Heat Resilience Exchange

The Heat Resilience Exchange is a community of practice and a technical assistance program for communities across the United States. It brings together local governments and community organizations that are working to strengthen their heat preparedness and response.

While information about local heat resilience planning is increasingly available, it can be overwhelming to parse through and find relevant information at the right moment for project conception and delivery. By design, the Heat Resilience Exchange allows members to exchange ideas, proactively address shared challenges, and expand their knowledge base. Through peer learning and direct assistance from the Climate Resilience Center, members of the Heat Resilience Exchange build on the best, evidence-based heat resilience practices.

The Climate Resilience Center provides direct and advisory support to prepare projects, navigate competing priorities, and advance research and innovation in the field of heat resilience. In parallel, it also offers complementary tools to the members, individually and collectively. This includes research briefs, one-on-one advisory from Chief Heat Ambassador Jane Gilbert, and access to the HeatSens risk analytics tool developed by the climate tech firm ClimaSens.

The Heat Resilience Exchange builds on the work of the former NOAA-funded National Integrated Heat Health Information Center (NIHHIS) Center for Heat Resilience Communities (CHRC), which recruited the cohort members and stood up the community of practice. CHRC was created by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, and the University of Arizona’s Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and ended in May 2025. The CHRC principal researchers remain involved in this initiative as senior advisors.

Heat Resilience Exchange members

City of Boise, Idaho
City of Charlottesville, Virginia
Hennepin County, Minnesota
City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii
Indian Nations Council of Governments, Oklahoma
City of Jacksonville, Florida
King County, Washington
Rio Grande International Study Center, Texas
Lincoln County, Nebraska
City of Omaha, Nebraska
Strawberry Mansion, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
City of Ann Arbor, Michigan

Meet the team

Our team brings deep heat resilience expertise, combining hands-on implementation experience with science-based research. The advisors provide practical support to subnational governments and organizations, helping them design and deliver more effective heat action plans. Through their intentional blend of knowledge and practice, the team bridges the local insights with global best practices, strengthening on-the-ground responses and building a robust, shared evidence base for smarter, more equitable climate resilience.