Accessing the Conference Session Recordings
Thank you to all those who attended NARC’s 55th Annual Conference & Exhibition. Recordings were made of most conference sessions and those recordings are available for conference attendees to access on the conference platform.
Please use this link: https://www.engagez.net/node/784193 to access the recordings on the platform. When using this link, you will be prompted to enter the email address that was used for your registration.
55th Annual Conference and Exhibition
June 14-17, 2021 – Conference Will be Held Virtually
The Annual Conference and Exhibition is the largest national event focused on promoting effective regional cooperation and solutions through interaction and education. Held annually in June, NARC’s Annual Conference is the premier place to learn how to engage in effective regional collaboration.
Representatives of Councils of Government and Metropolitan Planning Organizations — leadership, professional staff, board members, local elected officials, technical and program staff — come together to share best practices, attend informative sessions on program, legislative and regulatory issues, as well as avail of training and technical services. Speakers include experts from the public and private sector, congressional and state lawmakers, and individuals from universities and non-profit organizations.
Conference Rates:
• NARC Member: $300 **Members must be logged in to see member rates.**
• Non-Member: $400
• Private Sector: $500
Conference Agenda
Monday, June 14 | |
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET | Executive Directors Conversation: “The Next Normal” |
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM ET | Atlanta Regional Commission – Regional Showcase Experience ATL from an insider’s perspective. Doug Hooker will be your tour guide. Speaker: · Doug Hooker, Executive Director, Atlanta Regional Commission; Chair, NARC Executive Directors Council @AtlantaRegional @DougATL2 |
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM ET
| Opening Reception with Trivia – Who Will be the Regional Trivia Champion?! Kick off the conference by meeting new colleagues and reconnecting with familiar faces – and play some trivia! |
Tuesday, June 15 | |
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET | Opening Session – Welcome to the Region Speakers: · The Honorable Bob Cannon, Supervisor, Clinton Township, Michigan; Southeast Michigan Council of Governments; NARC President @SEMCOG @RobertJCannon · Doug Hooker, Executive Director, Atlanta Regional Commission; Chair, NARC Executive Directors Council @AtlantaRegional @DougATL2 Welcome Keynotes • The Honorable Keisha Lance-Bottoms, Mayor, City of Atlanta, Georgia @KeishaBottoms • The Honorable Felicia Moore, City Council President, City of Atlanta, Georgia @FeliciaAMoore |
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM ET | Let’s Keep It Civil A discussion with elected leaders over governing during challenging times. Moderator: · The Honorable Geof Benson, Council Member, Town of Beverly Shores, Indiana; Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission; NARC Past President @geofbenson @NIRPC Speakers: · The Honorable Bob Cannon, Supervisor, Clinton Township, Michigan; Southeast Michigan Council of Governments; NARC President @SEMCOG @RobertJCannon · The Honorable Jennifer Robinson, Council Member, Town of Cary, North Carolina; Triangle J Council of Governments; NARC Senior Vice President @JenBRobinson @TJCOGnc · The Honorable Joy Fuchs, Commissioner, Washington County, Texas; Brazos Valley Council of Governments; NARC President-Elect |
12:30 PM – 12:45 PM ET | Break |
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM ET | Changing the Ways We Do Business During the COVID-19 pandemic many regions have had to find new and innovative ways of delivering direct services. Congregant meals for older Americans were no longer possible; adult day care had to be cut significantly; job training services became harder to implement because of social distancing and similar rules; and in-person job fairs were no longer possible – and these are just several examples of direct client services that had to be changed. This session will focus on those changes and specifically what three regions did to ensure that they were delivering necessary community services while protecting the public and their employees from contracting COVID-19. Moderator: · The Honorable Justin Kiel, Town Council President, Town of LaCrosse, Indiana Speakers: · Becky Kurtz, Managing Director, Aging & Independence Services, Atlanta Regional Council @AtlantaRegional · Geraldine Gardner, Executive Director, Centralina Regional Council, Charlotte, North Carolina @WeAreCentralina · Michael Parks, Executive Director, Brazos Valley Council of Governments, Bryan, Texas @bvcog |
1:45 PM – 2:45 PM ET | Public Engagement – Meeting the Challenges of 2020 Regional councils rely on the input and feedback of community members to develop successful plans and programming efforts. This past year created a range of public engagement challenges -but regions were able to step up with innovative new strategies. Join this session to hear about how regions have met the challenges of 2020 and used the past year to rethink how they connect with their communities. Moderator: · The Honorable Karen Keith, Commissioner, Tulsa County, Oklahoma; Indian Nations Council of Governments; NARC Board of Directors Speakers: · Malika Reed Wilkins, Director, Center for Strategic Relations, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lead, Atlanta Regional Commission @AtlantaRegional · Níel Jurist, Director of Communications & Engagement, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission @MORPC · Alana Keegan, Member Engagement Manager, Triangle J Council of Governments @TJCOGnc |
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM ET | Break |
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET | Keynote Speaker – National Center for Civil and Human Rights Speaker: · Jill Savitt, President and CEO, National Center for Civil and Human Rights @Ctr4CHR |
