Communities face a difficult balancing act: preparing for future disruptions while addressing aging infrastructure, limited resources, and immediate recovery needs. Building resilience means connecting plans to practical action that protects essential services and reduces long-term risk.

We sat down with Laura Pieslewicz of Public Consulting Group’s (PCG) Resilience and Sustainability team to discuss how communities can overcome implementation barriers, navigate funding opportunities, and prepare for tomorrow’s challenges today.

Q: Communities today face a growing range of challenges, from natural disasters to aging infrastructure to economic constraints. How is the definition of resilience evolving, and what does it mean for organizations planning for the future?

Laura Pieslewicz: Resilience looks different in every community. A Gulf Coast County preparing for hurricanes has different priorities than a desert community managing extreme heat and flash flooding, or a rural jurisdiction with limited staff capacity. What has changed is the expectation. Resilience is no longer just about restoring what was there before; it is about reducing future risk and helping communities come back stronger. That means making resilience part of everyday decisions about infrastructure, housing, land use, budgets, and essential services—not treating it as an emergency management issue alone.

Q: Many agencies recognize the importance of resilience yet struggle to move from planning to action. What are the most common barriers communities face when moving from planning to execution, and how do they overcome them?

Laura Pieslewicz: Most communities do not have a planning problem. They have plans, but those plans often are not connected to a budget, timeline, or accountable owner. Limited staff capacity, reimbursement-based funding, and work that crosses several departments can make even strong projects difficult to advance. The communities that make progress focus on a few priorities, prepare scopes and cost estimates early, assign responsibility, and look for support where they need it. Small wins matter, too. A completed drainage project or backup generator shows residents and decision makers that the plan can produce visible results.

Q: Federal funding opportunities for resilience and sustainability projects continue to grow, but navigating them can be complex. How can agencies position themselves to secure and maximize the impact of available resources?

Laura Pieslewicz: Agencies can strengthen their position by treating funding as a portfolio rather than relying on a single grant. Federal programs may provide significant support, but each has different eligibility requirements, timelines, and priorities, and the landscape can change quickly. Successful communities align federal, state, and local resources with a clear set of priorities.

Readiness is equally important. Because application windows can be short, agencies should identify priority projects early, develop scopes and cost estimates, begin benefit-cost analyses, and gather the data and partnerships needed to submit a competitive application.

Finally, agencies should plan beyond the award. Building procurement, environmental review, documentation, and reporting requirements into a project from the start helps protect the investment, reduce compliance risk, and position the community for future funding opportunities.

Q: Resilience is about more than responding to a crisis. How can communities balance immediate recovery needs with long-term sustainability goals to create lasting impact for residents and stakeholders?

Laura Pieslewicz: Recovery is the tax communities pay when resilience is not built in beforehand. Leaders can move quickly and rebuild smarter by defining what ‘better’ looks like before a disaster, identifying vulnerable facilities, and prioritizing upgrades in advance. Recovery decisions should restore essential services while reducing the likelihood that residents will face the same losses again. Keeping residents involved, especially those who face the greatest barriers to recovery, leads to stronger decisions, more equitable outcomes, and lasting trust.

Q: As communities look ahead, what trends, risks, and opportunities should state and local leaders be paying attention to as they prepare their communities for the future?

Laura Pieslewicz: State and local leaders should plan for greater responsibility as federal roles and funding structures continue to change. At the same time, overlapping disasters, rising insurance costs, aging infrastructure, staffing shortages, and cyber threats are putting more pressure on communities. The opportunity is to build capacity before the next disruption by investing in trained staff, reliable data, regional partnerships, and resilient infrastructure. PCG’s Resilience and Sustainability services bring planning, funding, recovery, compliance, and sustainability expertise together so agencies can turn risk information into practical, fundable action. The communities best positioned for the future will be the ones that make resilience part of everyday decision-making.

Build resilience before the next challenge arrives.

Learn how PCG’s Resilience and Sustainability team helps agencies move from planning to implementation with practical strategies, funding guidance, and long-term support for stronger, more sustainable communities.

Author Bio

Laura Pieslewicz | Disaster Recovery Operations Manager

Laura Pieslewicz leads disaster recovery operations for PCG’s Resilience and Sustainability team, helping state and local agencies plan for, secure, and manage FEMA, CDBG-DR, and CDBG-MIT funding. Laura has more than 30 years of experience in emergency management, disaster recovery, and EMS systems leadership, including 18 years teaching emergency services at Pima Community College. Working alongside communities across the country, Laura helps agencies turn resilience plans into fundable, compliant projects.