Council-Sponsored Side Meetings
All times EDT.
Agenda subject to change.
Tuesday, April 20, 7:30 – 8:30 pm | pre-registration required
Did you know that the community-based water monitoring field involves over 1.3 million people in North America? However due to the geographic boundaries around our work we do not often have the time to connect with other coordinators and colleagues. The Volunteer Monitoring meeting is a tradition at the National Monitoring Conference and is an official convening supported by the National Water Quality Monitoring Council and coordinated by its Volunteer Monitoring work group.
Wednesday, April 21, 7:30 – 8:30 pm | pre-registration required
We spend all day learning technical aspects of our work. If you have been in your career for ten years or less, you are still building your peer network; learning how to navigate the professional world; and figuring out your own career path. Join students, early career professionals, and experienced professionals to discuss new water quality ideas or professional issues and challenges that dominate your life. We are all teachers and learners, so let’s take the opportunity to both learn from and teach one another. We will have representatives from a variety of sectors (academic, agency, nonprofit, etc.) to kick things off for us and then we’ll break out into small groups based on sector for discussion. This is the opportunity to ask questions, share challenges, get feedback, and develop relationships with others in your sector. After the session, head over to the discussion board to continue conversations with other professionals and dedicated board moderators.
Friday, April 23, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm | pre-registration required
Want to promote a more inclusive environment? The National Water Quality Monitoring Council created the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) committee and is supporting the convening of this informal but moderated session. We welcome people of all backgrounds and desire to foster a culture where all participate freely. We are committed to actively improving JEDI throughout Council activities and acknowledge that our JEDI initiatives are a work in progress. We will solicit topics for this session daily through the platform’s community board and daily JEDI prompts provided throughout the conference. Join us on April 23 and let’s help each other move forward!
Monday, April 19 | no registration required
The Regional Meet and Greet is an official convening supported by the National Water Quality Monitoring Council. The conference provides the opportunity to interact with your monitoring colleagues from all over the nation, as well as the opportunity to virtually meet and network with fellow attendees within a smaller geographic footprint. This networking session invites all who work within a respective region (defined by the US EPA Regions for this event) to come together and get to know each other a little bit better and explore collaboration. Are you wondering who is participating from your US EPA Region, USGS Water Science Center, state/local agencies, area monitoring councils, academic institutions, nearby watershed groups, or regional monitoring equipment vendors? Come to this session and find out! The NWQMC wants to encourage connections and foster collaboration with others working near you at the conference and beyond.
