Wildfire Planning International (WPI) was founded in 2013 by Molly Mowery, AICP. WPI works with communities across the United States and Canada to help address challenges associated with the wildland-urban interface (WUI) — the area where homes or other structures meet or mingle with wildland vegetation. WPI is passionate about helping communities find creative ways to address their wildfire risk in the WUI through land use planning tools and strategies. Typical clients include state, local, and federal government agencies, non-profit organizations, universities, engineering and planning firms. WPI often works closely with select forestry, fire, and hazard mitigation professionals to deliver skills and services that uniquely fit client needs.
Molly Mowery, AICP
For over fifteen years, Molly Mowery has been a leader in integrating land use planning with wildfire hazard mitigation concepts to provide expertise across the U.S. and Canada. She also provides services to the Community Wildfire Planning Center, a non-profit that she co-founded in 2017, to advance mission-oriented programs and outreach. Molly developed the first wildland-urban interface planning course for FEMA, served as the lead author of the American Planning Association (APA) publication Planning the Wildland-Urban Interface, and drafted land use planning guidance for the National Research Council of Canada’s National Guide for Wildland-Urban interface Fires. Molly frequently presents on wildfire planning topics, including the Norman Williams Distinguished Lecture in Land Use Planning and Law hosted by the Vermont Law School. Prior to founding WPI, Molly served as senior program manager for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) where she developed and managed the Fire Adapted Communities program in partnership with the USDA Forest Service and other national organizations. Molly is a certified planner with the American Institute of Planners and chair of APA’s Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery Division. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Naropa University (Boulder, Colorado) and a Master in City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts).