Staff and Student Stories

I joined P4A as a researcher for the Guidelines for Engaging Community Members in Flood Mapping Guidelines and the Disaster and Disparity report. I also supported with the English to French translations of key documents. Beyond the incredible work and legacy that P4A has built in climate adaptation and flood resilience in Canada, I was fortunate to join a team that truly values and uplifts its members. P4A gave me the chance to work in a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and supportive environment, where my knowledge and experience were valued. My time with P4A has certainly set the standard for the kind of applied research and workplace I hope to be part of in the future, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunities it offered me.

P4A had lasting impacts on flood risk awareness research showing that many Canadians are unaware of flood risks facing their property.

I was fortunate to work with P4A's director on projects assessing current tools available to the public to learn about their flood risk and providing recommendations on how to improve available tools. I also worked with P4A on a project with Canadian Geographic where we created a map of historical floods to educate children about natural hazards in Canada. I come from a background in Geographic Information Systems, and my experience with P4A helped me leverage my technical skills to advance policy and education agendas. P4A provided me with a strong foundation to bridge my technical skillsets and learn more about policy issues happening in Canada. This experience continues to be relevant for me today.

I think the Climate Resilient Retrofits database is an incredible and comprehensive project that can help inform a variety of stakeholders (from homeowners to policy practitioners) on the opportunities available to build climate risk resilience. P4A taught me the necessity of meaningful research and the value of effective project planning. It also affirmed in me my interest in policy research. 

Words cannot begin to describe my immense gratitude for the entire P4A team, the incredibly grounding and actionable work I've been able to support, and the many professional opportunities and connections that P4A has afforded me. For three years, I was fortunate to collaborate with a passionate and inspired team working at the intersection of climate equity and flood resilience. I had the privilege of partnering with and learning from so many dedicated individuals and organizations across academia, civil society, and government collectively working towards paradigm shifts from the local to national levels.P4A has taught me the value of patient partnership, long-term relationships, and being a 'connector'—bridging siloes to more effectively collaborate across the whole of society and government. The connections that P4A facilitated have allowed me to grow my network and build transformative, long-lasting partnerships. My PhD studies with the Retreating from Risk project are a testament to this, as the project would not have existed without P4A's legacy of relationship-building and the tireless dedication of its leadership.

P4A has inherently shaped my research interests, my values and beliefs, and my professional goals. When I joined P4A in 2022, the work seemed like a 'side quest' while I completed my master's studies, loosely related to my interests in flood resiliency, but not necessarily foundational to my knowledge and expertise. I knew little about flood insurance, hazard mapping, assessing socio-economic vulnerability, or climate impacts on the building and infrastructure sectors. However, my experience working first as a Research Assistant and later as an Administration and Research Coordinator has fundamentally enhanced my understanding of resiliency at a system's level and expanded my capacities as a researcher, project manager, and risk communicator.

Partners for Action has been an incredibly rewarding organization to work with, supporting communities across Canada in addressing climate change through practical, accessible strategies. It has been a privilege to work on and present the Climate Resilient Retrofits project, a multi-hazard retrofit database designed to help municipalities, organizations, companies, and homeowners reduce their risk from extreme weather events.

As a student rooted in structural engineering, the chance to collaborate with policymakers, the insurance sector, and sustainability researchers was both eye-opening, inspiring, and rewarding. My experience here has further strengthened my commitment to advancing a more sustainable built environment for future communities.

I believe P4A has been great in advancing the national dialogue on flood risk by highlighting equity considerations, supporting evidence-based policymaking, and fostering partnerships across public sectors to close gaps between science, policy, and community resilience. 

My time at P4A deepened my understanding of climate resilience and policy research. I learned the importance of inclusive resilience strategies. P4A directly influenced my continued focus on climate resilience policy analysis and contributed to my role as a subject matter expert in public infrastructure resilience space! 

Supporting the development of the Climate Resilient Retrofits project stood out for me! It combined research, policy analysis, and engagement—reflecting P4A’s core strength in integrating diverse voices to inform practical and meaningful deliverables.   

My time with Partners for Action was one of the most meaningful parts of my graduate experience. The community aspect and built-in support system were truly phenomenal; there was always space to learn, ask questions, and collaborate with people who genuinely cared about climate resilience and community wellbeing.

One of my favourite projects involved supporting the integration and data mapping of P4A’s adaptation measures and aligning them with ICLEI’s Climate Insight frameworks. This work not only strengthened my technical and analytical skills, but also gave me hands-on experience with project management, coordination, and knowledge mobilization.

Being part of a team that connected research with real-world decision-making, and knowing that our work contributed to more informed climate action, was incredibly rewarding.

Overall, Partners for Action helped shape both my professional development and my confidence as an emerging practitioner in climate adaptation and community-focused research. It’s an experience I am deeply grateful for.

P4A was a leader in research as well as meaningful engagement within this community of practice. To expand on the latter point, I'm referring to building and deepening relationships—whether at conferences or through specific research projects like the property buyouts and managed retreat work, whose report presentation brought together so many diverse stakeholders in the space, and P4A grew and strengthened connections emerging from that. 

P4A directly informed my career trajectory (P4A alum connected me to my current role). It also informed my interests in climate and disaster resiliency, applied research, and helped lay the foundation of my values rooted in community-grounded research — i.e., "it's only good if it's good for everyone" describes P4A's ethos, in my opinion. 

P4A has always had a key focus on providing easy to understand and actionable information for all audiences. Their collaborations with partners, like the Canadian Red Cross, demonstrate their success and impact in delivering timely resources. 

Working at P4A allowed me to work on the ground level with folks experiencing hazards in their own backyards. This was helpful in building my communication skills and understanding of the intersection between contextual vulnerabilities and adaptation measures.

I have gained a more holistic view and am now bringing these learnings into my current work as a program manager working with startup ventures that provide climate solutions. I'm able to bring forward my learnings from P4A of inclusive resilience and the importance of working at the community level. 

Working with Partners for Action has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Their commitment to building flood resilience goes beyond research; it’s about creating real, inclusive change for communities.

Through my involvement in the Max Bell strategic relocation project and the Canadian Red Cross Inclusive Resilience initiative, I’ve seen firsthand how P4A brings diverse voices together to develop practical, evidence-based solutions.

Their collaborative approach not only informs policy but empowers people to take action and make a difference.