2024 Plenary Speakers

Olgy Diaz

Welcome Speaker

Council Member, City of Tacoma

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shiny flanary

Opening Plenary

Founder, Come Thru Market
Interim Executive Director, Black Food Sovereignty Coalition

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Bob Whitener

Final plenary

Owner & Corporate Executive Officer, The Whitener Group

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Legislative Panelists

Sen. Yasmin Trudeau

Sen. Yasmin Trudeau represents Washington’s 27th Legislative District, which includes Tacoma, Ruston, Browns Point, Dash Point, and Fife.

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Rep. Annessa Hartman

Representative Hartman serves House District 40, including Oregon City, Gladstone, and Unincorporated Clackamas County.

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Rep. David Hackney

Representative Hackney serves the 11th Legislative District in the Washington House, which includes Seattle, Renton, Tukwila, and a portion of Kent.

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Rep. Jake Fey

Representative Fey serves the 27th Legislative District in the Washington House, which includes Tacoma, Ruston, Browns Point, Dash Point, and Fife.


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Tuesday July 09

1:00pm - 3:30pm - Various Field Trips

4:00pm - 5:00pm - BIPOC Happy Hour - Zeeks Pizza, 1702 Pacific Ave, Tacoma

4:30pm - 5:30pm - LGBTQ+ Happy Hour - Camp Colvos, 2104 Commerce St, Tacoma

5:00pm - Land Camp Happy Hour - 7 Seas Brewing - 2101 Jefferson Ave, Tacoma

Wednesday July 10

7:45am - 8:45pm - Breakfast | Location: Wheelock Student Center

9:00am - 10:30am - Opening Plenary | Location: Kilworth Memorial Chapel

  • Welcome by Tacoma City Councilmember Olgy Diaz; tribute to Dan Bell; opening Keynote by shiny flanary.

10:30am - 10:45am - Break

10:45am - 12:15 - Concurrent Workshops - Session #1 | Download program for full workshop descriptions

  • Making Planning Work for Your Trust
    Great for Board Members!
    Location: Thompson 391
    Marc Smiley    , Principal, Solid Ground Consulting

  • Chimacum Ridge Community Forest: Acquisition to Start-up
    Location: Thompson 395
    Erik Kingfisher    , Stewardship Director, Jefferson Land Trust; Ryen Helzer, Community Forest Manager, Jefferson Land Trust

  • Prescribed Fire on Conserved Lands
    Location: Thompson 175
    Lindsay Cornelius    , East Cascades Oak Partnership Manager, Columbia Land Trust; Sara Clark, Partner at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger; Kyle Lapham, Certified Burn Program Manager, WA DNR; Sarah Allaben, Fire Adapted Communities Coordinator, Mount Adams Resource Stewards; Christopher Adlam, Regional Fire Specialist, Oregon State University Extension

  • Bridging the Gap - Fast & Creative Ways to Secure Land While Finding Funding
    Location: Kilworth Memorial Lounge (Downstairs)
    Nancy Chase, Pro Bono Negotiations & Acquisition funding , Retired Acquisition specialist; John Rose, Co-founder, Washington Opportunity Fund, Washington Opportunity Fund; Curt Soper, Advisor, Washington Opportunity Fund; Michael Kirshenbaum, Conservation Director, Skagit Land Trust

  • Wielding Sarcasm and Surprise to Scale Your Integrated Email Campaigns
    Location: Thomas 272
    Marcy Timblin    , Communications Director, Kaniksu Land Trust; Jaime Jovanovich-Walker, Communications & Development Coordinator, Palouse Land Trust

12:15pm - 1:15pm - Lunch (Location: Wheelock Student Center) and “Birds of a Feather” Eat Together Tables (Tables outside of Trimble Hall

1:30pm - 3:00pm - Concurrent Workshops - Session #2 | Download program for full workshop descriptions

  • Going Public: Why You Should Upend Your Board Recruitment Process
    Great for board members!
    Location: Thompson 383
    Daniel Student    , Managing Director, Consulting Potrero Group

