Agriculture & Rural Development

The Economics of Herbicides: The Dicamba Dilemma

Ty Witten, Ph.D., Crop Protection Lead, North America Technology Development & Agronomy, Monsanto, Missouri

Michael Goodis, Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.

2018 Farm Bill: What Might Be Expected

Eric Bohl, Director of Advocacy and Public Affairs, Missouri Farm Bureau

Scott Brown, Ph.D., Director of Strategic Partnerships, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Missouri

Recommitting to Rural America: Policies and Initiatives in Southern States

Representative Terry England, Georgia

Jared Arnett, Executive Director, Shaping Our Appalachian Region, Kentucky

Economic Development, Transportation, Cultural Affairs

Expanding Apprenticeship Programs for Workforce Development 

Kimberly Hauge, Senior Policy Analyst, National Governors Association, Washington, D.C.

Brad Neese, Associate Vice President, Division of Economic Development, South Carolina Technical College System

The Importance of Site Selection for Promoting Growth

Adam Bruns, Managing Editor, Site Selection Magazine, Georgia

Christopher Chung, CEO, Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

Effective Economic Development Strategies in Missouri

Rob Dixon, Director, Department of Economic Development, Missouri

Zora Mulligan, Commissioner, Department of Higher Education, Missouri

Education

The Whole Child Initiative: A Collaborative Approach to Education 

David Griffith, Senior Director of Public Policy, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Virginia

World Class Education Systems Panel 

Marc Tucker, President and CEO, National Center for Education and the Economy, Washington, D.C.

Dion Burns, Senior Researcher, Learning Policy Institute, California

Senator Joyce Elliott, SLC Education Committee Chair, Arkansas

Representative Robert Behning, Indiana

Energy & Environment

Brownfield Restoration: Leveraging Resources to Revitalize Communities

Maggie Egbarts, TAB Coordinator for EPA Regions 5 and 7, Kansas State University

Camilla Warren, Brownfields Revitalization Project Manager, Region 4, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Georgia

Expanding the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: A Briefing from the U.S. Department of the Interior

Timothy Williams, Deputy Director, Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Oklahoma’s Coal Combustion Residuals Permit Program

Scott Thompson, Executive Director, Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma

The Future of Electricity Storage and the U.S. Grid

George Crabtree, Ph.D., Director, Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois

Michael Herbert, Energy Industry Analyst, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.

Fiscal Affairs & Government Operations

National and Regional Economic Trends 

Mark Vitner, Managing Director and Senior Economist, Wells Fargo, North Carolina

Examining the Federal Budget’s Effect on Southern States 

Matthew Reese, Senior Budget and Policy Analyst, Federal Funds Information for States, Washington, D.C. 

How States Use Data to Inform Decisions 

Amber Ivey, Officer, Government Performance, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court Update 

Daniel Epps, Associate Professor of Law, Washington University School of Law, Missouri

Human Services & Public Safety

Aging Inmate Populations 

William Sabol, Ph.D, Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University 

Anne L. Precythe, Director, and Matt Sturm, Deputy Director, Department of Corrections, Missouri 

School Safety: Solutions from States 

Mark Keel, Chief, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division

Ted Mullenix, Former State Representative, and Representative Scott Baltz, Arkansas

Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents

Jennifer Snow, Director, Public Policy, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Virginia

Kimberly L. Nelson, Regional Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Missouri

Comparative Data Reports

Adult Corrections: Monique Appeaning, Legislative Fiscal Office, Louisiana

Education: Hank Hager, Senate, West Virginia

Medicaid: Zachary M. Rau, Legislative Fiscal Office, Louisiana

Transportation: David Talley, Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky

Staff Workshop

Supreme Court Update: A Briefing from the State and Local Legal Center

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

Handout: Supreme Court Review for States 2018

Homeland Security and Emergency Planning at State Capitols

Michael E. Dossett, Director, Kentucky Emergency Management

Retaining and Rewarding Legislative Staff

Marty Garrity, Director, Bureau of Legislative Research, Arkansas

Martha Wigton, Director, House Budget and Research Office, Georgia

Succession Planning in State Government

Adriane Crouse, Secretary of the Senate, and Patrick Baker, Senate Administrator, Missouri

STAR Award

Tennessee – Smart Steps Child Care Payment Assistance Program

Arkansas – The Good Grid

Oklahoma – Feral Swine Program

Tennessee – Tennessee Promise (Winner)

Arkansas – K-12 Panic Button School Safety System (Winner)