2022 Yosemite Policymakers Conference

Recovery & Resiliency

As our state imagines a path forward from the COVID-19 pandemic, and faces increasingly extreme climate events, we find ourselves at a historic crossroads. We have a chance to choose paths – in housing, transportation, and energy – that offer opportunities for resiliency and equity amid the pressing perils that threaten our communities.

The transportation path we pursue now will determine how we move from place to place in the future. The mobility landscape is rapidly evolving, and the decisions we make now can help our communities have a shared, electric, accessible, safe, people-powered mobility future. Our ability to pivot away from the current preoccupation with personal cars will affect how much we do – or don’t – exacerbate environmental degradation and expand social inequities.

Our housing decisions will also shape our ability to reverse a trajectory that will continue to degrade natural and working lands, place people in areas of high wildfire risk, worsen traffic problems, unnecessarily increase infrastructure costs, and pollute our air and water. The pandemic only strengthened the already urgent imperative to fix our housing crisis. The right choices can make our communities more resilient, healthy, and prosperous.

The third step we must take is in how we power our lives. The energy sector is experiencing widespread disruption and evolution, as we’ve seen with the recent PG&E bankruptcy and power shut offs as well as the rapid growth of Community Choice Energy. These energy impacts disparately affect different communities. The gap between the richest and the poorest U.S. households is the largest it has been in 50 years.

As we make decisions about the places where we live and work, how we get to and from those places, and how we power our lives, we must also empower the social and environmental equity that makes our communities strong.

From our individual and collective experiences, we know that the blueprint for the clearest path to our best future lies with local governments. Local governments invent, encourage, and implement the solutions to many of our pressing challenges—from affordable housing and climate-change responses to the transitions in our energy and mobility sectors. With all of these responsibilities, and the forthcoming influx of infrastructure funding, local leaders must come together at this momentous juncture to share ideas and best practices, and advance forward-thinking solutions.

The conference will take place from Thursday evening, March 17th to Sunday morning, March 20th. The below agenda will be updated as more speakers are confirmed. All conference sessions will be held in the Garden Terrace Room at the Yosemite Valley Lodge.

Update: We are requiring masks for attendees who are not fully vaccinated or choose not to disclose, and STRONGLY RECOMMEND that masks be worn indoors regardless of vaccination status.

Download official attendee information here.

Download the final conference agenda.

Thursday, March 17

6:00 PM
Conference Registration

Participants free for dinner on their own

7:30 – 9:00 PM

Opening Remarks: Crossroads for Policymakers

• Kate Wright, Chief Executive Officer, CivicWell
• Mike Wilson, Humboldt County Supervisor; CivicWell Board Vice Chair

Kickoff Dialogues

Roger Dickinson, Policy Director, CivicWell; Former Assemblymember (facilitator)

• Investments in a more Resilient California: State Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont), the chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee on Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy
• Next Generation Movement and Mobility: Lori Pepper, Deputy Secretary for Innovative Mobility Solutions at CalSTA

Friday, March 18

Participants free for breakfast on their own

9:30 – 11:30 AM

Powering Our Communities: Advancing Clean Energy

• Josh Brock, Vice President of CCA Commercial Operations, Calpine Energy Solutions, LLC
• Desiree Haus, Facilities Solutions Specialist, SitelogIQ
• Tanya Peacock, Senior Director, Government Affairs and Policy, Bloom Energy
• Das Williams, Santa Barbara County Supervisor

Community Economic Resilience Fund

Micah Weinberg, CEO, California Forward

11:30  – 7:30 PM

Conference Break

Participants free for lunch and dinner on their own

7:30 – 9:00 PM

Recovery and Resiliency

• Carl Guardino, Executive Vice President, Global Government Affairs & Policy, Bloom Energy
• Wade Crowfoot, Secretary, Natural Resources Agency
• David Shabazian, Director, Department of Conservation
• Lynn von Koch-Liebert, Executive Director, Strategic Growth Council

Saturday, March 19

8:00 – 9:00 AM

Breakfast – Base Camp Eatery

9:00 – 10:00 AM

Supporting Virtual Life Post-Pandemic

• Darren Suen, Vice Mayor, City of Elk Grove
• Rochelle Swanson, Government Affairs Manager, Crown Castle

10:00 – 10:15 AM

Networking Break

10:15 – 11:15 AM

Equitable and Adaptive Leadership

• Kathy Chow, Director of Development and Communications, CivicWell (facilitator)
• Alana Mathews, Director, Prosecutors Alliance California and Adjunct Professor, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
• BJ Snowden, Interim Associate Vice President of Equity and Institutional Effectiveness, American River College

