After The Fire USA

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After The Fire USA

We help communities navigate megafire (501c3)

You can recover, rebuild & reimagine

08/21/2026

Kaponoʻai Molitau’s work begins with a fundamental question: what are ʻōiwi resources, what have they been, and what will they be for generations to come?

As the first Director of the Maui County Department of ʻŌiwi Resources, Kaponoʻai brings the perspective of a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner, Kumu Hula, and civic leader to work grounded in the enduring connection between people, land, and lineage. Together with his staff, he approaches the stewardship of ʻōiwi resources with cultural intent and ancestral knowledge.

For more than two decades, Kaponoʻai has served as Kumu Hula for Hālau Nā Hanona Kūlike ʻo Piʻilani, teaching hula, oli, loina Hawaiʻi, and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi to youth, elders, and other teachers. He has trained extensively in protocol at Puʻukoholā Heiau and achieved the traditional elevation to Kahuna Nui. He is also co-founder and CEO of Native Intelligence in Wailuku, a cultural resource center championing Native Hawaiian design and craftsmanship.

Kaponoʻai will share his unique cultural outlook during the panel “Maui at Three Years: Recovery Rooted in Kuleana,” at the 2026 Wildfire Leadership Summit.

08/21/2026

We are honored to welcome the National Fire Protection Association as a sponsor of the 2026 Wildfire Leadership Summit.

Established in 1896, NFPA is a global, self-funded nonprofit devoted to eliminating death, injury, property, and economic loss due to fire, electrical, and related hazards. The organization advances that mission through more than 300 consensus codes and standards, along with research, training, education, outreach, and advocacy.

NFPA's work reaches the people who need it at every level: the fire service, code officials, builders, and residents making decisions about reducing wildfire risk around their homes and properties. Their collaboration with partners across the wildfire ecosystem helps turn research into practice in communities facing wildfire risk.

We are grateful to NFPA for their partnership and for more than a century of work that has made communities safer.

08/21/2026

Jenni Goodlin knows firsthand what long-term wildfire recovery demands.

Based in Paradise, Jenni brings years of boots-on-the-ground experience from the Camp Fire recovery. As the former Executive Director of Rebuild Paradise, she developed and led grant programs, worked alongside local leaders and homeowners, and helped advance practical approaches to rebuilding and wildfire resilience.

Today, as Community Resilience Manager at Mercury Insurance, her work sits at the intersection of wildfire resilience, community recovery, and insurance. She builds partnerships among homeowners, community organizations, fire agencies, and the insurance industry to identify practical ways to reduce wildfire risk and improve insurability.

Jenni’s perspective connects the realities of long-term recovery with the work communities can do now to become more resilient to the fires ahead.

At the 2026 Wildfire Leadership Summit, Jenni will join the panel “Build Back Better Is Not Enough: Infrastructure for the Fires Ahead,” bringing lessons from Paradise and her work connecting community resilience with insurance.

08/20/2026

We’re honored to welcome Susan Farren, Founder and Executive Director of First Responders Resiliency, Inc., to the 2026 Wildfire Leadership Summit.

A retired paramedic with more than 30 years in emergency medical services, Susan has dedicated her work to helping first responders build resilience to the cumulative stress and trauma of the job. Through First Responders Resiliency, she leads proactive, science-based wellness programs for first responders and their families, equipping them with tools to prevent and mitigate the effects of post-traumatic stress.

Her work is rooted in a powerful idea: supporting the health and resilience of first responders strengthens the communities that depend on them.

At the Summit, Susan will join the panel “The Long Road Within: Trauma, Resilience, and the Work of Healing,” sharing her perspective on the long-term health and well-being of those on the front lines.

08/20/2026

Firefighter Wellness Clinics come to WLS2026 — open to every attendee!

The toll of fire service isn’t always visible right away. Chemical exposure, cumulative stress, and long-term health impacts build quietly over a career.

That’s why we’re bringing the Volunteer Fire Foundation (VFF) and Integrative Health Action Network (IHAN) to this year’s Summit. Their on-site Firefighter Wellness Clinics use the same nationally recognized, evidence-informed model they’ve deployed across California and beyond—designed to reduce toxic chemical levels and improve health outcomes for the people on the front lines.

