Solutions-Focused Community Conversations
Living with Extreme Heat
Register Now
Join us for Solutions-Focused Community Conversations: Living with Extreme Heat, a free webinar about how rising temperatures affect our health, environment, and daily life in the desert.
Local experts will share how Arizona has built one of the strongest heat-response programs in the country and discuss solutions. We’ll also share ways to take action, including signing up for updates and supporting the Environmental Sustainability Impact Fund.
This webinar is for anyone who wants to learn more, support local efforts, and stay involved.
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Time: Noon – 1:00 PM AZ Time
Location: Zoom
Let’s come together to talk about the heat, ways to survive it, and how we can protect our beautiful desert communities.
About the Moderator
Ariana Brocious is a public media journalist, radio producer, and writer focused on environmental stories, especially those that explore issues of place, the natural world, and our connection to it. She has worked at numerous public media stations as a reporter, producer, anchor, and news director. She spent two years leading the reporting for a multimedia documentary project focused on a major Great Plains watershed and in 2017 created an award-winning podcast. She has produced stories for NPR’s Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Here and Now, Latino USA, and PBS NewsHour, and has a master’s degree in creative nonfiction. She speaks Spanish and some Portuguese and loves exploring the mountains and deserts of the American West.
About the Panelists
Maren Mahoney is an experienced attorney passionate about building an equitable, resilient future for all Arizonans. Trained in systems-level analysis, her expertise is in energy regulation, law, policy development, analysis, and advocacy. Prior to joining the Hobbs Administration, she advocated for state-level energy efficiency and decarbonization policies around the country, served as a Policy Advisor at the Arizona Corporation Commission, and managed an energy policy think tank at Arizona State University. She holds a J.D. from New York Law School, where she was a John Marshall Harlan Scholar and earned a Certificate for Public Service. Maren earned her M.A. in Sustainability from ASU, where she is a Senior Sustainability Scholar. Maren lives in Phoenix with her husband, two children, and their dog, Mr. Bunny.
Nate Young is a Program Manager who recently joined the Pima County Health Department’s Office of Heat Response and Relief. He holds a MPS from the Clinton School of Public Service, where he became a David L. Boren Fellow. Prior to joining the Health Department, Nate worked both domestically and internationally within the non-profit sector. His work has revolved around serving vulnerable populations within various settings, most recently as a Shelter Manager with the Primavera Foundation. He also has experience within the homeless services sector in Little Rock and as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for Community and Family Services International’s disaster response programs. From developing rapid-response toolkits to coaching staff on trauma-informed practices, Nate is always looking for ways to improve program operations in order to better serve the community. Nate also enjoys hiking the Tucson Mountains, but prefers to Beat the Heat during high temperatures in the summer!
Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar specializes in building resilience in diverse communities by enhancing the connections between people, culture, and natural resources. Joaquin brings vast experience on the multicultural border region between the US and Mexico, where he has implemented community-based approaches to watershed management, river restoration, geo-tourism, conservation of native peoples, and best practices for the ranching community. His past work has been with the Sonoran Institute and as a consultant for National Geographic Society and other organizations. Joaquin is a graduate of the University of Arizona with MSc in Natural Resources and Agricultural Economics and a PhD in Renewable Natural Resources Studies with an emphasis on management, policy and economics of natural resources. A native of Sonora, Mexico and resident of Arizona, Joaquin is fluent in both Spanish and English.