SELP's 25th Annual Conference

Power Building | Multi-State Campaigns | Conference | Healthy Organization Initiative | Mentoring | Executive Director Training | Information Sharing

Granlibakken Conference Center

725 Granlibakken Road
Tahoe City, CA

November 14-17, 2011

About the Conference

SELP’s annual conference is one of the many ways we support state environmental groups in becoming even smarter, more powerful and better run. Every year directors and senior staff of SELP member organizations meet to share information, develop strategies on how to affect environmental policy, and to participate in organizational capacity-building sessions. They are joined by representatives of foundations, CEOs of various national organizations, and experts on selected environmental policy and organizational issues.

Because many SELP participating groups are coalitions, their attendance at the conferences also gives a collective voice to the thousands of environmental organizations engaged in grassroots efforts across the country.

"Every year I look forward to the annual SELP conference as an opportunity to connect with my peers across the country - to share stories of success and challenges, swap lessons learned and best management practices. At the end of our time together, I always leave feeling reneved, inspired, buoyed by the support of a network of new and old friends and stimulated by the list of new ideas I've collected to take home with me and try out in my state."
- Elise Jones, Colorodo Environmental Coalition

History of the Conference

In 1988, leaders from nineteen state environmental advocacy organizations came together in Washington, D.C. for the first annual state environmental leadership conference. They were looking for a place to share their experiences, compare strategies, identify national trends and build their skills.

Out of that first gathering--and the many that have followed—have come innovative ideas and energy, with many exciting results. The conferences have led to the creation of organizations such as the Environmental Support Center (ESC), the Clean Air Network, and the Clean Water Network. Directors have had opportunities to talk to one another about their experiences and provide support to new directors, which has helped strengthen state advocacy in general.

Organizational training by experts in various fields has strengthened management skills and helped groups retain their directors and consequently other staff. Through informal networking opportunities around policy issues, these leaders have been able to identify anti-environmental trends such as the proliferation in use of the environmental audit privilege, and participate in high-level strategic discussions about effective reactions to these trends. In many cases, one state's shared expertise in a particular issue area has given other states a head-start in tackling an emerging issue.

The gatherings have continued to occur every year since 1988 and have been held in many states, including California, Utah, Colorado, New York, Arizona, West Virginia, Tennessee, Washington, Texas, and Missouri.

"The State Environmental Leadership Program brings peers together from throughout the country to learn how they can strengthen their personal skill set and strengthen the organizations they lead, all of which makes for a stronger movement. Having returned from the conference and again taken up work on our soon-to-be-completed strategic plan, I find that I have many new ideas to integrate into my organization's future. Keep up the great work."
- Robert Moore, Environmental Advocates of New York