This episode takes a closer look at small businesses: A community’s recovery after an earthquake or other disaster hinges a lot on the recovery of small businesses, which provide goods, services and employment, and often have a social role as well. Yet small businesses—especially in low- and moderate-income communities—are really vulnerable to the damage and economic disruption that disasters cause. Here to discuss these challenges and potential solutions are Carolyn Kousky, Ben Collier, Tina Poole Johnson, and Claire Kramer Mills.

Carolyn Kousky is Associate Vice President for Economics and Policy Analysis at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). She is the author of Understanding Disaster Insurance: New Tools for a More Resilient Future and has published numerous articles, reports, and book chapters on the economics and policy of climate risk and disaster finance. (Bio)

Ben Collier is an Associate Professor in the Department of Risk, Insurance, and Healthcare Management in the Fox School of Business at Temple University. His research examines how households and firms manage severe climate risks. (Bio)

Claire Kramer Mills is Assistant Vice President and Director of Community Development Analysis, Outreach & Education at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. She leads a team that promotes economic opportunity by equipping community stakeholders with rigorous data analysis and tools to make impactful investments. (Bio)

Tina Poole Johnson is Deputy Director and Senior Fellow at the Center for Impact Finance at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy, where she is part of a team whose work includes connecting capital to initiatives that address economic and social inequality and crafting policies and practices to ensure that low-income, low-wealth, and other underserved people and communities have access to affordable, responsible capital. (Bio)

This Ready to Recover podcast was produced by CREW at crew.org with funding from FEMA through the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.