Dr. Kathie Dello, Assistant Secretary for Resilience for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has been chosen to speak as special session keynote speaker for 2026 New River Symposium on Friday, April 10, 2026 from 9:00 – 10:00 AM at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Dr. Kathie Dello leads the department’s efforts to strengthen North Carolina’s resilience to withstand increasingly severe weather. She leads the efforts of the Division of Coastal Management, State Energy Office, Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP), Flood Resiliency Blueprint and the State Resilience Office.
Prior to joining the department in 2025, she served as State Climatologist of North Carolina and Director of the State Climate Office at NC State University. Kathie’s work has been recognized nationally for advancing climate resilience, stakeholder engagement, and science communication in New York, Oregon and North Carolina. She is author of the 5th National Climate Assessment and the 2020 North Carolina Climate Science Report. She is a 2024 graduate of Leadership North Carolina. In 2025, Governor Josh Stein awarded her the North Carolina Award in Science, the state’s highest civilian honor.
New River Symposium is a biannual event hosted by New River Conservancy, (NRC) celebrating the social, economic, and scientific value of the New River, bringing together the river’s diverse constituents and providing a forum for partnership, research, and policy development. The theme for this years’ symposium is “Resilience in the watershed,” and will feature Ecological Communities, Cultural Endurance and Recreation Economy as the main tracts. New River Symposium runs from April 9-11 at AppState in Boone, NC.
Joe Johnson, Director of Operations for NRC says “With her background in climate resilience planning, Dr.Dello is a voice for forward thinking in order to meet climate challenges such as hurricane Helene head on. We are honored to have her at the New River Symposium and look forward to hearing her thoughts.”
New River Symposium 2026 runs April 9 – April 11 at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.
Photo: Dr Kathie Dello serves as the Assistant Secretary for Resilience for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and will speak at the New River Symposium at AppState on April 10, 2026. Photo: WVPEC
