Event Details

What: Quad Cities Flood Resiliency Alliance Meeting

Who Should Attend: City/county/village leaders and administrators; emergency management personnel; floodplain managers; public works personnel; local and state-level elected officials; residents and property owners in the region. Anyone with general interest.

Where: *MAY'S MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE QUAD CITY AREA REALTORS BUILDING - 1900 State St. in Bettendorf, IA* (Normally held at the Riverdale City Hall Community Room, 110 Manor Drive, Riverdale, Iowa)

When: 3:00 p.m., Thursday, May 15, 2025

Admission: Free

Contact: Kathy Wine, River Action | kwine@riveraction.org | (563) 322-2969

Meeting Agenda

• Flood Plain Management 101

Presented by Erin Conley, State of IL National Flood Insurance Program Coordinator, IL DNR

Erin Conley Bio: Erin Conley has been at the IDNR as the State’s Floodplain manager since 2022. She has worked for the State of Illinois for 24 years at the Pollution Control Board, Small Business Environmental Assistance Program, and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

• Local Flood Resiliency through Information, Planning, and Design

Presented by Mathew Langley, CFM, Floodplain Administrator, Vice Chair for Iowa Floodplain and Stormwater Management Association

Mathew Langley Bio: Mathew Langley is the Floodplain Administrator for Cedar Rapids and a CFM through the ASFPM. He got his three master’s degrees in urban planning, public administration, and infrastructure management and planning/floodplain management from the University of Washington. Recently, he focused on developing floodplain management strategies in collaboration with Forerunner for Cedar Rapids in order to take initiative to combat climate challenges.

• Improve, Don't Remove FEMA

Presented by Chad Berginnis, CFN, Executive Director, Association of State Floodplain Managers

Chad Berginnis Bio: In 2011, Chad Berginnis joined the staff of the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM). For more than 30 years, his work has focused on floodplain management, hazard mitigation, and land use planning at the state, local and private sector levels. As a state official, Chad worked in the Ohio Floodplain Management Program and was Ohio’s State Hazard Mitigation Officer. As a local official, he administered planning, economic development and floodplain management programs in Perry County, Ohio. In the private Sector, he was the national Practice Leader in hazard mitigation for Michael Baker Jr. Inc. Chad has served in an ASFPM volunteer leadership capacity for over a decade as ASFPM as Insurance Committee Chair, Mitigation Policy Committees’ Coordinator, Vice Chair, and Chair. He has a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources from Ohio State University.

• Citizen Science - CoCoRaHS: What it is, how to become a volunteer, and how it is used to help solve problems in our community.

Presented by Anthony Heddlesten, USACE

Anthony Heddlesten Bio: Anthony Heddlesten was elected Mayor in Riverdale IA in 2021 and began his terms in January of 2022, serving many regional boards such as the QCFRA. He works as an environmental engineer outside of the city. As an environmental engineer, he is passionate about environmental issues and is often tending to his prairie’s restoration garden and the Federally Endangered rusty patched bumble bees, checking on his solar panel array, or plugging in his PHEVs that charge off the array.

About the Quad Cities Flood Resiliency Alliance

The Quad Cities Flood Resiliency Alliance was launched at River Action’s 2018 Upper Mississippi River Conference. The alliance provides a platform for sharing flood prevention and mitigation strategies across communities in Iowa and Illinois.

Members collaborate on:

• Flood damage mitigation and floodplain restoration
• Community Rating System (CRS) education and enrollment
• Training and certification for floodplain managers
• Pre-disaster communication and resource-sharing

The alliance covers parts of Scott, Clinton, Muscatine, and Louisa counties in Iowa, as well as Rock Island, Whiteside, Mercer, and Henry counties in Illinois. Currently, only three Quad Cities communities (Moline, Davenport, Rock Island County) participate in the CRS, earning flood insurance discounts.