2025 End of Year Message from the Executive Director

As you scroll down through this end-of-year update, you can see that it has been a busy and productive one for the Ten Across team.  We are sincerely grateful for the support of our 10X collaborators, partners, sponsors, and dynamic networks who make the work that we do together possible. 

A shortlist of the many ’25 highlights include:

• an extremely successful and inspiring 10X Convergence event in Jacksonville, FL
• the “Framework for a Heat Ready Nation” report w/ the Federation of American Scientists
• expansion of the Resilient American Futures curriculum and rave student reviews
• new initiatives in risk + insurability planning with public and private sector partners
• insightful engagements with national figures in the Ten Across Conversations podcast

Regarding the last item, I highly recommend the year-end summary podcast which weaves together many of the critical discussions we conducted in 2025. As you listen to the many subject experts and civic leaders, you will hear consistent references to resilience, insurability, and the need for a more proactive address to the impacts of climate change. 
 
In the course of the podcast, an essential Ten Across theme emerges: the responsibility of knowing. Thanks to advances in science, technology, and visualization, we have at our disposal the data-driven trendlines to a knowable future. With such awareness comes an obligation to act on these leading indicators and steer society—and the planet—toward a more sustainable, inclusive, and vibrant tomorrow…an admittedly tall order but one that can be achieved if we work together across boundaries, sectors, and resources.

Sincerely,

Wellington “Duke” Reiter, Executive Director and Founder
Ten Across Initiative

10X Convergence: Bridging Sectors and Geographies to Address Insurability Challenges – October 22-23, 2025

In October, Ten Across hosted the 10X Convergence—a two-day convening of experts from across the Ten Across region representing government, nonprofits, philanthropy, academia, research organizations, private sector, and the risk and insurance industry. Designed to provide an engaging forum for knowledge sharing and affirmation of common interests, the Convergence focused on the intersection of resilience and insurability planning. Through many structured conversations with dedicated experts, it became clear that insurability is a proxy for our ability to quantify the impact of various risks, direct attention to vulnerable locations, and initiate problem-solving that requires collaboration and scale. Several proposed projects and pilot concepts surfaced from workshop discussions which are currently being examined and prioritized with key partners and stakeholders for potential development in 2026.

To learn more about the 10X Convergence including insights, identified projects, and action items surfaced from the discussions download the Summation Report. 

A special thanks to Innsure and private sector partner Stantec for collaborating on the development and facilitation of the second day insurability workshop. 

Ten Across Resilience Network – Uniting to Secure a Heat Ready Region

Throughout the year the Ten Across Resilience Network focused much of its work on the shared challenges of extreme heat. This work included two in-person convenings and several virtual planning meetings.

The first in-person convening was held in April where over 70 Network representatives from California to Florida convened in Jacksonville, Florida (and virtually) for the Ten Across Sunbelt Cities Extreme Heat Exercise. Attendees worked to understand the available levers for government heat response, discussed their current efforts on extreme heat, and identified gaps that hinder both immediate response and long-term planning for future extreme heat events. Through an analysis of efforts to date in the Ten Across region, gaps in capabilities, and identified opportunities, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) drew on the Network’s expert insights to inform the Framework for a Heat Ready Nation. This framework includes recommendations from the Network exercise and identifies decisive actions to save lives during extreme heat events.

FAS Senior Manager of Climate and Health Grace Wickerson joined Ten Across Executive Director Duke Reiter for a podcast discussion titled Extreme Heat Has Only Just Begun: How Prepared is the U.S.?, which provides an overview of the Framework, challenges facing communities, and how the 10X Resilience Network plays a key role in leading extreme heat work for the nation.

Building on the Network’s recommendations from the April convening, members reconvened at the 10X Convergence to prioritize identified recommendations and opportunities for regional action and collaboration. The Network aims to advance a set of priority projects in 2026, including the identification of potential partners and funding pathways. For more detail download the workshop summary.

Ten Across Private Sector – Risk and Insurance Take Center Stage

In July, the Ten Across Private Sector Network convened senior executives from across the region in San Diego for its second annual in-person meeting, focused on the accelerating challenges facing the insurance industry and their implications for businesses and communities. Leading insurance and climate risk experts—Dave Jones (UC Berkeley Law), Charlie Sidoti (InnSure), and Carolyn Kousky (Insurance for Good)—provided candid insights on market conditions, emerging risks, and the private sector’s role in strengthening insurability. These discussions carried into the October 10X Convergence, where members further explored insurability as a strategic lever for resilience planning and long-term regional viability, prompting Ten Across to advance ongoing conversations with partners and Network members to align challenges, opportunities, and resources to support insurability efforts across companies.

