Women To Watch Awards 2026 honors Dr. Sequoia Riley

Dr. Sequoia Riley is a thought leader and Urban and Regional Planning researcher who shifts the rooms when she speaks by asking the right questions the first time and challenging conventional thinking. She earned her B.S. in Marine Science with a minor in Applied Mathematics from Coastal Carolina University. After completing two internships, she recognized that a marine science career was not the path she wanted to pursue. She subsequently earned her M.S. in Marine Resource Management from Texas A&M University–Galveston, specializing in Coastal Resilience Planning. This experience became an important turning point that inspired her to pursue a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, which she received in 2022. She is the first Black American in her department to earn a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning.

Building on the expertise developed through her doctoral research, Dr. Riley has oriented her career toward addressing climate adaptation, urban resilience, and climate equity through practical solutions for underserved and disadvantaged communities. With more than nine years of experience in research, data analysis, and project and program management, she has played leadership roles in climate adaptation and climate equity projects. Her work has mainlh focused on critically evaluating equitable strategies for implementing green infrastructure and other climate resilience solutions across urban and rural built environments.

Dr. Riley's professional experience spans independent consulting, nonprofit research institutes, and academia. Her interdisciplinary background allows her to bridge research, policy, hazard mitigation planning, and implementation to address complex climate and environmental challenges.

She is also a published author, having transformed her independent research into a book on barriers to green infrastructure for flood mitigation. In addition to her research work, she serves as a consultant, a guest lecturer, and contributes thought leadership on climate adaptation, climate equity, land-use policy, flood mitigation, green infrastructure, and environmental justice.

Dr. Riley welcomes opportunities to consult, collaborate, and partner on projects, programs, research initiatives, and contracts that advance climate resilience, policy, and equitable outcomes.