  • Community Voices Matter: Practical Strategies to Center Community in Conservation and Stewardship
    Location: Thompson 395
    Rika Ayotte    , Executive Director, Deschutes Land Trust; Nick Viele, Facilitator, Partner, c3strategy; Amelia Pape, Principal, Network Approach; Jessica McDonald, Executive Director, Greenbelt Land Trust

  • Land Access, Perspectives on the Sourcing, Development, and Program Management from Greenleaf and Outgrowing Hunger
    Location: Thomas 272
    Eric Pond    , Farmer & Program Manager, Greenleaf & Outgrowing Hunger; Adam Kohl, Executive Director, Outgrowing Hunger

  • Community Centric Fundraising: What Is It and How Do I Operationalize It?
    Location: Thompson 399
    Sean M. Watts    , PhD, Owner, SM Watts Consulting; Emily Torres Barton, Development Director, Greenbelt Land Trust

  • Ecological Forest Management Options for a Changing Climate
    Location: Thompson 175
    Kirk Hanson    , Director of Forestry, Northwest Natural Resource Group; Adrian Wolf, Stewardship Manager, Great Peninsula Conservancy; Ian Sinks, Stewardship Director, Columbia Land Trust

  • Land Back in the PNW: An Exploration of Tools and Ways to Support and Promote Native Lands in Native Hands and Investing in Healing the Land and Its People
    Location: Kilworth Memorial Lounge (Downstairs)
    Tim Lehman    , Northern Arapaho, Office of Planning and Community Development, Indigenous Planning Stategist, City of Seattle, Office of Planning & Community, Development; Sarah Augustine, Executive Director, Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery; Veryl Pow, Staff Attorney, Sustainable Economies Law Center; Renea Perry, Tlingit/Inupiat/N.Euro, Executive Director, Portland All Nations Canoe Family; Aaron Clark, E'lip Tilikum Conservancy Director, Na'ah Illahee Fund, (moderator); With support from: Janelle Orsi, Co-Founder and Staff Attorney, Sustainable Economies Law Center

3:00pm - 3:30pm - Break

3:30pm - 5:00pm - Concurrent Workshops - Session #3 | Download program for full workshop descriptions

  • Growing Your Board to Meet the Evolving Needs of Your Trust and Your Community
    Great for board members!
    Location: Thompson 399
    Marc Smiley    , Principal, Solid Ground Consulting

  • Fundraising Roundtable: ABCs - Getting your Letters in Order
    Location: Thompson 383
    Laura Hartner    , Development & Outreach Director, Skagit Land Trust; Jaime Jovanovich-Walker, Communications & Development Coordinator, Palouse Land Trust

  • Wildlife Track & Sign Interpretation for Land Trusts
    Location: Thompson 391
    Sarah Spaeth    , Director, Conservation & Strategic Partnerships, Jefferson Land Trust, Tracker Certification N America Board Member; David Moskowitz, Tracker Certification N America Board Member and Track & Sign Evaluator, Author of Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest

  • The Forest for the Trees - Collaborative Oak Conservation at Multiple Scales
    Location: Thompson 395
    Lindsay Cornelius    , East Cascades Oak Partnership Manager, Columbia Land Trust; Sara Evans-Peters, U.S. Assistant Coordinator, Pacific Birds

  • Growing Land Trust Impact on Both Sides of the Columbia: Opportunities and Challenges
    Location: Thomas 272
    Owen Wozniak    , Land Transactions Program Manager, Land Trust Alliance; Vanessa Kritzer, Executive Director, Washington Association of Land Trusts; Glenn Lamb, Philanthropic Project Manager, Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts; Carlos Garcia, Senior Program Officer for the Environment, Oregon Community Foundation

  • Collaborative Creative Community Conservation
    Location: Kilworth Memorial Lounge (Downstairs)
    Regan Plumb,     Conservation Director, Kaniksu Land Trust; Katie Cox, Executive Director; Kayla Mosher, Outreach Coordinator, Kaniksu Land Trust

  • Climate Adaptation Strategies in Practice
    Location: Thompson 175
    Rowan Braybrook    , Director of Programs, Northwest Natural Resource Group; Joe Kane, General Manager, Nisqually Community Forest; Rolf Gersonde, Forest Ecologist, Seattle Public Utilities; Gustavo Segura Flores, Forester, Northwest Natural Resource Group

