This week, we're speaking with Angela Rollins, Director of Financial Empowerment for the City of Rochester, NY. As someone who is working at the intersection of personal finance and public finance, we wanted to ask Angela about how individual-focused financial empowerment programs help both resident economic mobility as well as the overall financial health of the city. We learn about some of the programs in place to help residents attain financial freedom such as the Summer of Opportunity Program and Kiva loans for small businesses, among others. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss a study that surveyed how different generations are feeling about their financial outlooks and levels of financial anxiety.

Climate change is a reality of our world, but are we thinking effectively about addressing our challenges? To find out, we sat down with Spencer Glendon, Founder of Probable Futures. We asked Spencer to tell us about what we often get wrong when thinking about climate adaptation, mitigating financial risk tied to high-risk weather events, and what kinds of public infrastructure investments we should expect to see in the future. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss an article that surveyed Americans about their perceptions and anxiety levels surrounding climate change.

Probable Futures is a non-profit climate literacy initiative that makes climate science accessible and understandable so that everyone, everywhere can think about climate change in practical ways and prepare for what's to come. The goal is for climate considerations to become an integral part of the decisions people make every day—at home, at work, and in their communities. You can read Spencer Glendon's seasonal essays here and can check out the maps that show local climate change impacts here.

To learn more about MMA's "Climate Risk and Municipal Finance" course that we mentioned in today's episode, click here.

When severe weather moves in, having accurate, real-time data is crucial. This extends to the muni market, where up-to-date analytics can help localities understand the exposure risks of their assets to extreme weather events. We sat down this week with Larry Lawrence, Head of ICE Climate, and Phoebe Devries, Senior Manager at ICE Climate, to better understand the methodology and technology behind monitoring and predicting the impact of severe weather on municipals, and how this helps localities conduct better risk management. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss a recent newsletter from our very own Liz Farmer (Long Story Short) that talks about the importance of communication in building trust in local government public finance.