Economic Architecture The Podcast

When Kristen Fanarakis first noticed the damages to her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene in 2024, she realized it wasn’t the first responders alone who helped aid in the recovery of her community. It was also the key players in our communities’ resilience efforts that we often ignore: small businesses and their owners.

Host Stuart Yasgur and Associate Director of the Milken Insitute Small Business & Innovation Initiative, Kristen Fanarakis, discuss the vital role of small businesses in nationwide climate resilience efforts after major weather-related disasters. With their generosity supporting community members in the short-term from providing water and other essential survival items, communities need to provide the economic and social support for small businesses to become commonplace in our resilience plans.

Learn more about Kristen Fanarakis & The Milken Insitute: https://milkeninstitute.org/content-hub/research-and-reports/reports/weather-and-waste-rethinking-small-business-support-following-natural-disaster