The Desert Biofuels Initiative is a project focused on promoting the development of a robust local biofuels infrastructure in the Valley of the Sun. This Workshop is an effort to connect key Phoenix metro-area stakeholders involved with local biofuels (primarily biodiesel), and identify shared objectives that might benefit from collective action. We expect approximately 40 participants, representing commercial biofuels producers, the co-op and individual producer community, government policymakers, NGOs and academia.
We'll begin the day with coffee and informal discussion from 8:30-9:00am. The Workshop will begin at 9:00am and run through 12 noon, with a series of short presentations and (we hope) vibrant discussion from all participants. From 12 noon until 1:00pm we have a catered lunch, and we'll use a portion of this time do do some collective brainstorming about the afternoon sessions. From 1:00pm until 3:00pm we plan to have two optional breakout sessions, one focused on policy issues, the other focused on operational and technical issues.
Confirmed presenters include:
* Colleen Crowninshield, Chair, Tucson Clean Cities Coalition; Arizona Biodiesel Board member (opening keynote)
* Dan Rees, President, Arizona Biodiesel
* Bill Sheaffer, Executive VP, Amereco; Director, Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Coalition
* Gene Leach, Jay Nance, founders, Dynamite Biofuels Co-op
* Dave Conz, Ph.D. ASU professor, biodiesel policy expert
* Eric Johnson, co-founder, Desert Biofuels Initiative
* Tom Moore, Ph.D., Director of the ASU Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis, representing the ASU Global Institute of Sustainability (closing keynote)
Invitations to several other presenters are pending confirmation.
There is no cost for the Workshop. We are very grateful to ASU SkySong for providing some beautiful meeting space, and to Intel Corporation for sponsoring the catering services.
Attendence at the workshop is limited to invited participants. While we welcome suggestions concerning additional attendees, the conference room seating is limited, so we request that you ask Eric Johnson (eric@desertbiofuels.org) or Brad Biddle (brad@desertbiofuels.org) before inviting any additional guests. Please register for a ticket as provided below, as the process enables us to manage attendance and capture contact information. If possible please bring a copy of the your ticket to the workshop, but we can manage without. [Note: the registration tool has some quirks, such as a limited "Mr./Mrs." option for title -- please just ignore.]
Please note that we expect to make a list of participants available to those workshop attendees who would like one; if you do not want your contact information included in such a list please let Brad or Eric know.
See you on Friday March 7th!