People

Victoria Salinas is a Senior Advisor with Teneo and a nationally recognized leader in resilience.

Victoria helps communities, businesses and governments prepare for disasters, adapt to change and build a stronger future. With over two decades of experience across government, philanthropy and the private sector, she has worked at local, national and international levels to reduce risk and protect people.

As Deputy Administrator for Resilience at FEMA, Victoria led a 3,000-person team and managed nearly $10 billion annually to strengthen resilience across the U.S. She oversaw the National Flood Insurance Program, federal grants and capacity-building programs, expanded investments in underserved communities and launched new initiatives to make climate adaptation easier for households, businesses and governments. She also set new standards to ensure FEMA-funded infrastructure can withstand future floods.

Victoria has worked at every level of resilience, from cities to global organizations. As Oakland’s first Chief Resilience Officer, she led efforts to prepare for climate threats, earthquakes and social challenges. She helped bring private-sector leaders into local government while leading FUSE Corps’ executive fellowship program. Internationally, she has worked with the World Bank and United Nations, helping governments proactively reduce risk and rebuild after disasters.

Today, Victoria is a Senior Resilience Fellow at the University of Miami Climate Resilience Institute, serves on the board of ICLEI USA – Local Governments for Sustainability and advises impact-driven investors and companies on adaptation and resilience. She holds degrees from Harvard Kennedy School and Georgetown University.