Agriculture & Rural Development

U. S. Department of Agriculture Strike Force Initiative

Latrice Hill, National Manager, StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity; Director of Outreach, Farm Service Agency, USDA, Washington, D.C.

Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety Modernization Act

Jeff A. Farrar, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Partnerships, Office of Foods & Veterinary Medicine, Food and Drug Administration, Maryland

2014 Farm Bill

Karis T. Gutter, Deputy Under Secretary, Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Michael Sullivan, State Conservationist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Arkansas

State Rural Policy Initiative

David Terrell, Chair, Rural State Policy Panel, Rural Policy Research Institute, Missouri

Economic Development, Transportation, Cultural Affairs

Leveraging Manufacturing to Expand Economic Growth in Arkansas

Grant Tennille, Executive Director, Arkansas Economic Development Commission

Funding Transportation in the States: Challenges and Strategies

Scott Bennett, Director, Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department

Sherri H. LeBas, Secretary, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development

Crystal Bridges: Revitalizing Arkansas’s Cultural and Economic Landscape

Rod Bigelow, Executive Director, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas

Pathways to Prosperity: Southern State Efforts to Prepare A 21st Century Workforce

Senate Majority Leader, Mark Norris, Tennessee

William C. Wampler, Jr., Executive Director, New College Institute, Virginia

Dr. Glen Fenter, President, Mid-South Community College, Arkansas

Advancing Logistics and Supply Chain Efforts in the 21st Century: Strategies for Policymakers to Consider

Russell Gwatney, President, Gwatney Enterprises, Inc., Tennessee

Education

Creating Creative Designs in Education

Gregory D. Bernas, Chief Engineer, Product Development Office, Toyota Technical Center, Michigan

Mark Schneider, President, College Measures; Vice President, American Institutes for Research, Washington, D.C.

Application of Neuroscience on Education Policy

Mariale Hardiman, Ed.D., Director, Neuro-Education Initiative, The Johns Hopkins University, Maryland

Ronald E. Kalil, Ph.D., Director, Neuroscience and Public Policy Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Early Education Policy

W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., Board of Governors Professor, Graduate School of Education, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Bruce Atchison, Executive Director of Policy and Operations, Education Commission of the States, Colorado

Energy & Environment

Fueling the Future: Shale Exploration and the SLC States

Lawrence Bengal, Director, Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission

George Sheffer, Vice-President of Operations, Fayetteville Shale, Arkansas

Bright Ideas: Infrastructure Development in the Energy Sector

Carl Handley, Plant Manager, Flint Creek Power Plant, American Electric Power, Arkansas

Duane Highley, Chief Executive Officer, Arkansas Electric Cooperatives

Grid Security: Protecting America’s Power

Curt Hebert, Visiting Scholar, Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington, D.C.

Michael Hightower, Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, Military and Energy Systems Analysis, Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico

Fiscal Affairs & Government Operations

The Evolving Role of Federalism Issues in State Transportation Policy

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater

C. Kenneth Orski, Editor and Publisher, Innovation Briefs

Role of Incentives in State Economic Development Projects

Patrick McHugh, Ph.D., Fiscal Research Division, General Assembly, North Carolina

Public Pension Funding Trends

Chris Mier, Managing Director, Analytical Services Division, Loop Capital

Human Services & Public Safety

Medicaid Expansion Update

Andrew Allison, Ph.D., Director, Division of Medical Services, Arkansas

Eric Friedlander, Deputy Secretary, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services

Jeremiah Samples, Deputy Cabinet Secretary, Department of Health and Human Resources, West Virginia

The Rising Cost of Prison Healthcare

Matt McKillop, Senior Associate, State Health Care Spending Project, The PEW Charitable Trust, Washington, D.C.

Lauren Sheer, Legislative Director, University of Texas Medical Branch

Mental Health Reforms

Sita Diehl, Director of State Policy and Advocacy, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Virginia

Comparative Data Reports

Education: Hank Hager, Legislative Counsel, Senate, West Virginia

Medicaid: Shawn Hotstream, Legislative Fiscal Office, Louisiana

Revenue: Andrea Barksdale, Bureau of Legislative Research, Arkansas

Transportation: John Snyder, Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky

Corrections: Stephanie Blanchard, Legislative Fiscal Office, Louisiana

Legislative Service Agency Directors Group

The Supreme Court and the States: Briefing from the State and Local Legal Center

Lisa Soronen, Executive Director, State Local Legal Center, Washington, D.C.

New Member Orientation

Ann Cornwell, Director, Arkansas Senate

Caroline Dennis, Director of Legislative Operations, Oklahoma Senate

Experiences of New Research Division Directors

Moderator: Aaron Allred, Legislative Auditor, Legislative Manager, West Virginia Legislature

Marty Garrity, Director, Bureau of Legislative Research, Arkansas

Marcia Seiler, Acting Director, Kentucky Legislative Research Commission

Capitol Space Allocation

Debra Myers, Facilities Director, Georgia Building Authority

State Transformation In Action Recognition (STAR) Award Judges Panel

Alabama – School-Located Vaccination Clinics

Georgia – GStat

Oklahoma – Offender Screening Program

Tennessee – General Assembly Dashboard

Virginia – DMV Connect

West Virginia – Feed to Achieve