Disaster Recovery Roundtable: APA California’s Response to the LA Fires

Join Us for the Disaster Recovery Roundtable: APA California’s Response to the LA Fires

Date: Friday, January 24, 2025
Time: 1 PM PT
Location: Zoom (link below)

APA California and the California Planning Roundtable invite you to an insightful webinar exploring disaster recovery in the wake of the LA fires. This Disaster Recovery Roundtable is the first in a series of topic-focused discussions featuring expert insights and community dialogue.

Featured Speaker:
Jeff Lambert, CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura, will share his experience leading Ventura’s recovery and rebuilding efforts after the 2017 Thomas Fire. Learn actionable steps to take in the critical first days and weeks of disaster recovery, and hear lessons from the field.

Why Attend?

  • Hear from professionals who’ve navigated disaster recovery firsthand.
  • Contribute your questions, suggestions, and resources.
  • Gain access to recordings and resources in APA’s Disaster Recovery section.

Let’s plan for resilience together—because planners are at the heart of recovery.

Register now and be part of the help: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9xw82EATTI-f0zFet6SFQw

Jeffrey Lambert serves as Chief Executive Officer for the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura. The Housing Authority owns and manages more than 1,000 affordable units and manages nearly 2,000 Housing Vouchers. Most recently, Jeff served as Chief Operating Officer of the Ventura County Community Foundation.

Jeffrey previously served as Community Development Director for the City of Oxnard and City of Ventura. In this role, he led the City’s effort to recover and rebuild from the Thomas Fire which caused the loss of more than 500 homes (and two apartment buildings) in the city in 2017.

Jeffrey has a proven track record as a public servant through his career and is recognized as a Certified Planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Jeffrey previously owned his planning and government consulting firm, served as Community Development Director for the City of Santa Clarita and as the Land Use Manager for Kaiser Permanente Southern California. Jeffrey served on the national Board of the American Planning Association (APA), was President of the California Chapter of APA, and has served on the California Planning Roundtable.

Lambert graduated from the University of Southern California with a Masters in Urban Planning and previously earned his B.A. degree in Psychology and Government from Clark University in Worcester Massachusetts.

Thomas Fire Rebuild – Jeff led the rebuilding efforts for the City of Ventura after the Thomas Fire; this included damage assessment, debris removal (including toxic substances), rebuilding regulations that allowed homeowners devastated by the total loss of their homes to rebuild their “dream home” by including flexibility in allowed building footprint, height and square footage. This required consultation with architects and engineers and building officials to ensure homes were built back better and more fire resistant (home hardening) but also build back as fast as possible. In fact, the first homeowner moved back in to their newly rebuild home within 12 months of the fire.