Virtual Meeting: Wednesday December 9, 7:30 p.m.

email meetings@rbda.us for meeting credentials

NOTE: We have been experiencing intermittent problems with this new email address, so please cc board@rbda.us.

Our community has been forever changed by the CZU August Lightning Complex Fires. There have been so many poignant and inspirational accounts of the wildfires on social media, and in local and statewide media. Together these stories illustrate the strength of our community as we responded to the wildfire with coordinated action, bravery, and compassion for our neighbors. Our hearts are with all our whole community, as each and every one of us are engaged in efforts to rebuild or restore our homes, support the needs of others, and work to preserve the spirit of our wonderful community. 

At our December public meeting, we will be hosting two speakers from communities that have also suffered the devastation of wildfires, Jennifer Gray Thompson and Charles Brooks. They will share their experiences from living in the aftermath of a wildfire, the process of rebuilding their communities, and will be available to answer questions about what the next few weeks, months and years might hold. Ryan Coonerty,  3rd District County Supervisor, and Rachel Dann, 3rd District County Supervisor’s Analyst, will also be participating. 

Please join us.

Jennifer Gray Thompson is a lifelong resident of the Sonoma Valley. She graduated from Dominican University with dual degrees in English and History. After teaching high school AP English for 10 years, Jennifer went on to earn a master’s degree in Public Administration from University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy. Post-graduate school, Jennifer worked for the County of Sonoma from 2013 to 2017 for the Board of Supervisors.  After the devastating fires of October 2017, she accepted her current position as Executive Director of Rebuild Northbay Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping our region rebuild better, greener, safer, and faster. Jennifer is a proud board member of La Luz Center, a resource and referral nonprofit serving primarily the Latino community in Sonoma Valley. She is also Vice Chair of the Springs Community Alliance. 

Charles Brooks is a graduate of CSU Chico with a degree in Business Administration. Charles and his wife Jennifer have lived in Butte County since 1998 and lost their home in the Camp Fire of 2018.  Brooks is an Eagle Scout and has been involved in several volunteer civic organizations including: Boy Scouts of America, Students in Free Enterprise, Butte County Search & Rescue, Paradise Citizens’ Alliance and coached his boys’ soccer teams for many years. Founding Rebuild Paradise was an easy choice and necessary step to assist the Butte County community to recover in a meaningful way over the many years to come.

Participating in the Virtual Public Meeting

Zoom (zoom.us) is a video conferencing platform that is free to use through either a web browser or application, and audio participation is possible through a dial-up connection on your phone. We selected this platform based on its widespread use and ease of accessibility. For this meeting, we will be utilizing all the available security features, including password-protection and waiting rooms managed by the host. 

Here are details for accessing and participating in this meeting (these can also be viewed at our website rbda.us): 

•Send your e-mail address to meetings@rbda.us to receive the meeting credentials and password. Your email will not be used for any other communication and will not be shared.

•Please call into the meeting between 7:10 and 7:20, so that we can begin at 7:30.