City Of Atlanta Restructures Office Of Resilience, Eliminates 2 Key Positions

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Chief Resilience Officer Stephanie Stuckey will oversee a reorganization of the city's Office Of Resilience in January 2018. / City of Atlanta

The City of Atlanta confirms it is restructuring its Office of Resilience – and an internal email suggests two key positions are being eliminated. 

Thursday, Dec. 7, GPB was sent a copy of an email from Chief Resilience Officer Stephanie Stuckey that states the positions of Director of Climate Policy and another Senior Policy Advisor will be eliminated this month under a plan to reorganize the department. In a statement, Mayor Kasim Reed’s press secretary Jenna Garland confirmed the restructuring, but she said the city "cannot comment on personnel matters." 

This news comes on the heels of a new report from Moody’s credit rating agency that warns that U.S. cities and states need to prepare for the effects of climate change or risk being downgraded. Moody’s determined that Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Texas are among the states with the highest risk of climate change related damage.

Atlanta's Office of Resilience was created in 2016 after the city became a member of the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities program. The then City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Sustainability was reorganized as the City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Resilience. The office is tasked with dealing with a range issues related to sustainability and climate change.

It also addresses natural disaster response tactics. Chronic civic concerns – violent crime, food and water shortages, unemployment – are another area of focus. The office is also engaged in resolving Atlanta’s endemic traffic troubles and lack of access to public transit. The effort is a collaboration between the city, neighborhood organizations, colleges and universities, NGOs, and local businesses.