Great Lakes Conference: Save-the-Date and Submit Your Proposals!

We’re back! The Great Lakes Conference 2022 will be held from Tuesday, October 18 to Wednesday, October 19, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is excited to announce that we will be holding an in-person Great Lakes conference this year, October 18-19, in Milwaukee. The decision to have an in-person conference was made with care. We will be following the latest COVID-19 safety recommendations at the local, state, and federal levels and will adjust the event, as needed, to keep attendees as safe as possible.

Since we haven’t been able to meet in-person for a few years, we want this year’s conference to be about coming together as a Great Lakes community. The first day will include optional afternoon field trips and an evening reception, and the second day will include a full day of plenaries and breakout sessions.

Regarding breakout sessions, there will be a limited number at this year’s conference—approximately eight slots on Wednesday, October 19. We are seeking proposals for these sessions from individuals and local, tribal, state, regional, and national organizations working on issues of relevance to Great Lakes restoration. The Coalition is dedicated to using the conference platform to highlight all voices of the Great Lakes region and strives to be inclusive of the entire Great Lakes community.

We strongly encourage applications from those representing culturally and racially diverse communities, as well as groups or individuals representing or supporting work the communities most impacted by pollution throughout the Great Lakes region.

The deadline to submit proposals is May 20, 2022. Further information and application instructions can be found through this link.

For questions regarding session proposals or the conference in general, contact Celia Haven at HavenC@nwf.org or Laura Rubin at RubinL@nwf.org.

As the conference planning moves forward, we will share registration information and updates on the agenda. In the meantime, block off October 18-19 on your calendars. We hope to see you there!