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Inspiring Conservation: PEC Annual Meeting featuring Dr. Mamie Parker
June 10, 2023 @ 9:30 am – 2:30 pm
Come join PEC for our 2023 Annual Meeting at Meadowkirk, a state-of-the-art meeting facility nestled in picturesque Middleburg, Loudoun County! The day will begin with a brief welcome and reflection on PEC’s past, present, and future, followed by a keynote address from former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Head of Fisheries and VA Department of Wildlife Resources Commissioner, Dr. Maime Parker.
At noon, we will break for a community lunch and fellowship with our keynote speaker, workshop leaders, and PEC staff and members. After lunch, we hope you’ll join PEC staff for an informative workshop covering one of three unique topics. The event will conclude at 2:30 p.m.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mamie Parker
Dr. Mamie Parker spent her career as a fish and wildlife biologist and senior executive service member in the federal government and made history serving as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s first African American Head of Fisheries and Regional Director of the 13 Northeastern states. Additionally, after being appointed by the Governor of Virginia, she was elected as the first Black chair of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resource Commission, where she led the commission in changing the name of the agency.
Parker is well known for her public speaking throughout the environmental community across the country and around the world. She is the chair of the Student Conservation Association and serves on the Board of Directors of Brown Advisory, Center for Large Landscape Conservation, The Nature Conservancy-Virginia Chapter, Marstel-Day Consulting, Duke University NSOE, the National Wildlife Federation, the Chesapeake Conservancy and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Workshops
A choice of three workshops will begin at 1:00 p.m. The workshops will be simultaneous, please choose the one you think you’d like to attend upon checkout (to give us an idea of how many people are interested in each one). You can always change your mind when you’re there!
Conservation and Sustainability in the Potomac Watershed
PEC is committed to a set of conservation and community engagement strategies that have helped make the region a model for sustainable growth and protection of natural, agricultural and historic resources. Meet PEC’s Loudoun, Fauquier, and Clarke field teams and hear about our work empowering residents to effect positive change in their communities. Learn about pressing local land use issues, conservation and restoration opportunities, the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows, and ways you can get involved!
Stemming the Tide of Grassland Bird Decline
The Piedmont Environmental Council and the Smithsonian’s Virginia Working Landscapes launched the Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative (VGBI) to address grassland bird declines on working lands in the Virginia Piedmont. PEC’s Wildlife Habitat Restoration Coordinator October Greenfield will introduce this new partnership and our collaborative work with producers to restore grassland bird habitat, improve the resiliency of working landscapes and positively impact the livelihoods that depend upon those lands.
Data Centers & Virginia’s Clean Energy Future
The Virginia Clean Economy Act of 2020 mandates that Dominion produce 100% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2045. Understanding the importance of this goal and addressing the climate challenges before us, PEC staff will share how our work encourages policies, zoning, and individual actions that help reduce power demand and emissions, capture and sequester carbon in our forests and soils, and promote distributed renewable energy options. To add to the challenge, the proliferation of high energy use data centers is shifting the goalpost and making the VCEA goals all that much more difficult to meet. While the growth of data centers within the major data center hub of northern Virginia continues at a fast pace, communities throughout Virginia are now starting to see more proposals for data centers.
Agenda
9:30 a.m. | Check-in/Meet & Greet
10:00 a.m. | Welcome & PEC Update from John McCarthy, Senior Advisor & Director of Strategic Partnerships
10:30 a.m. | Keynote Address by Dr. Maime Parker: “The Passion, Inspiration, and Excellence (PIE) in Collaboration”
12:00 p.m. | Community Lunch with Local Ingredients (sponsored by Country Chevy)
1:00 p.m. | Workshops
2:30 p.m. | Depart