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Awards and Recognitions 2023
Kearns & West celebrates some of the great work of our team and colleagues in 2023. We were honored this year alongside our clients and partners with a number of awards and recognitions.
The Integrated Flood Management Award was awarded to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board by the Flood Management Association in recognition of the 2022 Central Valley Flood Protection Plan Update’s robust, multi-year communication and engagement process involving federal, state, tribal, regional, and local partners. Kearns & West, working with Jacobs and Edelman, designed and implemented the engagement program to support the development of the Update which led to the adoption of a plan that will serve as California’s strategic and financial blueprint to improve flood risk management in the Central Valley. Congratulations to the Kearns & West team: Matt Marvin, Ben Gettleman, Laura Kaplan, Katy Kennedy, and John Bowie.
To learn more about the award: https://tinyurl.com/33ufkt5t
The Award for Public Outreach Excellence given by APA California Inland Empire Section and the Plans, Programs, and Policies Award given by Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)were awarded to the City of San Jacinto for their Envision San Jacinto General Plan 2040. Kearns & West was honored to have developed and implemented the Plan’s Public Participation Program, working alongside De Novo Group, Dudek, and the City of San Jacinto. In an article about the SCAG award, the Inland Southern California City News Group noted that “SCAG Judges highlighted the City’s ‘intentional efforts to engage disadvantaged communities in the planning process,’ notably its bilingual outreach to accommodate 96% of residents who speak Spanish as their first language.” Congratulations to the City of San Jacinto on these awards and the Kearns & West team: Joan Isaacson, Jenna Tourje-Maldonado, Christian Mendez.
To view General Plan 2040: tinyurl.com/mptuzdd5
To View City News Group article: tinyurl.com/63hehhd7
The Environment and Public Policy Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) this year awarded the coveted Rob Williams Award to Kearns & West Senior Associate Hanna Khalil. Established in 2010, the Rob Williams Award celebrates the memory of Rob and his contributions to the environmental and public policy dispute resolution field while spotlighting the innovations of emerging practitioners. Hanna’s award submission focuses on the emerging challenges faced by the field as it strives to ensure truly collaborative, reciprocal partnerships with the environmental justice communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis without contributing to stakeholder fatigue and burnout. Hanna’s submission suggests thoughtful, proactive solutions around project design and budgeting, stakeholder compensation and capacity-building, staff training, and attention to current developing best practices in the field, among others. Through this, she hopes that she and her fellow practitioners can leverage their unique skill sets as trusted facilitators, process guides, and conflict resolution professionals to help a variety of institutions tackle the root, systemic causes of our most pressing environmental challenges. Congratulations, Hanna.
To learn more about ACR: https://acrnet.org/page/AboutUS
Kearns & West is grateful for these opportunities to work with our partners and these organizations, and others, in making a difference in communities and look forward to continued success for all in 2024.