National Adaptation Forum Action today for a better tomorrow

Thank you all for attending the Inaugural National Adaptation Forum – because of you it happened!

Forum developers thought the event was a good idea but didn't realize just how great the demand would be. We are thrilled to announce that we had 500 registered attendees from 44 states, a waiting list of dozens more and countless prevented from attending by federal budget sequestration. The diverse participants at the Forum shared myriad adaptation challenges and successes from government (tribal, federal, state, local), NGOs, community groups, academics and industry perspectives. Even before that a tidal wave of session and talk submissions (284) led to the rich program  (12 concurrent sessions) you found at the Forum.

Special thanks to the Steering, Program and Fundraising Committees. Thank you for all your hard work, commitment, and creativity to make the Inaugural National Adaptation Forum a reality. Thank you for the hundreds of hours and sustained energy you put into creating a vision for the forum and then making it a happen.

Stay tuned – in the near future we will have all of the presentations linked to the agenda on the website and we will also keep you in the loop as new feedback comes in. We sincerely look forward to the seeing you all again in 2015 - - you'll be hearing from us soon.

Finally, we give our tremendous appreciation to the generous sponsors, exhibitors and foundations whose support made this event possible.

The desire to create a community of practice around climate change adaptation is alive and well. The energy at the forum was palpable and feedback has been phenomenal. We would like to share a few thoughts from the 2013 Inaugural National Adaptation Forum attendees.

I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful event! The National Adaptation Forum was an amazing success, practical and useful, with really high quality presentations.
Kari Hansen, Instructional Design, Education and Research Consultant

This was a fabulous conference. Such terrific work from everyone. I'm so happy to have been a part of it.
Robert Verchick, Gauthier ~ St. Martin Chair in Environmental Law, Loyola University New Orleans

The forum was extremely valuable, thought provoking, and exciting! There is so much work to be done and listening to experts and practitioners discuss the many issues facing us all and how we can best address those issues was so important. I learned many, many things that I will take back to Benicia and try my best to integrate and implement.
Alex Porteshawver, Consulting Climate Action Plan Coordinator, City of Benicia, CA

Thank you for an amazing conference!!! I'm already planning out my presentation for next year!
Davey Ives, Clean Air-Cool Planet Climate Adaptation Fellow Bridgeport, CT.

Congratulations, on what I think was a spectacular conference last week. There was so much interesting information being presented, my head was spinning. I loved it. It was very well organized and I was very impressed with the service provided. One of the aspects of the conference I also appreciated was the small "d" democratic nature of it because if created a feeling of being open to all participants. In addition, as an exhibitor, I want to let you know we think the booth was a big success. We met a lot of people whom we probably would not have met. It really helped that the conference was not huge and the booths were in a central meeting area. Great work and I look forward the 2nd National Adaptation Forum!
Joel B. Smith, Principal, Stratus Consulting

I continue to marvel at what EcoAdapt has done with the National Adaptation Forum. This was a big event, much bigger than we anticipated.  The representation of so many sectors, and the participation of so many local, community groups and municipalities, was great to see. Just great to be a part of it. The impact of one event can probably never be known, but it's possible that we have participated in a watershed moment for Climate Adaptation, and may have helped to redefine it as a holistic and dynamic field. And I am not given to hyperbole. I know I am not alone in looking forward to the next event.
John Nordgren, Kresge Foundation

The National Adaptation Forum was a smart conference—it provided a fabulous opportunity to learn about and to share information on the art, the science and the practice of climate adaptation. Maybe more importantly, it was a vibrant conference. Truly, there was palpable energy around building the capacity of participants not only as individuals but as a community. Kudos to the organizers.
Liz Bell, Wilburforce Foundation

Thanks for hosting a great conference last week. It seriously was one of the best conferences I've attended and that wasn't just because you had coffee available all day or because it was all adaptation all the time. Please put me on the list to help with the 2015 conference.
Sascha Petersen, Adaptation International

I wanted to convey how impressed I was with the National Adaptation Forum – it was extremely thought-provoking and I learned a lot. I also wanted to ask you to convey my thanks once again to all of the sponsors who contributed to defraying our costs such that we were able to bring quite a number of people from Denver. This was also really useful and served to help engage staff from a variety of agencies. We have been building interest and a strong team in Denver, and this event helped to solidify commitments.
Celia Vanderloop, Director, Environmental Quality Division, Department of Environmental Health, City and County of Denver

I want to thank you, EcoAdapt, and the sponsors, John D and Catherine T Mac Arthur Foundation, for this fantastic conference and gathering! For those of us working in rural regions of the US in adaptation in isolated areas, and perhaps anyone in the field, it was so enlightening and uplifting to have the opportunity to share and meet our peers from across the country! So often in the pursuit of adaptation planning, I feel that I am the only one in the room that understands- to be surrounded by 500+ others who are moving in the same direction was energizing for the importance of the work that we are doing.
Marcie Bidwell, Mountain Studies Institute, Durango, CO

Thank you for your leadership and vision for the adaptation field and for the conference!
Nile Malloy, Northern CA Program Director Communities for a better environment