The Stewardship Network Conference #17
January 29th - 30th, 2024
The Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center
Michigan State University
219 S. Harrison Road
East Lansing, MI, 48824
Each year since 2008, we've gathered environmental scholars, leading experts, and a wide cross-section of nature's caretakers to share ideas, challenge our thinking, and leave energized for the seasons ahead, bolstered by the knowledge that none of us are doing this vital work alone. After three highly successful online years, The Stewardship Network Conference 2024 will mark a return to our celebrated, in-person tradition! February 2023's virtual gathering was the best-attended online event in our organization's history and we're hard at work to make sure Year #17 is even more impactful.
2024 Keynote Presenters
Evan Larson (he/him/his) is a Professor of Environmental Sciences & Society at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, a primarily undergraduate institution in the beautiful rolling hills of the Driftless Area. His expertise in dendrochronology, the science of tree rings, and biogeography, the study of patterns in the distribution of life on Earth and the processes that shape them, enable him to combine scholarship, a love of teaching, and an enthusiasm for working outside into classes and research that blur the boundaries between the physical and social sciences. He is fortunate to work with amazing colleagues who together are re-storying the relationships among people, fire, and pine in the Great Lakes Region.
Priya Nanjappa
Priya Nanjappa has had a long history with National Parks, starting with her immigrant father who drove all around the country sightseeing while in graduate school. His love of scenic beauty was conveyed to Priya and her brother, driving them all around the country when they were kids so they could also see these same parks. This was part of the inspiration for Priya’s career. She comes to NPCA with over 20 years of conservation science and policy experience.
Prior to NPCA, Priya served as a Commissioner specializing in wildlife, environment, and reclamation for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, appointed by Governor Polis, for its inaugural full-time Commission. Before that, she was the Director of Operations for the nonprofit organization, Conservation Science Partners (or CSP), and was a Program Manager for the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, where she also served as a national coordinator for Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC).
Priya has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology with emphases in wildlife ecology, conservation biology, and environmental science. Her experiences include work with federal and state government, nonprofits, and she has coordinated and led interdisciplinary teams at state, national, and international scales. She has maintained a steady number of scientific publications as well. She has twice been a mentor for the David H. Smith Postdoctoral Conservation Fellowship Program. In 2019, Priya was the recipient of the PARC Visionary Leader Award – the first woman and second person of color to receive this award.
Priya is passionate about inclusivity, equity, and diversity, and has applied these in her recent positions where she was able to influence and create beneficial changes in policies and practices. She recently served as a mentor in the inaugural cohort of Next100 Colorado, designed to help connect Colorado’s emerging and seasoned leaders of color through a series of partnerships, network formation, and leadership building.
She also really loves toads – outside of work, you can find her looking for them, or just hiking and camping, often with her daughter, who shares her love of the outdoors.
About #TSNconference
Now in its 17th year, The Stewardship Network Conference is the moment where theory meets practice and curiosity leads to solutions. Each annual convening unifies hundreds of professionals, students, and volunteers from a dazzling array of environmental fields. Here they share their setbacks and successes, compare advancements and techniques, and revel in diverse perspectives and creative expressions — all in support of our shared mission to care for the natural world.
About The Stewardship Network
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI, The Stewardship Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with an award-winning, 20-year history of connecting, equipping, and mobilizing people and organizations to care for land and water in their communities. As a flagship program of the organization, TSN Conference embodies our vision to "build a diverse network of connected communities empowered to care for our environment together, now and forever."
