Day 1: Wednesday June 9, 2010

8:00am Registration and Breakfast

9:00am Welcome:  Sharon Megdal, Director, Water Resources Research Center
 
9:10am Keynote Speaker: Lattie Coor, Chairman & CEO, Center for the Future of Arizona
Defining Arizona’s Environmental Legacy: What Does Leadership Mean for These Times?

9:30am to 10:15am Session 1: The Importance and Impact of Leadership

• Kristin Mayes, Chairman, Arizona Corporation Commission
• Jihan Gearon, Native Energy Organizer, Indigenous Environment Network

10:15am to 11:15am Session 2a: How to Nurture and Develop Leadership
Moderator: Mónica Ramírez, Program Coordinator, UA Superfund Research Program

• Barry Roth, Co-Director, Teach Arizona
• Lon Huber, Policy Program Associate, Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (AzRISE)
• Alison Hawthorne Deming, poet, essayist, and UA Creative Writing professor
• Tahnee Robertson, Director, Southwest Decision Resources
• Warren Tenney, Central Arizona Project Board of Directors

11:15am Break

11:30am to 12:30am Session 2b: How to Make Leadership Work
Moderator: Nicole Ewing Gavin, Assistant to the City Manager, City of Tucson

• Vince Vasquez, Water Resources Coordinator, Diamond Ventures
• Amy McCoy, Research Scientist, Office of Arid Lands Studies, and Senior Associate, Ecosystem Economics
• Andrés Gabaldón, Student Body President of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona South (ASUAS)
• Plácido Dos Santos, Binational Projects Manager, Central Arizona Project
• Shaun McKinnon, Reporter, The Arizona Republic

12:40pm Lunch
Luncheon Speaker: Pat Graham, Arizona State Director, The Nature Conservancy on "Conservation and Leadership"

1:40pm Showcase and Mixer  
See showcase displays from environmental organizations, government agencies, community groups, university student clubs and high school science fair winners; meet and greet with panelists and other participants of the conference.

3:00pm to 3:50pm Roundtable Session 1
Discussion leaders will facilitate conversations among small groups about a variety of topics related to environmental leadership, and participants will develop responses to prepared questions.

4:00pm to 4:50pm Roundtable Session 2
Participants will move to a different discussion table and repeat the same process.

5:00pm to 6:00pm Presentation of Roundtable Results  
Moderator: Carol Erwin, Director, Phoenix Area Office, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

6:00pm Dinner

7:00pm Showcase Awards Program and Entertainment

• Jodi Netzer, movement artist

8:00pm Adjourn

Day 2: Thursday June 10, 2010  

8:00am Breakfast

9:00am to 11:30am Workshops

Workshop 1: Identifying Key Issues in Statewide Water Planning
Participants will identify key issues where statewide water planning, or lack thereof, affects the protection or enhancement of environmental resources. For each identified issue, they will recommend activities to raise public awareness and promote political action. They will also identify new information needed by planners and policymakers to move forward.

Workshop 2: Creating an Arizona Environmental Leadership Institute
Participants will develop a proposal for an Environmental Leadership Institute that would provide a knowledge base to meet leadership needs in Arizona. They will consider the required resources and feasibility of the project, and suggest strategies for gaining the commitment of sponsors, partners, mentors and participants.

Workshop 3: Creating an Information Clearinghouse and Communications Network
Participants will develop a strategy to create an interactive communications network on environmental leadership among the conference participants, and propose methods for sharing information with community groups and the public through new or existing media channels. They will consider the reliability and sources of the information and the proposed network’s accessibility and cost.

Workshop 4: Fostering Environmental Leadership in K-12 Students
Participants will develop a conceptual toolkit of goal-orientated activities to promote environmental awareness and a sense of empowerment among potential youth leaders. They will consider pathways for implementing the strategies and what resources will be required.

11:30am Box Lunch and Presentation of Workshop Results

12:30pm Adjourn

Download agenda as a pdf HERE