Presentations

made before the Southern Legislative Conference during the 63rd Annual Meeting program sessions

Agriculture & Rural Development

Agriculture & Rural Development Committee

Food Safety
Michael Doyle, Ph.D., Regents Professor of Food Microbiology; Director, Center for Food Safety, University of Georgia
Steve Solomon, D.V.M., Deputy Associate Commissioner for Compliance Policy, Office of Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Washington, D.C

Preserving Farmland
Edgar Miller, Government Relations Director, Conservation Trust of North Carolina
Joshua M. Duke, Professor of Food and Resource Economics, Legal Studies, and Economics, Departmentof Food and Resource Economics, University of Delaware

Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide
Jason Gray, Director, Rural Innovation and Research, North Carolina Rural Center
John Molinaro, Assistant Director, Community Strategies Group, The Aspen Institute, Washington, D.C.
Ken Stauber, President and CEO, Danville Area Foundation, Virginia

Economic Development, Transportation & Cultural Affairs Committee

How do We Move towards High Speed Rail?
Pat Simmons, Director - Rail Division, Department of Transportation, North Carolina
Tony J. Morris, President and CEO, American Maglev, Georgia

Federal Transportation Reauthorization and the Successor to SAFETEA-LU
Curtis Johnson, Associate Director for Government Affairs, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.

Infrastructure report card: Trends from South Carolina, the SLC and the Nation
Matt Silveston, P.E., Section President, American Society of Civil Engineers, South Carolina

The Drive to Move South: How Do We Move It To A Higher-Tech Gear?
Simon Cobb, Chief Operating Officer, Center for Automotive Research (NCCAR), North Carolina

Funding the Arts during Extreme Fiscal Stress
Milton Rhodes, President and CEO, The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina

Education Committee

Autism Spectrum Disorders
Dr. Joanne Cashman, Ph.D., Director, IDEA Partnership project, National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Washington, D.C.
Gary Mesibov, Ph.D., Director of Division TEACCH, University of North Carolina
Jennifer Neitzel, PhD, Content Specialist, National Technical Assistance Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders at UNC

Education and the Federal Stimulus
Stacey Jordan, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.

Common Core Standards Initiative
Ilene M. Berman, Ed.D., Program Director, K-12 Education, Literacy, Charters, International Benchmarking, Education Division, National Governors Association, Washington, D.C.
Chris Minnich, Director of Standards, Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington, D.C.

Energy & Environment Committee

Securing The South’s Energy Future
Ken Nemeth, Executive Director, Southern States Energy Board
Dr. Rodney Andrews, Director, University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research
Bill Schafer, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Range Fuels
Joe Craft, CEO, Alliance Coal
Christopher Hamilton, West Virginia Coal Association

Energy and the Federal Stimulus
Skila Harris, Recovery Adviser, U.S. Department of Energy

Fiscal Affairs & Government Operations Committee

Generating Economic Development During Times of Extreme Fiscal Stress
M. Ray Perryman, Ph.D., President, The Perryman Group, Texas

Economic Turbulence and State Investment Strategies
Janet Cowell, State Treasurer, North Carolina

Mortgage and Housing Meltdown: How Did We End Up Here and North Carolina ’s Response
John Allison, former CEO and President of BB & T and current Chairman of the BB&T Board, North Carolina
Senator Dan Blue, North Carolina

Comparative Data Report Presentations
Revenues: Kim Arnall, Assistant Director - Fiscal Division, Bureau of Legislative Research, Arkansas
Education: Hank Hager, Legislative Counsel – Senate Committee on Education, West Virginia

Gulf Coast & Atlantic States Regional Task Force

Creating Resilient Coastal Communities
Tracie Sempier, Ph.D., Coastal Storms Outreach Coordinator, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Mississippi
Berry Williams, President, Berry A. Williams and Associates, North Carolina

Human Services & Public Safety Committee

Vocational Rehabilitation and Supported Employment
Toni King, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

The Rise of HIV/AIDS and Teen Pregnancy in the South
Dr. R. Luke Shouse, Reporting, Analysis, and Evaluation Team Leader, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Representative Beverly Earle, North Carolina General Assembly
Evelyn Foust, Director, North Carolina Department of Health’s Communicable Disease Branch

Legislative Service Agency Directors Group

After 2010: State Redistricting in the Coming Decade
Paul Smith, Partner, Jenner & Block, Washington, D.C.
J. Gerald Hebert, Executive Director andDirector of Litigation, The Campaign Legal Center, Washington, D.C.