A special thank you to our Private Sector sponsors Stantec, Gensler, Epcor, Land Advisors, Blue Cottage of Cannon Design, and Gallagher for their generous support of Ten Across.

Ten Across Community Foundations Meet the Moment – Repositioning Philanthropy to Address Future Risk

At the October 10X Convergence, Community Foundation and major foundation CEOs and senior leaders, aligned on a shared strategy to strengthen cross-regional collaboration across the Ten Across corridor. The group prioritized identifying pilot initiatives, investments in governance and coordination capacity, and an evolution of the community foundation model toward specialized expertise in resilience, catalytic investing, and climate-informed capital—particularly for high-risk communities. Collectively, the convening marked a clear shift toward a more integrated operating model, positioning the Ten Across network as a backbone organization to align resources, scale solutions, and drive durable regional impact.

The Ten Across team is currently meeting with Foundation leaders across the region to gain deeper understanding of local priorities to identify opportunities for alignment and collaboration in 2026.

Ten Across Conversations: What 2025 Made Impossible to Ignore

In our end of year podcast episode we look back on the year and share salient themes that emerged. As climate risks intensify, communities are being forced to confront hard questions about insurance, disaster preparedness, and who bears responsibility when impacts strike. In this episode, we explore these challenges through the insights shared by our Ten Across guests and the region—where climate pressures are already reshaping markets and governance—but with lessons that resonate nationwide. From the future of affordable insurability, to the readiness of state and local governments as federal roles shift, to reflections on what Hurricane Katrina still teaches us 20 years later, this episode surfaces what’s at stake, further reinforcing why the Interstate 10 corridor is an extremely useful observatory for understanding what lies ahead for the nation.

Communicating Climate Change From and Beyond the Newsroom

Ten Across convened a Climate Communications workshop led by veteran journalist Sadie Babits, Senior Supervising Climate Editor at National Public Radio. Drawing on her recently published book, Hot Takes: Every Journalist’s Guide to Covering Climate Change, Babits guided participants from across sectors and across the region through a series of hands-on exercises. The workshop equipped attendees with practical tools to: communicate about climate in ways that build understanding and inspire action: explore how storytelling shapes perception across fields such as journalism, education, and planning; and create space for cross-sector dialogue and peer learning.

Ten Across News and Insights Newsletter Most Read Features

The Ten Across “News and Insights on the Ten” Newsletter continues to enjoy high engagement rates with the topics of governance, equity, risk, water and climate coming in as the top 5 most referenced with the following articles/podcasts representing the top 10 most viewed in 2025.

1. Ten Across Feature: AI Series: 10X Cities are Using Digital Twins to Solve Complex Problems
2. Ten Across Feature: Understanding Groundwater Risks in the Southwest with Jay Famiglietti
3. Ten Across Feature: A Fight for Better Air Quality in California’s Inland Empire Reveals a Need for American Innovation
4. Inside Climate News: Colorado River Basin Aquifers Are Declining Even More Steeply Than the River, New Research Shows
5. Texas Tribune: The One Thing Texas Won’t Do to Save its Water Supply
6. CalMatters: How Mortgage Lenders are Impeding Californians from Rebuilding Fire-torn LA
7. Grist: Funding to Protect American Cities from Extreme Heat Just Evaporated
8. Planetizen: Interactive Map Reveals America’s “Shade Deserts”
9. Inside Climate News: New Mexico Bans Release of Treated Oil and Gas Wastewater
10. LA Times: The West’s ‘Climate Mayors’ Call for Federal Help as Colorado River Flows Decline

Mapping for Resilient American Futures Course to Launch in Spring 2026

In collaboration with ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Ten Across is launching a new course Mapping for Resilient American Futures focusing on geographic information systems (GIS) in spring of 2026. This course will use the issue and place format of the current Resilient American Futures online course, this time with a focus on GIS to better understand and address climate, social inequity, and other challenges impacting the Ten Across region. Throughout the course, students will hear from professionals working in various GIS careers, offering real-world insight into how the technology assists with critical decision making and resilience planning.

Interested in learning more about this course contact Kelly Saunders.

Universities Meet to Discuss Opportunities for Resiient American Futures Course Expansion Across 10X Network

Higher education leaders from nine universities across the Ten Across corridor convened to discuss opportunities for advancing resilience in 10X communities by using the Ten Across transect as a shared framework for applied, problem-solving curricula that move beyond stand-alone courses to deliver cohesive curricula focused on problem-solving, applied learning, design thinking, and policy engagement. Discussions emphasized cohesive learning models, faculty incentives, and real-world engagement to strengthen student retention and deliver actionable solutions to regional challenges.

