Christian Kamrath

Resilience Planning Assistant at NC SeaGrant

I am about to complete (May 2018) my Master's in City and Regional Planning at UNC-CH and specializing in land-use and environmental planning while also pursuing the new Natural Hazards Resilience Certificate. During the program, I hope to build knowledge and skills involving basic environmental planning and gain experience working with communities on climate adaptation, hazard mitigation, and disaster recovery plans. I believe that the stories and history of the local people and environment along with sound scientific data are key to unlocking potential solutions to the many emerging issues associated with a changing climate and growing (& sometimes shrinking!) population.

My undergraduate education and experiences focused on meteorology, climate change, sustainability, communications, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). As a future urban/hazard mitigation planner, I hope to use my emergency management and other resilience-related experience to tackle issues facing coastal communities related to climate adaptation, coastal zone management, hazard mitigation planning, and disaster preparedness/recovery. I'd like to be jack of all-trades in the sense that I can help be translator and 'dot-connector' both between various disciplines as well as between the professional world and the general public. 

I've always been amazed by not only the power of mother nature, but also by man-kind's ability to underestimate her. My passion lies in fostering healthy, connected communities that are resilient to natural hazards in the face of a changing climate, economy and population makeup.