Brian Shekleton

Brian Shekleton is the Strategic Partnerships & Climate Policy Lead for the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership. In previous roles Brian’s work focused on climate planning and the resilience of infrastructure and natural systems. At the Minnesota Department of Transportation he led the development of MnDOT’s first statewide Resilience Improvement Plan, coordinated the agency’s internal resilience advisory team, and worked with teams in MnDOT’s eight districts to invest federal, resilience-focused PROTECT Formula funds into projects. Prior to MnDOT he worked in Hennepin County’s Public Works Department where he co-led the teams that developed that county’s first climate action plan and climate vulnerability assessment. 

Brian’s introduction to resilience-focused partnerships and resilience planning came during the 12 years he spent working on stormwater and water quality issues as a member of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District board. Those years encompassed that watershed’s wettest decade ever, including a 2014 flood of record that damaged the built environment and stressed natural systems. Strategic, cross-jurisdictional and public private partnerships, not regulatory tools, proved to be effective ways to respond to extreme weather with plans and projects that increased climate resilience.