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM ET | Integrating DHS Infrastructure Resilience Planning Tools into Regional Planning Processes The Kentucky Green River Area Development District (GRADD) and the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will be jointly presenting how planners can apply Infrastructure Resilience Planning Framework within local and regional hazard mitigation and development planning practices. Join the speakers as they help planners engage public and private infrastructure owners and operators to assess and reduce vulnerabilities resulting from infrastructure interdependencies and therefore enhance the resilience of critical community services to natural, human, and cyber threats and hazards. Moderator: · The Honorable Joy Fuchs, Commissioner, Washington County, Texas; Brazos Valley Council of Governments; NARC President-Elect Speakers: · Blake Edge, Director of Community and Economic Development, Green River Area Development District · Sandra Pinel, Ph.D., Engagement Lead and Regional Planner, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) · Chandra Woolums, Project Manager and Risk Analyst, ABSG Consulting |
Wednesday, June 16 | |
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM ET | Keynote Speaker – Department of Transportation Moderator: · The Honorable Bob Cannon, Supervisor, Clinton Township, Michigan; Southeast Michigan Council of Governments; NARC President @SEMCOG @RobertJCannon Speaker: · The Honorable Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Secretary, US Department of Transportation @USDOT |
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM ET | Break |
10:45 AM – 11:20 AM ET | 2021 NARC Awards Announcement Join us as we announce NARC’s 2021 Achievement and Leadership Awards which celebrate excellence in regional leadership and the programs and services of regional councils. |
11:20 AM – 11:50 AM ET | Atlanta Regional Commission – Public Art Speaker: · Doug Hooker, Executive Director, Atlanta Regional Commission; Chair, NARC Executive Directors Council @AtlantaRegional @DougATL2 |
11:50 AM – 12:00 PM ET | Break |
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM ET | Breakout Sessions: Transportation Committee Meeting · Co-chair: The Honorable Fred Strong, Councilmember, Paso Robles, California; San Luis Obispo Council of Governments · Co-chair: Greg Stuart, Executive Director, Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization · Co-chair: Miriam Gillow-Wiles, Executive Director, Southwest Colorado Council of Governments Speakers: · Charles Small, Deputy Assistant Secretary – Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Transportation @USDOT Public Safety & Emergency Management Committee Meeting Flooding seems to be becoming the norm in nearly every region of the country and states and localities that thought they were immune from flooding are now grappling with floods caused by excessive rains, rising rivers, and rising oceans. This meeting of the Public Safety and Emergency Management Committee will focus on the various causes of flooding including excessive rainfall, river flooding, and sea level rise and how three different regions – Tampa, Davenport, and Texas Forest Country — are coping with the problems caused by climate change and storm-related events. · Co-chair: The Honorable Byron Ryder, Judge, Leon County, Texas; Brazos Valley Council of Governments; NARC Past President · Co-chair: Diane Rath, Executive Director, Alamo Area Council of Governments Speakers: · Sean Sullivan, Executive Director, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Commission @TampaBayRPC · Gena McCullough, Assistant Executive Director/Planning Director, Bi-State Regional Commission, Rock Island, Illinois · Lonnie Hunt, Executive Director, Deep East Texas Council of Governments @DETCOG |
1:30 PM – 1:45 PM ET | Break |
1:45 PM – 2:45 PM ET | Breakout Sessions: Economic & Community Development Committee Meeting · Co-chair: Jennifer Robinson, Council Member, Town of Cary, North Carolina; Triangle J Council of Governments; NARC Senior Vice President · Co-chair: Betty Voights, Executive Director, Capital Area Council of Governments Speakers: · Scott McMurray, Deputy Commissioner, Global Commerce, Georgia Department of Economic Development · David Hartnett, Chief Economic Development Officer of the Metro Atlanta Chamber @atlchamber @DavidHartnett · Shannon W. James, President & CEO Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance, Inc @AeroATL Energy & Environment Committee Meeting · Co-Chair: The Honorable Lee Constantine, Commissioner, Seminole County, Florida; East Central Florida · Co-Chair: Kristina Egan, Executive Director, Greater Portland Council of Governments Speakers: · Theresa Perry, Program Director, The Solar Foundation · Liz Compitello, Manager, Local Initiatives, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission @DVRPC · William Murdock, Executive Director, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission @MORPC |
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM ET | Sponsor Session: Coordinated Planning – How Cloud-Based Regional Data Platforms Are Uniting Local Governments Regional data platforms have the ability to coordinate information, streamline daily operations, and unite stakeholders across government sectors. They can improve how we plan, build, operate, and enforce our communities through a coordinated approach. Hear policy and technical perspectives, as well as early lessons from groups active in this transformative area. Speakers: · Randell Iwasaki, Leader, State and Local Transportation, Amazon Web Services @riwasaki2 · Drew Messer, CEO and Co-founder, Urban SDK @urbanSDK |
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM ET | Break |
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM ET | NARC Executive Directors Council Elections |
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET | NARC Executive Directors Council Meeting |
Thursday, June 17 | |
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM ET | NARC Board of Directors Elections |
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET | NARC Board of Directors Meeting |
Presenting Sponsors:


Silver Sponsor:

Bronze Sponsors:


Future Dates:
Annual conference dates for 2022 and 2023 coming soon.