Region 4 | Designing for Resiliency

Friday, May 1, 2026 • 8:00 am - 9:30 am

Tampa International Airport Main Terminal

Community Event Space between Airside E and F

Event Description

As communities across Florida face intensifying rainfall, sea level rise, and aging infrastructure, flood resilience has become a defining challenge for public agencies. This panel brings together senior leaders from state, regional, and local governments to share how they plan, prioritize, and implement resilient flood-control infrastructure solutions in the face of extreme weather events, regulatory demands, and funding constraints.

Panelists will discuss real-world challenges such as managing flood risk, integrating resilience into capital improvement programs, coordinating across jurisdictions, and balancing gray and green infrastructure approaches. The conversation will also explore how data, modeling, innovative design, and public–private collaboration can strengthen community resilience—and where the consultant community can play a critical role in helping agencies move from planning to implementation. Attendees will gain valuable insight into agency perspectives, emerging priorities, and practical ways to support resilient stormwater and infrastructure outcomes across the region.

Speakers

• Moderator: Melissa Mulvaney, PE, FDOT D7 Drainage Engineer Supervisor

• Eddy Bouza, State of Florida Chief Resiliency Officer

• Scott Letasi, PE (Invited), SWFWMD Bureau Chief, Engineering and Project Management

• Brejesh Prayman, PE, City of St. Petersburg Engineering and CIP Director

• Kayla Caselli, City of Tampa Resiliency Officer

• Bart Weiss, PE, Hillsborough County Resilience Officer

• Daniel Lauricello, PE, FDOT D7 District Roadway Engineer (invited)