Massachusetts Appoints Katie Schlick as State's First Heat Resilience Officer
Katie Schlick will coordinate agencies and communities as Massachusetts responds to more frequent extreme heat, with a $90,000 salary funded by the Boston Foundation.
- On Thursday, Governor Maura Healey announced Katie Schlick as Massachusetts' first Heat Resilience Officer to coordinate state agencies and protect public health from extreme heat.
- Massachusetts has warmed nearly 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit since the start of the past century, while heat stress sent roughly 750 people annually to emergency rooms between 2017 and 2021.
- Schlick, a former White House special assistant, will report to Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer and Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, with her $90,000 salary fully funded by the Boston Foundation.
- Advocates like Rachael Boyce of Better Future Project praised the appointment as "a promising sign," though some questioned whether the Healey administration would maintain long-term commitment to the role.
- Massachusetts becomes the second U.S. state after Arizona to establish this role, as projections show 90-degree days could triple by 2050 and Schlick develops intergovernmental action plans.
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Gov. Healey announces new statewide Heat Resilience Officer position
Gov. Maura Healey has announced a new statewide Heat Resilience Officer, which pays $90,000 per year, and will be responsible for coordinating government response to extreme heat in Massachusetts.
Governor Appoints First Massachusetts Heat Resilience Officer
WORCESTER – Governor Maura Healey announced the appointment Katie Schlick as the first Massachusetts Heat Resistance Officer at Clark University in Worcester on Thursday, August 13. The position leads coordination across state government and works with local communities to prepare for rising temperatures, protect public health, and reduce impacts of extreme heat. “Extreme heat is the deadliest weather hazard in the U.S., killing more Americans t…
CommonWealth Beacon
statehousenews.comMassachusetts is second state to appoint heat resilience officer
AS MASSACHUSETTS COPES with the prolonged impacts of rising temperatures, the Healey administration on Thursday named Katie Schlick as the state’s first heat resilience officer. Schlick will coordinate state government agencies and work with communities to “prepare for rising temperatures, protect public health and reduce the impacts of extreme heat,” according to a press release from Gov. Maura Healey’s office. She will report to state Climate …
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