5:00pm - 5:15pm - Break

5:15pm - 6:00pm - Cohort Networking | Location: Karlen Quad on campus

6:00pm - 7:30pm - Dinner Reception | Location: Karlen Quad on campus

7:30pm - Land Camp Film Fest | Location: Kilworth Memorial Chapel

8:00pm - Evening Hangout | Location: Trimble Hall Forum

Thursday July 11


7:30am - 8:45am - Special Breakfast Roundtable: Help Develop a new Revolving Loan Fund for Watershed Conservation
Location: Thompson 399
Craft3 is partnering with the Washington Department of Ecology and WALT to pilot a revolving loan fund to finance watershed land acquisitions. They will preview the pilot and gather feedback from land conservation practitioners on barriers and opportunities to consider when designing this new source of funding. This is for land conservation staff in WA. WA conservation directors are specifically encouraged to attend, but all relevant staff are welcome. Please RSVP here to help us get headcount for breakfast.

7:45am - 8:45am - Breakfast | Location: Wheelock Student Center

9:00am - 10:30am - Concurrent Workshops - Session #4 | Download program for full workshop descriptions

  • Supporting Intergenerational Succession and Transfer of Working Lands
    Location: Thomas 272
    Addie Candib    , Pacific Northwest Regional Director, American Farmland Trust; Alexandra James, Conservation Director, Capitol Land Trust; Erica Goodman, Farms for a New Generation Director, American Farmland Trust; Tess Baker, Farm and Ranch Succession Advisor, Oregon Agricultural Trust

  • Getting Through Fear About Asking for Money in Person
    Location: Thompson 383
    David Allen,     Principal Consultant, Development for Conservation

  • Carbon for Conservation
    Location: Kilworth Memorial Lounge (Downstairs)
    Travis Croft    , Program Manager, The Climate Trust; Jeremy Koslowski, Director Forest Carbon Partnerships, The Climate Trust; Colin Meston, Stewardship Manager, North Coast Land Conservancy

  • Building a Diverse Conservation Workforce: Learning as We Go
    Location: Thompson 391
    Emily Matson    , Natural Area Manager, Columbia Land Trust; Victor Vasquez-Ibarra, Backyard Habitat Community Coordinator, Backyard Habitat Certification Program; Matt McLean, Co-owner, Mad Bears LLC; Taaj Armstrong, Community Impact, Portland General Electric; Adam Baek, Stewardship Assistant, Columbia Land Trust; Jonathan Albarran, Stewardship Assistant, Columbia Land Trust

  • Trail Tales: Challenges and Solutions to Storytelling through QR Code-Driven Interpretive Trail Signage
    Location: Thompson 175
    Tim Dobyns    , Communications and Engagement Director, Friends of the Columbia Gorge; Sara Woods, Stewardship Manager, Friends of the Columbia Gorge

  • Stewarding Coastal Meadows and Woodlands on Islands in the Salish Sea
    Location: Thompson 395
    Samantha Martin    , Restoration Ecologist, Ecostudies Institute; Adam Martin, Applied Ecologist, Conservation Science Project Manager, Ecostudies Institute

10:30am - 10:45am - Break

10:45am - 12:15pm - Concurrent Workshops - Session #5 | Download program for full workshop descriptions

  • Farmland Affordability & Conservation Easements - Discussion of Opportunities and Challenges in Washington State
    Location: Thompson 391
    Hilary Aten    , Associate Director, Washington Farmland Trust; Duncan Greene, Partner, Van Ness Feldman LLP; Clara Park, Partner, Van Ness Feldman LLP; Robert Farrell, Attorney, Van Ness Feldman LLP; Liberty Quihuis, Associate, Van Ness Feldman LLP

  • Putting the “Community” in Community Forest Planning: Designing a Collaborative and Inclusive Strategic Vision Framework for the Stewart Mountain Community Forest
    Location: Thompson 395
    Claire Johnston    , Whatcom Land Trust Communications Director, Whatcom Land Trust; Alex Jeffers, Whatcom Land Trust Conservation Director; Maggie Taylor, Water Resources Program Manager, Nooksack Indian Tribe

