Session Descriptions
Walking the Walk: Integrating Equity Into Your Organization
This session will focus on strategies for achieving real and meaningful progress in advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice both within our organizations, and in our outreach, advocacy, and communications work.
Power Plays: Working With and Against Utilities to Decarbonize Energy Systems
While some utilities across the country are fighting against renewable energy policies, others see the need to change for a drastically different energy future. Panelists will share their experiences, and there will be lots of opportunity for discussion of examples from other states.
Deep Organizing to Broaden the Environmental Movement
This interactive session will highlight a variety of organizing efforts aimed at relationship-building in rural areas, transformational organizing (as opposed to transactional organizing), and movement building through inclusion, diversity, and empowerment.
Protecting Public Lands Now: Challenges and Opportunities
At a time of relentless assaults on our nation’s public lands, diverse voices are saying “enough is enough.” Sportsmen and women, ranchers, native tribes, wilderness advocates, business leaders, and outdoor enthusiasts of every kind are stepping up to help protect, and expand, public lands for future generations. This session will highlight these stories and provide opportunity for discussion.
Creating Original Content: Podcasts, Blogs, and Visuals
As the mainstream media weakens and fragments, organizations are becoming their own sources of news and original content. This session will focus on podcast productions, blogging as a strategy for story capture, and visual content (videos, memes) that create engagement and motivate action.
Strategic Communications to Persuade, Achieve Change, and Win
This training by Spitfire Communications focuses on successful strategies for changing public perceptions and inspiring action. The session will reveal how targeted persuasion can make the difference at the grassroots and policy levels. Attendees will learn how to craft communication plans for persuasion campaigns, with take-aways that will be immediately useful in their work.
Managing Coalitions: Lessons Learned and Best Practices
Most of our work is done in coalitions, but successfully setting up and managing coalitions can be a challenge. How well are our coalitions working? Are they well-managed, inclusive, and representative of diverse voices? How are tensions addressed, and how are members kept accountable to the group? We’ll hear from panelists well-versed in the trials and successes of coalition work, and then form break-out groups to share experiences and strategies.
Climate Change Message Strategies
Polling, focus groups, message testing, and careful selection of messengers all will be discussed in this session with strategists who have studied what works, and what doesn’t.
Advocacy Tech Tools Workshop
This session features multiple resource experts who are well versed in some of the latest and most useful advocacy software programs, mobilization tools, and communication techniques. Participants will learn through interactive discussions at multiple stations, leaving with all sorts of new ideas.
Executive Director’s Session: What keeps you up at night?
This facilitated session provides an opportunity for Executive Directors to share, discuss, and problem-solve some of the major sources of stress in their jobs. Among peers, Executive Directors can commiserate about the burdens and breakthroughs of their positions.
Social Media Tips and Trends
When it comes to social media, we all want to know what’s working right now? This session will answer that question, with examples of posts on Facebook, twitter, Instagram and other platforms that have driven high levels of engagement. Attendees will share their own winning approaches.
Find Your Focus: The Secret to High Impact Organizations
High impact organizations have one thing in common – focus! This session will help you learn the difference between priorities and imperatives, how to find your focus in the real world, and how to protect it from the most common (and perineal) sources of distraction.
Climate Change, the Environment, and the 2020 Elections
Early indications suggest that climate change and the environment will be significant voting issues next year in many elections. We’ll explore this premise in a round-table discussion with two top-notch pollsters (Lori Weigel and Andrew Baumann) and LCV’s Director of Campaigns (Pete Maysmith).
Change and Adaptive Leadership: How to Spot Technical Fixes and Uncover Adaptive Challenges
In this session, you’ll learn the fundamental principles of the adaptive leadership framework and we’ll discuss the key characteristics of an adaptive organization. Using a brief self-reflection tool and these core principles, you’ll apply these learnings to a challenge you are experiencing in your own organization. You’ll walk away with a few powerful insights to strategize about how you can lead your team through the gradual but meaningful process of change.
Annual State Environmental Leaders Conference Award
We will honor and hear remarks from this year’s recipient of the annual State Environmental Leaders Award for Leadership in Protecting the Environment.
Lightning Round Success Stories
These rapid-fire success stories will highlight winning approaches to issue campaigns and power building – providing you with ideas to take back and apply at your organization. Many of the presentations will focus on how groups are achieving progress at the state level at a time when prospects are bleak at the national level.
Advocacy Videos and Oscar Awards
This session will feature some of the best short (generally less than three minute) advocacy videos from state groups across the nation. We will then vote to decide who receives this year’s Oscar Awards.