We are pleased to introduce Adam de Yong, who is assisting Climate Smart Glacier Country’s Fire and Rain Climate Resilience Program. He will focus on community engagement, partnership development, and research support for our Flood Preparedness and Wildfire and Health projects.
Adam was born and raised in Kalispell on a small family farm. Like many who’ve stayed or found their way back, he carries both a deep love for this place and a concern for how our communities will weather what’s ahead—economically, environmentally, and socially.
Over the last decade, Adam’s career has lived largely in operations and tech, but he has been steadily building toward something different: work that is more connected to his values, his community, and the future he wants to help shape. This spring, he stepped away from a stable but unfulfilling role to pursue work that matters. The Climate Smart Glacier Country RFP felt like both the right opportunity and the right timing, aligning perfectly with his vision for locally rooted, sustainable, and circular systems of resilience.
Adam describes his ideal work as helping communities adapt to change in ways that improve quality of life, strengthen local economies, and reduce vulnerability to the disruptions we know are coming—whether from fire, flood, or broader shifts in the cost of living. He has seen these models succeed in past ventures and is excited to bring that same mindset into the thoughtful work already underway at CSGC.
His background is in leadership, with extensive experience in moving complex projects forward. Over the last ten years, he has developed skills in clear communication, public presentation, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence. As the face of a government division, he represented the agency in Montana legislative hearings and public forums, often navigating tension while keeping conversations grounded in shared interests. Those skills will be vital in this work, especially here in the Flathead Valley, where flood and fire risks are widely understood but the way we talk about them often determines whether solutions are embraced or dismissed.
Adam believes community resilience doesn’t need to be framed in partisan terms. Instead, it can be a practical conversation about affordability, preparedness, and caring for one another—values deeply rooted in the Flathead Valley. His approach will reflect that. We don’t need to convince people of climate change to make the case for HEPA filters, clean air centers, or better flood planning. We just need to show how these efforts make life better, safer, and more sustainable for the people who live here.
Above all, Adam is eager to collaborate with others who are thinking long-term and acting locally. He sees this as the beginning of the work he wants to be doing for the next decade or more, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the CSGC team!