Sunny Wescott, Chief Meteorologist, Infrastructure Security Division (ISD), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Emery Leonard, Principal at TVS, will be presenting “Take the Weather With You! Impacts of Climate Change on Outdoor Venue Operations and Design” at VenueConnect24.
This session will combine Emery’s 30 years of architectural experience with Sunny’s expertise in national extreme weather hazards to discuss ways in which outdoor venue design and operations are being impacted by the ramifications of rapid climate change.
Read on for our Q&A with both Emery and Sunny.
Emery Leonard
Short bio:
With 30 years of experience leading complex projects at every scale, Emery Leonard’s multi-market breadth of work spans cultural arts, public assembly, mixed use, office, retail and interiors. He is deeply interested in the economics of the businesses he designs for. From major cultural attractions like museums and aquariums, to bustling convention centers and corporate headquarters, Emery is invested in what makes these buildings successful. Driven by good urban design, Emery is fascinated by the very big and the very small alike. He understands that each project, regardless of size, is significant and that placemaking is central to the liveability and vibrancy of the world’s cities.
Emery’s work has both a significant national and international footprint, with long stints working out of the TVS New York and Shanghai offices. Emery recently led the expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York with the highest fidelity to the original design and vision of the building, and is project manager of the upcoming Longgang International Arts Center in Shenzen China, seeing the project through from planning to completion. Other notable projects under his purview include Atlanta’s College Football Hall of Fame, the Nanjing International Exhibition Center in China, and multiple outdoor amphitheaters including the recently opened 10,000 seat Atrium Health Amphitheater in Macon, Georgia.
Emery is a registered architect in Georgia, and is an active member of the International Association of Venue Managers.
What can VC24 attendees expect to learn at this panel?
How building design can respond to climate change and changing operational requirements due to climate – especially for outdoor venues.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
Best advice I once heard is that advice is a form of nostalgia.
What’s the last book you read?
I read YouTube almost every night.
Sunny Wescott
Short bio:
CISA’s Chief Meteorologist, Sunny Wescott, is a Federal Emergency Response Official specializing in national extreme weather hazards and climatological studies for impacts to public and private sector key resources. During her time in the US Air Force as a Lead Meteorologist, Ms. Wescott trained on continental and oceanic weather as the Top Forecaster for her support region and is considered a subject matter expert for multiple climatological events such as drought, subsidence, wildfires, tropical cyclones, and winter storms. Ms. Wescott also graduated top of her class for her degrees in Homeland Security Management, Public Safety Administration, and Atmospheric Sciences with her current role in the Assistant Chief of Staff office performing Extreme Weather Outreach by providing focused reports for regions and critical infrastructure operators before, during, and after disasters.
What can VC24 attendees expect to learn at this panel?
– Trends in lightning, heat, flooding, hail occurrence and density, and damaging wind events amplified by local topography against building materials and structural design for best practice preparations and planning.
– How to track supercell threats ahead of events for prepositioning of resources and attendee messages and preparation needs.
– Seasonal threats and location selection, planning for different weather in the coming decades and anticipating supply chain struggles.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
In bootcamp, I had a chaplain notice I was struggling with developing a particular skill and he stopped his task to ask, “How long is bootcamp?” I replied that it was about two months, and he asked how long we spend learning this skill – to which I replied that it was over about a week. He pointed out that in the moment of struggle, it was just one week of my life so far, and that when I finally move past it, I will have decades ahead of me.
The moment may feel big, but in truth it is just a fraction of the various aspects of life and to always take the time to pull back and look at the whole of my life against the hard moments to see how far I have made it, even past other hard periods.
What’s the last book you read?
The last book I finished was Physics for Future Presidents [by Richard A. Muller], and the book I am currently reading is The Devil Never Sleeps [by Juliette Kayyem] (a book on living through disasters). My next book to read was a gift, The Royal Art of Poison [by Eleanor Herman].
Please join us at VC24 for this session!
Take the Weather With You! Impacts of Climate Change on Outdoor Venue Operations and Design
- Monday, July 29
- 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
There’s still time to register for VenueConnect 2024! Visit venueconnect.iavm.org today.