  • The Three C’s of Biochar: Carbon, Conservation, and Cultivation — Exploring Technologies and Innovations that Maximize the Positive Impacts of Sequestering Carbon in Working and Native Soils
    Location: Thompson 175
    Keith Veselka    , CEO & Orchard Operations Manager, NWFM LLC; Jim Amonette, Ph.D., Senior Research Geochemist, PNNL and Research Professor of Soil Chemistry, WSU; David Drinkard - VP of Biomass Processing, Qualterra; Sharol Marcec, Ph.D., Field Trial Scientist, Qualterra; Tim O'Brien, VP of Sales & Marketing, Qualterra

  • Small Shop Development Effectiveness: The Metrics, Benchmarks, and Ideas to Implement
    Location: Thomas 272
    Jaime Jovanovich-Walker    , Communications & Development Coordinator, Palouse Land Trust

  • Public Access and Recreational Immunity in Oregon and Washington
    Location: Kilworth Memorial Lounge (Downstairs)
    Nancy Duhnkrack    , Pro Bono Program Manager, Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts; Jessica McDonald, Executive Director, Greenbelt Land Trust; Steve Cook, General Counsel, Columbia Land Trust

12:15pm - 1:15pm - Lunch (Location: Wheelock Student Center) and “Birds of a Feather” Affinity Groups (Location: Tables outside of Trimble Hall)

12:30pm - 1:30pm - Forest Legacy Roundtable | Location:
An advanced-level conversation for conservation practitioners in Oregon or Washington who have used, or are thinking of using, the US Forest Legacy Program. We will focus on understanding and improving the US Forest Legacy Program, learning from peers, and talk about priority projects & areas for protection. RSVP is required, sign up here.

1:30pm - 3:00pm - Concurrent Workshops - Session #6 | Download program for full workshop descriptions

  • Monitoring to Increase Resilience
    Location: Thompson 175
    Amy Borde    , Monitoring Program Manager, Columbia Land Trust; Helen Gavrilov, Land Steward, Columbia Land Trust; Elizabeth Martin, GIS Specialist, Columbia Land Trust; Stacy Simanonok, East Cascades Oak Partnership Technical Coordinator, Columbia Land Trust

  • Shouting Into the Void: Why Social Media is No Longer Working for You and What to Do About It
    Location: Thompson 383
    Patrick Williams    , Director of Creative Services, Bold Bison; Brandon Hayes, Founder and Principal, Bold Bison

  • Artificial Lawyer EXperience (ALEX): Using AI to Review Conservation Easements
    Location: Thompson 391
    Rebekah Bergkoetter    , Land Steward, Southern Oregon Land Conservancy; ALEX

  • Climate Grief: Building Understanding and Resilience
    Location: Kilworth Memorial Lounge (Downstairs)
    Addie Candib    , Pacific Northwest Regional Director, American Farmland Trust; Maud Powell, Oregon State University Extension

  • Engaging Your Members with Planned Giving
    Location: Thomas 272
    Laura Hartner    , Development & Outreach Director, Skagit Land Trust; Additional presenters TBA

  • Always Better Together: Watershed Protection
    Location: Thompson 395
    Nikki Guillot    , Source Water Protection Program Manager, Washington State Dept. of Health; Stan Hoffman, Watershed Protection Coordinator, WA State Dept of Health

3:00pm - 3:30pm - Break

3:30pm - 5:00pm - Final Plenary | Location: Kilworth Memorial Chapel

  • Policymaking for Greener Communities: A Panel Discussion with State Legislators from WA and OR

    • Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, Washington State 27th Legislative District; Rep.

    • Rep. Annessa Hartman, Oregon House District 40

    • Rep. David Hackney, Washington State House, 11th Legislative District

    • Rep. Jake Fey, Washington State House, 27th Legislative District

  • Plenary session on land justice with Bob Whitener

5:15pm - 6:00pm - Cohort Networking | Location: Outside of Trimble Hall

6:00pm - 7:30pm - Dinner | Location: Wheelock Student Center

8:00pm - 10:00pm - Evening hangout | Trimble Hall Forum

Friday July 12

8:00am - 9:30am - Breakfast and final session | Location: Karlen Quad

  • Take it Home: Cohort-based Facilitated Discussions on Lessons Learned