Participants committed to launching pilot programs using shared learning modules in partnership with Trinity University and the University of North Florida. Concurrently, they will continue convening to formalize partnership models and design the operational structure of a collaborative network.

A special thank you to the Helios Foundation for generously funding the 10X Collegiate Network workshop.

Ten Across Network members are hard at work in their cities, counties and states working to address critical resilience issues impacting their communities. Below is just a small collection of network-wide accomplishments. Join us in celebrating their work!

• City of Austin one of four cities selected through a competitive process to participate in the C40 Heat, Health, and Equity Challenge Fund
• City of Austin received NOAA funding for extreme heat initiatives, notably a $20,000 grant in early 2025 for heat planning. [Learn more]
• City of Austin approves indoor heat ordinance requiring all homes and residential buildings to have functional air conditioning that keeps habitable rooms below 85°F and at least 15°F cooler than outdoor temperatures during extreme heat events, ensuring landlord accountability and protecting residents from dangerous heat. [Learn more]
• City of Austin awarded a $70,000 grant to partner with community-based organizations to implement innovative, community-driven solutions to safeguard the most vulnerable residents during the 2025 heat season. [Learn more]
• City of Phoenix Makes Major Strides in Shade Phoenix Plan: 31 of 36 Year One Milestones Met [Learn more]
• City of Phoenix Delivers Heat Relief: Over 44,000 Visits to Overnight and Extended-Hour Cooling and Respite Centers This Summer [Learn more] 
• Phoenix City Council Unanimously Approves Energy Access Plan [Learn more]
• City of Jacksonville Launches Affordable Housing Transparency Dashboard [Learn more]
• City of Los Angeles Officially Ends Its Use of Coal Power [Learn more]
• Los Angeles County adopts 2025 OurCounty Sustainability Plan, the most ambitious regional roadmap in the nation [Learn More]
• California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s office and City of Los Angeles to pilot an extreme heat insurance policy for vendors [Learn more]
• City of San Antonio Awared $1.2M Federal Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant [Learn More]
• City of San Antonio Expands Climate Ready Neighborhoods Network, Launches New Resilience Planning Tools [Learn more]
• City of San Antonio’s creation of its first Heat Resilience Playbook. It aligns existing heat work, identifies needed neighborhood-based and Citywide projects, programs, and policies to be leveraged across the city to combat extreme heat. [Learn more]
• City of San Diego Awarded grant from California Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program, in partnership with San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, for completion of Extreme Heat Action Plan. [Learn more]
• City of San Diego Achieved LEED Gold certification from U.S. Green Building Council using LEED for Cities and Communities. One of eight cities in the U.S. [Learn more]
• City of San Diego Adopts Landmark Coastal Resilience Master Plan to Protect Beaches and Coastline [Learn more]
• City of St. Petersburg Invests in $1M in Shore Acres Flood Mitigation Project to support Resiliency Efforts [Learn more]
• Greater New Orleans Community Foundation Awards $53,000 Through Participatory Grantmaking, Climate Action Equity Project Awards to Equitable Climate Action Projects [Learn more]
• The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program and Lever for Change Announce the Greater New Orleans Foundation and Together Louisiana as Finalists for $50 Million Challenge to Support a Safer, More Resilient, and Sustainable Future for the Gulf Coast Region [Learn more]
• State of Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs Invests $15.6 Million to Strengthen Arizona’s Energy Grid, Reduce Power Outages, and Lower Costs [Learn more]

Let us share your resilience and sustainability accomplishments! Email us and we’ll do our best to share on our social media channels and upcoming newsletters.

In addition to the next Ten Across Convergence (date TBD) we’ll also be at several key events in 2026. We hope to see you there! 

• 10X at Second Nature Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit – Chicago, IL – March 8-10, 2026
• 10X at Transforming Water, West Summit – ASU Global Water Institute – Phoenix, AZ – March 20, 2026
• 10X at AZ Transfer Summit, March 26-27, 2026
• 10X at ASU + Global Silicon Valley (GSV) Ed Tech Summit – San Diego, CA – April 12-15, 2026
• 10X at Society of Environmental Journalism Annual Conference – Chicago, IL – April 15-18, 2026
• 10X at Southeast Sustainability Directors Network – Tampa, Florida – May 4-7, 2026
• 10X at Esri User Conference – San Diego, CA – July 13-17, 2026
• 10X at Aspen Climate – July 2026
• 10X at Climate Week – NYC – September 21-28, 2026
• 10X at Arizona Community Foundation Environment Summit – December 2-3, 2026

PARTNER WITH US! 

Interested in working with us? 
Reach out to Rae Ulrich to schedule a call.