementation partners — equipped to provide advisory services, technical know-how, and delivery capacity. The ClearPath 2.0 platform offers local governments a user-friendly tool encompassing all the resources necessary for effective climate action. It can be used to track and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, model transition scenarios, set and refine targets, design and take action, visualize data and track progress, and create fundable projects.
Is your community, company, or organization looking to complete a greenhouse gas inventory? We can help! Email hello@lotussustainability.com for more information.
1% for the Planet Certified
Lotus is excited to announce that we have been certified with 1% for the Planet! Organizations certified with 1% for the Planet donate 1% of their profits towards environmental causes. Learn more about 1% for the Planet and check out all the great organizations who have been certified here!
Volunteering with Denver Urban Gardens
In October 2025, the Lotus team participated in a volunteering event with DUG (Denver Urban Gardens) to prepare a food forest site along Sanderson Gulch. The Lotus team in collaboration with other volunteers spent the afternoon digging basins for trees, mulching, flattening earth, laying the foundation for an accessible walkway, preparing for tree planting, and much more! Learn more about Denver Urban Gardens here!
Photo courtesy of Denver Urban Gardens
Project Highlights
McCall, Idaho | Rooted in Resilience: A Climate Action Plan
Lotus led the development of the City of McCall, Idaho’s Rooted in Resilience Plan, a community-centered and community-driven Climate Action Plan. Lotus led the facilitation of in person and virtual engagements with community organizations and members, as well as city staff, City Council, and the Nez Perce Tribe. In addition, Lotus created multiple Meetings-in-a-Box activities with all the necessary information and materials for non-city affiliated individuals or groups to engage different groups of the McCall population and meet them where they are. Lotus also reviewed McCall’s previous greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) inventory and updated the Business as Usual (BAU) projection to make data-backed recommendations and strategies. Lastly, the Lotus led the plan development and design process. Check it out by clicking here!
Grant County, Washington | Comprehensive Plan Climate Element
Lotus partnered with Measure Meant to complete the climate element of Grant County’s Comprehensive Plan, a requirement for all Washington jurisdictions through the Growth Management Act. Lotus assisted with the development of a climate vulnerability assessment, an iterative process that included future climate projections, “at-risk” populations, and an assessment of probability and magnitude of consequence regarding climate-related hazards specific to Grant County.
The assessment was supplemented by an engagement process targeting the Hispanic/Latinx population given their large composition of the County’s population. Engagement activities included Climate Advisory Team meetings composed of government and community stakeholders, critical partner interviews with local municipalities in Grant County and community-based organizations, focus groups structured around five climate sub-topics, meetings-in-a-box for the public, a public survey, and tabling at the County’s Umani Festival. Key to the success of engagement was connecting with community-based organizations to gain actionable insights and community connections in a largely rural, agricultural community. Learn more by clicking here.
Steamboat Springs, Colorado | Comprehensive Plan
Lotus is a subconsultant to the SE Group to create a Comprehensive Plan for Steamboat Springs. Couched in a number of recently updated plans, including a Routt County Sustainability Plan developed by Lotus (2021), Steamboat Springs is looking to improve sustainability and resiliency within the unique mountain town. Core to their way of life is recreation and subsequently tourism, but all of this puts weight on the city’s most precious resources - the Yampa River, and the Steamboat Springs Ski Area to name a few. The Comprehensive Plan will be instructive in outlining the Steamboat approach to responsibly managing assets, protecting the thriving outdoor life that folks travel all over the world to experience, improving traffic and walkability, all while keeping an eye to increasing frequency of wildfire and drought.
Remembering Brianna Johnson
As many of you know, our dearly beloved Business Development Manager, Brianna Johnson, passed away unexpectedly in October 2025. In her time at Lotus, Brianna played a foundational role in business operations, proposal development, graphic design, and equity initiatives. Brianna spearheaded much of Lotus’s equity work, having dedicated monumental contributions to monthly equity presentations, equity in hiring and our staff’s internal equity efforts. Brianna streamlined business development efforts and helped the company grow strategically. Brianna was a source of joy, positivity, and light for our staff and she will be deeply missed. You can learn more about Brianna by visiting her Lotus webpage here.
Welcome New Team Members
Madison Davis
Madison joins Lotus as Research Associate II.
A proud Wisconsin native, Madison grew up spending summers in the North Woods, where time on the lake sparked his early appreciation for the environment. That connection deepened in Colorado, where he fell in love with the Rockies while earning dual Bachelor’s degrees in International Studies and Spanish from the University of Denver. Madison spent a formative semester in Ecuador, living and conducting research in an Indigenous community, which further shaped his perspective. Here, he witnessed firsthand the community’s sustainable, climate-centered practices and deep relationship with the land.
After three years with Teach For America, Madison pursued his environmental interests through Georgetown University’s Master’s in Global Human Development program, specializing in Environment & Climate and Food, Agriculture & Rural Livelihoods and earning certifications in Social Innovation and Diplomacy.
He has since worked as a consultant and researcher with the World Bank’s Agriculture and Food Global Practice, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the National Laboratory of the Rockies, building expertise in stakeholder engagement, policy research, and cross-sector collaboration to advance climate-smart systems. Madison is excited to contribute to the mission of Lotus.
Emma Kaznowski
Emma joins Lotus as Research Associate II.
Raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula along the shores of Lake Superior, Emma developed a deep connection to the outdoors and an early interest in the relationship between the environment and community. She earned a B.A. in International Studies with a focus on Global Environment and Health, along with minors in Spanish and Environmental Geology from the University of Michigan. Following her undergraduate studies, she worked in urban food access in Detroit and supported rural food security efforts across the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands in Alaska.
Building on her experience in food-based nonprofits, Emma relocated to Colorado to pursue a Masters of the Environment in Sustainable Food Systems from the University of Colorado Boulder. During graduate school, she worked on a range of projects including agricultural equity and carbon accounting in collaboration with local nonprofits and the University of Colorado-Boulder. After graduate school, Emma expanded her work into broader sustainability roles across consulting and the nonprofit sector before transitioning into corporate procurement and sustainability at a large food and beverage company. She is excited to apply her interdisciplinary background and systems-focused approach to advance equitable and impactful sustainability initiatives at Lotus.
Leah Roffman
Leah joins Lotus as Research Associate I.
Leah grew up in New York and developed an interest in environmental solutions by way of an interest in politics and policy. In college, she explored internships and research opportunities where she could learn how environmental policy solutions were developed, evaluated, and advocated for in different settings. During this time, she also became fascinated with the role of data modelling in informing both public and private sector decision making. After graduating from Duke University, she worked at the Department of Agriculture supporting the development of environmental market incentives for sustainable agriculture. Leah has developed a range of skills in policy analysis, data visualization, statistical analysis, and writing. She is looking forward to joining the team at Lotus and helping support clients with their sustainability and climate goals.
Learn with us!
LOTUS EQUITY PRESENTATIONS OCCUR MONTHLY TO EXPAND OUR LEARNING AND GROWTH. BELOW ARE RESOURCES WE ARE EXCITED TO SHARE.
Unequal Storms: Understanding Inequity in Disaster Response
Our team discussed how disasters have affected communities differently, showcasing that socioeconomic factors, language access, housing stability, and insurance coverages play a major role in both vulnerability and recovery. Using case studies like Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Haiyan, and multiple Colorado wildfires, it emphasizes the importance of recognizing these disparities to improve fairness and effectiveness in disaster response and recovery efforts.
