The Western Governors’ Association 2019 Annual Meeting, featuring a dozen Western Governors and an impressive array of cabinet officials and guests, opens Monday at the Hotel Talisa in Vail, Colorado.
WGA Executive Director Jim Ogsbury will kick off the meeting hosted by WGA Chair and Hawai’i Gov. David Ige, which runs through Wednesday. They will be joined by WGA Vice Chair Doug Burgum (North Dakota), Jared Polis (Colorado), Lourdes Leon Guerrero (Guam), Brad Little (Idaho), Laura Kelly (Kansas), Steve Sisolak (Nevada), Michelle Lujan Grisham (New Mexico), Kate Brown (Oregon), Kristi Noem (South Dakota), Gary Herbert (Utah) and Mark Gordon (Wyoming).
Opening day keynotes will be delivered by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz and best-selling author Craig Johnson. On Tuesday, pollster Frank Luntz and opioid expert Eric Boechler will speak. On the final day of the meeting, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson will deliver remarks.
WGA will be live-tweeting daily during the meeting; follow the hashtag #WGA19 on Twitter for the latest. We’ll also offer daily updates on our website.
Onsite registration for the meeting will begin at the Hotel Talisa lobby on Sunday (1-5 p.m.) and then be available in the Talisa Ballroom Foyer on Monday (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Tuesday (7: 30 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and Wednesday (7:30 to 11:30 a.m.).
Below are highlights of the agenda, find the detailed agenda online.
1 p.m.: Welcome and Governor Introductions
1:30 p.m.: Keynote by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt
2 p.m.: Roundtable on Western Governors’ Biosecurity and Invasive Species Initiative
2:30 p.m.: Keynote by Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz
3:10 p.m.: Keynote by author Craig Johnson
3:40 p.m.: Roundtable on Connecting the Rural West
9 a.m.: Western Governors’ Foundation Kickoff
9:15 a.m.:Keynote by Frank Luntz
10:30 a.m.: Roundtable on Utilizing Data and Forecasting in Western Water Management
11:15 a.m.: Keynote by Eric Boechler
9:15 a.m.: Case Study and history of Western Governors University
10:15 a.m.: Keynote by HUD Secretary Ben Carson
10:45 a.m.: Meet the New Western Governors
11:45 a.m.: Announcement of WGA Policy Resolutions, Incoming Chair’s Remarks
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