LEXINGTON, Va. Feb. 6, 2024 — Registration is open for Virginia Military Institute’s 34^th annual Environment Virginia Symposium, to be held April 9-11 in Marshall Hall on post. The event, organized and co-hosted by the VMI Center for Leadership & Ethics (CLE), is expected to attract nearly 500 participants from state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, higher education, and private industry.

“This annual event attracts environmental leaders in every sector to network and share their expertise,” explained Lt. Col. Kim Connolly, the CLE’s assistant director for programs and conferences. 

The conference includes exhibitors from industry, government, nonprofits, and academia. Sessions and topics include a VMI-led pre-conference professional development workshop, DEQ regulatory updates, the Chesapeake Bay, PFAs, energy, environmental justice, water quality, climate change/resilience, forestry, wildlife, conservation, data centers, and funding.  

Plenary presentations include a panel discussion with commonwealth environmental agency directors and a keynote address by Adam Ortiz, regional administrator for EPA's Mid-Atlantic Region. 

Regular conference registration is open now until April 5. Rates are $40 for full-time students and $95 for young professionals with less than five years in an environmental field. The cost is $190 for those representing nonprofits or academia or are attending as unaffiliated individuals and $330 for those representing government or business. Rates will increase after March 13. There are no day rates. 

Co-hosts for this conference include the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Environmental Endowment, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. 

To register or for more information on the conference, go online to vmieva.cventevents.com.  

- VMI -