These clinics aren’t just for firefighters. Every Summit participant is welcome to take part.

Recovery starts with the responders, and it’s available to all of us. We’re glad to have VFF and IHAN alongside us at WLS2026.

08/20/2026

For Michaela Hrbacek, recovery is about more than responding to a crisis. It is about how communities organize, adapt, and build toward the future they envision.

As Community Impact Partnerships Manager at United Airlines, Michaela brings deep experience mobilizing people, partnerships, and resources to drive social impact. Her background spans volunteer management, community development, disaster response, urban planning and policy, and entrepreneurship, giving her a wide-ranging perspective on how coordinated action can help communities move forward.

At the 2026 Wildfire Leadership Summit, Michaela will moderate the panel “Maui at Three Years: Recovery Rooted in Kuleana,” guiding a conversation about the partnerships, responsibilities, and community leadership that shape long-term recovery.

08/19/2026

The Reverend Dr. Grace Park brings a unique perspective to wildfire recovery, shaped by decades of pastoral care, interfaith work, and service to the Pacific Palisades community.

As Associate Pastor at Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, Pastor Grace has served in pastoral ministry for decades, with a background spanning multicultural studies, pastoral counseling, urban missions, and interfaith leadership. She also works as a hospice chaplain, supporting people through some of life’s most vulnerable transitions. Her Doctor of Ministry dissertation focused on clergy self-care through interfaith dialogue and community.

Since the Palisades Fire, Grace has also stepped into the work of long-term recovery, serving with the Palisades Recovery Coalition and the Palisades Long Term Recovery Group. Her work reflects an understanding that recovery requires caring not only for survivors, but also for the people and institutions called to support them over the long haul.

At the 2026 Wildfire Leadership Summit, Pastor Grace will join the panel “Called to Show Up: Faith Communities and the Long Work of Recovery,” bringing her perspective on pastoral care, community-centered recovery, and the role of faith communities after disaster.

08/19/2026

We’re pleased to welcome Ralph Bloemers, Director of Fire Safe People Productions, to the 2026 Wildfire Leadership Summit.

Ralph is an Oregon-based environmental attorney turned filmmaker and educator, bringing decades of expertise in environmental law, land use, conservation, and wildfire resilience. Through the documentary “Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire,” he elevated the voices of fire survivors, scientists, and Indigenous leaders to reshape how we understand and live with wildfire.

His work at the intersection of law, storytelling, and land stewardship offers crucial insights into the systems and relationships that underpin both fire and recovery.

Ralph will join the panel “The Land Remembers: Water, Fire, and the Systems Beneath Recovery,” where he’ll share how understanding land and forest systems strengthens community resilience.

08/18/2026

For more than 25 years, Sara Tekula has worked at the intersection of ecological programming, public engagement, and nonprofit leadership on Maui. As founding Executive Director of the Kula Community Watershed Alliance, she now leads community-driven efforts to restore the Kula Fire burn scar and strengthen wildfire resilience across the Waiakoa watershed.

Her work in biochar, home ignition zone assessment, and land stewardship shows how understanding and tending the land beneath us can strengthen resilience above it.

At the 2026 Wildfire Leadership Summit, Sara will join the panel “The Land Remembers: Water, Fire, and the Systems Beneath Recovery,” where she’ll share how watershed restoration and land stewardship can contribute to long-term community recovery.

08/18/2026

After the Fire USA is proud to welcome back International Code Council as a sponsor of the 2026 Wildfire Leadership Summit.

The Code Council is a leading global source of model codes, standards, and building safety solutions. Its 15 International Codes are the most widely used and adopted set of model building safety codes in the world, with its code development work impacting the lives of nearly two billion people. Its family of solutions spans product evaluation, accreditation, certification, training, and other resources that support safer, more resilient communities.

For communities rebuilding after megafire, codes are more than paperwork. They help shape how homes and neighborhoods are rebuilt and how prepared they are for future wildfire. Through its work in fire and disaster mitigation, including the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, the Code Council provides local officials, builders, and communities with tools to reduce risk and strengthen resilience.

We are grateful to the International Code Council for its partnership and commitment to safe, affordable, and resilient communities.

Learn more at iccsafe.org.

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Sacramento, CA
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http://www.afterthefireusa.org/

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