After the Fire

Professor of Art Simon Penny and Eaton Fire evacuee join UCSC panel on climate change

Department of Art Professor Simon Penny at UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts will join a panel discussion on climate change, insurance and community resilience hosted by UC Santa Cruz's Climate Action Now and Earth Futures Institute.

Insurance, Risk, and Resilience in a Changing World brings together researchers, policy thinkers, and firsthand voices to examine what happens when the systems built to absorb risk retreat from it, and what it would take to build something better.

Penny, who holds faculty appointments in art, music and informatics at UC Irvine, speaks from direct experience as an Eaton Fire evacuee. Nearly 10,000 structures were destroyed in the January 2025 fire, and for the roughly 100,000 people affected, the disaster is far from over. Toxic residues continue to threaten public health, insurance companies and state agencies have largely abandoned residents, and thousands of court cases are working their way through the legal system. "The psychological damage, while less visible, is deep and widespread," shared Penny.

He will be joined by Michael W. Beck, Director of the UCSC Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, and Josh Harrison, Director of the UCSC Center for the Study of the Force Majeure, with UCSC Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics Dan Friedman moderating.

Friday, May 29, 2026 | 12-1:30 p.m. PT | Free via Zoom Register at bit.ly/insurancepanelzoom.

To learn more about Simon Penny’s work, visit his website at simonpenny.net.