Unlike prior years, the 2025 gathering was a two-day affair. The first day was the Hub’s all researcher meeting. The latter half of the conference was CHEER’s partner workshop. Representatives from several of the Hub’s practitioners and community partner organizations attended the meeting.

CHEER’s annual meetings have been a highlight for members of the Hub because they are the only event where all researchers, postdocs, students, staff, and partners are invited to gather in person. Having this face-to-face time strengthens the relationships between members of the Hub and helps maintain the collaborative, inclusive nature of the team.

More than 30 CHEER researchers, students, postdocs, and staff gathered at East Carolina University for the Hub’s annual all-researcher meeting on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

The in-person nature of the meeting also provides an ideal setting for reviewing and evaluating the Hub’s progress, sharing cross-thrust updates, and discussing plans for CHEER’s continued success. At its core, this gathering presents a unique opportunity for all team members, regardless of expertise or title, to gain insight into the activities and functions of the Hub’s various thrusts and partners.

Following the team-building exercises led by Tiffany Galvin-Green, the Hub’s organizational consultant, the all-researcher meeting kicked off with a series of six brief presentations. 

A representative from each thrust shared a summary of their latest research findings and progress with the rest of the Hub. These presentations – led by Brian Colle (Hazards), Ian Sue Wing (Economy), Sydney Dyck (Households), A.R. Siders (Government), Mohammad Askari (Buildings), and Linda Nozick (Integration) –  focused on the plans for the next couple of years and how they intersect with other thrusts.

Each thrust also included specific details regarding how their planned activities will contribute to two developing projects within CHEER: the Hub’s knowledge and STARR frameworks.

Knowledge Management Director Chris Lenhardt and PI Rachel Davidson, respectively, presented on and discussed the topics the following day during the partner workshop.

STARR, which stands for the Stakeholder-based Tool for the Analysis of Regional Risk, is the Hub’s computational tool meant to support real-world policy design. Because STARR models different factors related to coastal hazards across time and geography, it is crucial for the Hub to gather boots-on-the-ground perspectives and feedback from its various community and practitioner partners.

This year’s gathering fostered a more inclusive environment for the entire CHEER network by combining the Hub’s annual all-researcher meeting and partner workshop. In attendance, from left to right, were representatives from seven of the Hub’s partner organizations: Chad Strawn (Craven County, NC), Bob Fuller (Pamlico County Disaster Coalition), Dana Nelson (Texas Access to Justice Foundation), Trevor Barnett (The Restoration Team), Charlie Sidoti (InnSure), Susan Asmus (National Association of Home Builders), Sharon Goodson (North Carolina Community Action Association), and Stuart Brown (NC Dept. of Environmental Quality).

Representatives from seven of the Hub’s partner organizations participated in a panel, where they shared and discussed the current challenges they are facing with their constituents. It provided them with an opportunity to learn more about how STARR works and how it could be modified to meet their needs.

The diverse perspectives of these organizations are one of the Hub’s greatest assets. Their unique insight into how decisions at the local level can help vet and improve the effectiveness of STARR in making informed decisions and achieving relevant outcomes.

This Q&A was the highlight of the meeting for many Hub members because they were able to ask the partners questions and share their own thoughts on how STARR could best integrate their perspectives. It also allowed them to peek behind the curtain and understand the contributions from and roles of CHEER’s partners. Even though this panel provided only a snapshot of the partner’s work, it was a testament to how these collaborations propel both the Hub and these organizations forward.

In addition to the Hub’s 25 partners, CHEER is comprised of more than 60 researchers, students, postdocs, and staff from across the country. While in-person opportunities like this one are important in strengthening these relationships, the Hub’s annual meeting brings together its entire diverse network to show how CHEER’s work unfolds and has a real-world impact.

“The Hub addresses large-scale, systematic issues – climate change and coastal resilience – but members of our team are able to zoom in and study individual parts while accounting for the perspectives and needs of the people in our case study areas,” Davidson said. “Coming together to look at these big-picture themes is an exciting opportunity.”