Book Talk and Focused Discussion on Climate Disaster Planning and Hazard Mitigation

In celebration of Earth Day and DC Climate Week, you are invited to a special evening discussion with McCourt alum and author Will Hackman (MPP’18) to discuss his new book Radically Reframing Climate Change: A Guide to Saving Ourselves. The conversation will span topic areas of Will’s new book and focus a discussion on climate disaster planning and hazard mitigation--ie: how safe are we from the impacts of climate change in the places we live? This is a key theme in Will’s new book and he will be joined by two leading experts in this field.

This talk will be moderated by Derrick Hiebert, Infrastructure Resilience Practice Leader for AECOM and a former Assistant Administrator for Hazard Mitigation at FEMA (‘23-’25). Joined in conversation will also be Sana Ikram Sharif, an international expert in climate resilience and disaster risk  and Senior Consultant with the World Bank Group. There will be a robust Q&A with audience participation.

This discussion, sponsored by McCourt Energy & Environment, will take place on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET at 125 E St NW.

IMPORTANT NOTE: this is Georgetown's Capitol Campus location NOT the main Georgetown undergraduate campus location.

Light refreshments will be provided. Immediately following the event, from 6:00pm to 6:30pm, there will be networking opportunities and a book signing by Will in the same room.

Copies of Radically Reframing Climate Change will be available for purchase at the event.

Mr. Hackman’s new book is an inspirational guide to discussing and fighting climate change for millennial and GenZ voters–cutting through the usual myths and scare tactics to provide practical advice. Through identification of three main obstacles to solving climate change– polarization, paralysis and stale, ineffective messaging–he provides a path forward for engagement and voter mobilization that combats apathy, dread, and resentment, all while building greater issue identification and assuring humanity's place on a changing planet.

Will Hackman has more than fifteen years’ experience working in US political campaigns, public policy process, strategic communications, coalition building, climate activism, and global environmental conservation advocacy. Will is a frequent climate voice online and in the media and has been interviewed on several climate change-related podcasts. His 2022 TEDx “The Future of Climate Change is Personal,” challenges us to reframe our climate conversations to overcome polarization and partisanship. His writing has appeared in The Hill, Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Georgetown Public Policy Review, and other outlets. Will received his MPP in 2018 and founded the McCourt E&E student organization serving as its first President. He lives in Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley with his wife Paula.

Derrick Hiebert is the Infrastructure Resilience Practice Leader for AECOM and a former federal Senior Executive, with a record of building innovative hazard mitigation programs at all levels of government. He recently led the Hazard Mitigation Directorate at the FEMA, delivering a nationwide portfolio of over $35B in Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants alongside the national Floodplain Management program and the Hazard Mitigation cadre. Prior to FEMA, Derrick worked in public sector advisory consulting and led mitigation planning and project development as a state and local emergency manager in Washington State.

Sana Ikram Sharif is an internationally recognized expert in climate resilience and disaster risk finance with over 16 years of experience advising sovereign governments, multilateral development banks, and international institutions across fragile and climate vulnerable states. A Senior Consultant with the World Bank Group, she works at the intersection of climate finance, disaster risk management, and sovereign risk instruments, translating complex financial mechanisms into actionable policy and investment decisions for governments facing escalating climate threats.

Sana has led high stakes advisory engagements across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, designing risk financing strategies, Paris-aligned investment frameworks, and crisis preparedness systems for some of the world's most vulnerable populations. Her work spans the full resilience lifecycle from pre-disaster financial protection to post-crisis recovery.

A Harvard Kennedy School Edward S. Mason Fellow and Mid-Career MPA graduate, Sana brings both rigorous analytical depth and field tested pragmatism to the global conversation on climate resilience and disaster risk managment. She is a sought after voice on the nexus of climate risk, sovereign finance, and fragile state development.

This event is free with first come, first serve seating.

DC Climate Week is not responsible for this event. It is organized by the organizing group, and being listed on the DCCW calendar is not an endorsement of content or partners.