An Interview with CORE Climate and Disaster Resilience Manager Nina Knierim

What’s the last book you read that you loved?

Threat Multiplier by Sherri Goodman. It was one of the first books I purchased post-fires. Because we lost our entire library, I had no books. And as the new administration was beginning, I just really wanted to read [about] an area that I didn’t understand as closely, which was the threat to national security, in regards to the climate change impacts that we’re experiencing. My husband bought Sibley’s guide to birds and some other lovely novel. And I’m like, Threat Multiplier!

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid. I was in middle school or maybe elementary, I can’t remember now, when the Challengerexplosion happened. I was part of a generation that watched that live on television in my classroom. We were super excited about the teacher that was going into space, and the first non-astronaut, all that great stuff. Then there was the whole tragedy. But that didn’t discourage me. It actually encouraged me even more to want to be an astronaut. I think it was because of the exploration of the unknown but also the resilience of humankind to keep trying things even if you fail and even if you fail dramatically.  

You’re from Texas. What’s the most Texas thing about you? 

I can walk up and introduce myself to anyone, and, depending on their reaction or non-reaction, I also know how to step away. 

What is your hidden talent? 

I consider myself an artist in a very loose sense. I started a wonder and nature garden walkway in my home neighborhood, the Palisades, during COVID. I started collecting things and putting them out in different artistic ways. People started stopping by to say hello, and that they admired my garden and the things that were in it. I always made sure to put things in arms reach and at eye level for the little ones, so that they could touch and play with them. It sparked a lot of conversations back in the days when we were still talking through masks. And I continued [the garden] even after the restrictions and everything lifted. We became closer with our neighbors.

Fast forward to when the fire started, an hour before the actual evacuation warning and order were sent out for our neighborhood, I had neighbors that I could go and knock on their doors, and they knew who I was, they knew what I do for a living, and they were listening to me and had time to get their kids and their dogs and their family and their important papers ready to evacuate because of those connections that we had through that garden.

What is your go-to karaoke song?

Olivia Newton-John, “Let Me Be There.” It’s a feel-good song about caring for each other and nurturing each other. It also has a very good core chorus line, and everybody can clap and sing along. That’s the best part of it, that I get other people to join in.

What do you do to decompress?

My favorite thing to do pre-fires was go to the beach, no matter the weather. Sometimes I would just walk. Sometimes I’d sit and stare at the ocean. Sometimes soak up some sun rays. The water and the ocean has become a really important part of [my family’s] life. We’re blessed to be in Venice now temporarily, so we didn’t have to go far from the water, which is good, so I can still do that.