Michele Higgs is Housing Initiative Partnership’s Community Outreach Coordinator. In this role, she engages residents, businesses, and elected officials to raise awareness of housing opportunities, tenant resources, and HIP’s counseling programs across Montgomery County. In this capacity, Michele is also the primary contact and spokesperson for HIP’s Montgomery County Home Sharing Program. If you have questions regarding Home Sharing, please call 301-85-SHARE. Michele has more than 25 years of experience providing technical assistance training and coaching to nonprofit organizations serving seniors, disabled residents, and low-income populations. She is located in HIP’s Montgomery County office in Germantown, and can be reached at mhiggs@HIPhomes.org.
In June 2021 Montgomery County unveiled the Climate Action Plan. The Climate Action Plan is the County’s strategic plan to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 80% by 2027 and 100% by 2035. The Climate Action Plan details the effects of a changing climate and includes strategies to reduce GHG emissions and climate-related risks to the County’s residents, businesses, and the built and natural environment. In this presentation, members of the County’s climate team will provide an overview of the Climate Action Plan and the climate actions currently underway.
Adriana Hochberg: Adriana Hochberg serves as the Climate Change Officer for Montgomery County, Maryland. She leads Montgomery County’s efforts to combat climate change while building a healthy, equitable, and resilient county. Ms. Hochberg coordinated the development of the Climate Action Plan, a strategic roadmap for the County to cut community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2027 and reach zero emissions by 2035. Ms. Hochberg previously served as an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for Montgomery County.
Mara Parker: Mara Parker works as a grants coordinator in Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, tracking and reporting on FEMA grant funding utilized to prepare for and mitigate the effects of disasters, a growing problem as climate change continues to reshape our region. She is a member of the County’s Climate Leadership Team, where she worked with the Climate Adaptation and Carbon Sequestration workgroups. She has served on the County’s COVID-19 Crisis Communications Team and worked for over ten years as a senior legislative aide at the Montgomery County Council, providing analysis of the County’s public safety departments.
Stan Edwards: Stan Edwards is the Chief of the Energy, Climate, & Compliance Division in the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. He manages a range of programs related to energy and climate issues, as well as enforcement of the County’s environmental laws. He helped write the County’s 2009 Climate Protection Plan and serves on the County’s core climate planning team working to implement the County’s 2021 Climate Action Plan. Mr. Edwards has a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Dickinson College and a master’s degree in Energy Systems from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the George Washington University.
Sandra Brecher is Chief of the Commuter Services Section in the Montgomery County, Maryland, Department of Transportation. In that role she leads efforts to plan and promote use of alternatives to single occupant vehicle travel, to reduce traffic congestion, improve the environment, promote sustainable urban development and help address climate change. The office works with County employers, developers, property managers and the broader community to incorporate Transportation Demand Management strategies into policies and projects; operates five Transportation Management Districts located in urban activity centers of the County; and operates two commuter stores, one bricks & mortar, one mobile. Ms. Brecher received her undergraduate degree from Ohio University and graduate education in urban planning at Cornell University. Prior to joining Montgomery County, Ms. Brecher worked as an urban planning consultant, completing a variety of local and national assignments in transportation and land use policy, development planning, and community facilitation for public and private sector clients.
Claire Iseli serves as a special assistant to County Executive Marc Elrich. She has held this position since December 2019. Prior to that, Ms. Iseli worked in Marc's at-large County Council office for 10 years, and previously worked for the late district councilmembers Marilyn and Don Praisner. During her 30 years with county government, Claire has concentrated on land use policy planning, analysis, and zoning, environmental issues, and constituent services. More recently, she has also been involved in affordable housing issues. Claire is a 45-year resident of Montgomery County and lives in the Cloverly area of the East County.
My name is Queen Balina, and I’m a senior at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland. I’m also a member of PeaceJam Mid-Atlantic’s Youth Advisory Council. I heard about the Rotary Club and all the wonderful work you do from Luke Addison from Winchester Rotary in the U.K., who is also active in both PeaceJam and Rotary International. PeaceJam is an international organization that mentors youth in the mold of Nobel Peace Prize laureates. It has worked with 1.3 million youth in 41 countries since it was founded in 1996. It works to bring the new ideas, perspectives, and approaches of younger generations to the forefront of change. Under the guidance of PeaceJam, I have collaborated with three other young leaders to establish Sankofa Empowering Women in Ghana (SEWING), a women’s economic empowerment project. Through SEWING, we aim to leverage our partnerships in the area – particularly with members of PeaceJam Ghana – to connect young women to job training opportunities and hopefully end a cycle of poverty and exploitative labor practices.
JCA® — the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington — strives to make D.C., suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia great places to grow up and grow old. Their experts on aging provide access, answers and opportunities to older adults and family caregivers of all faiths and from all walks of life. Since 1973, they have been helping older men and women maintain independence, dignity, vitality and self-respect.
Michele Higgs is Housing Initiative Partnership’s Community Outreach Coordinator. In this role, she engages residents, businesses, and elected officials to raise awareness of housing opportunities, tenant resources, and HIP’s counseling programs across Montgomery County. 
Adriana Hochberg: Adriana Hochberg serves as the Climate Change Officer for Montgomery County, Maryland. She leads Montgomery County’s efforts to combat climate change while building a healthy, equitable, and resilient county. Ms. Hochberg coordinated the development of the Climate Action Plan, a strategic roadmap for the County to cut community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2027 and reach zero emissions by 2035. Ms. Hochberg previously served as an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for Montgomery County. 
My name is Queen Balina, and I’m a senior at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland. I’m also a member of PeaceJam Mid-Atlantic’s Youth Advisory Council. I heard about the Rotary Club and all the wonderful work you do from Luke Addison from Winchester Rotary in the U.K., who is also active in both PeaceJam and Rotary International. PeaceJam is an international organization that mentors youth in the mold of Nobel Peace Prize laureates. It has worked with 1.3 million youth in 41 countries since it was founded in 1996. It works to bring the new ideas, perspectives, and approaches of younger generations to the forefront of change. Under the guidance of PeaceJam, I have collaborated with three other young leaders to establish Sankofa Empowering Women in Ghana (SEWING), a women’s economic empowerment project. Through SEWING, we aim to leverage our partnerships in the area – particularly with members of PeaceJam Ghana – to connect young women to job training opportunities and hopefully end a cycle of poverty and exploitative labor practices.