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM

CivicWell Remarks

12:00 – 1:00 PM

Lunchtime Discussions (boxed lunch for registered conference attendees)  

1:00 – 5:00 PM

Conference Break

5:00 –  6:45 PM

Dinner 

6:45 –  9:00 PM

Addressing the Housing and Homelessness Crisis

Phil Ting, California State Assemblymember (keynote)

Jason Elliott, Senior Counselor to Governor Gavin Newsom (keynote)

Panel

• Steve Hansen, Managing Partner, Sacramento Office, Lighthouse Public Affairs
• Matt Horton, Director, Center for Regional Economics and California Center, Milken Institute
• Meea Kang, Senior Vice President, Related California LLC
• Anu Natarajan, Lead, Facebook: Housing Initiative

Sunday, March 20

8:00 – 9:30 AM

Breakfast – Base Camp Eatery

This conference is for elected officials only. If you are not an elected official but would like to attend, we invite you to explore our sponsorship opportunities below.

Registration Is Now Closed.

Conference registration includes conference materials; a breakfast voucher for Base Camp Eatery, box lunch, and dinner on Saturday; and a breakfast voucher for Base Camp Eatery on Sunday.

UPDATE: The refund deadline has passed. Should you need to cancel and send a substitute if you can no longer attend, contact aramsay@civicwell.org with the replacement contact information no later than March 10, 2022.

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Refund requests will be honored if received in writing by February 27, 2022. All refunds are subject to a $100 processing fee. Refunds will be issued via the original payment method used at the time of registration.

After February 27, 2022, NO REFUNDS will be offered.

After February 27, should you need to cancel and replace yourself (send a substitute if you can no longer attend), you must contact aramsay@civicwell.org with the replacement contact information no later than March 10, 2022.

UPDATE: The Ahwahnee Hotel has rooms for the dates of the conference! Lodging is sold out at the Yosemite Valley Lodge. If you have not yet booked your lodging for the conference, you have three options:

1. Contact the Ahwahnee Hotel to book one of their last available rooms using our group code 13929T.
2. Book your lodging at the Yosemite View Lodge, outside the park. It is approximately a 30 minute drive from this hotel to the conference location. Your Yosemite entrance pass is good for one week.
3. Sign up for our roommate request list. Contact Alana Ramsay if you would also like to be added to the waitlist for single room cancellations.

Please note that we are working with both the Lodge and the Ahwahnee to try to secure more rooms for the conference, but there is no guarantee. We will update this page should we be able to.

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The 2022 Yosemite Policymakers Conference will be held at the Yosemite Valley Lodge in Yosemite National Park.

A limited number of rooms are available at a discounted rate using our group code 13929T at both the Yosemite Valley Lodge and the Ahwahnee Hotel. Our group rate for the Ahwahnee Hotel is $549/night, and $278/night for the Yosemite Valley Lodge. Book soon, as these will sell out!

If you would like to reserve a room, visit www.travelyosemite.com or contact the hotel’s reservations office at 888-413-8869 option 1 and reserve a room from our block using the group code 13929T. You can find detailed instructions here.

Are you interested in sharing a room and/or setting up a rideshare? If so, fill out this form to be matched with another interested attendee.

We are looking for Conference Sponsors – agencies, organizations, foundations, and companies – who are leading the way in innovative resiliency solutions and smart growth strategies.

Our flagship event is an excellent opportunity for sponsors to build meaningful relationships with local policymakers, highlight and deepen your commitment to livable communities, and raise your profile in the smart growth arena. 

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, view the Sponsorship Brochure or contact Kathy Chow at kchow@civicwell.org for information.

Download the Sponsorship Brochure

COVID-19 Prevention Statement

CivicWell is committed to preventing the spread of COVID-19. For the safety of guests, speakers, and CivicWell staff, all attendees will need to 1) submit proof of vaccination, or 2) show proof of a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours or less prior to the event. Registrants who fail to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test will not be permitted entrance to the event and no refund will be issued.

All information collected regarding COVID-19 — including an attendee’s vaccination status and/or test results — will be stored and maintained in a secure and confidential manner.

We are requiring that masks be worn indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

In addition, CivicWell will be taking other measures as recommended by the CDC to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. These measures may include but are not limited to: social distancing, masking, hand-washing, and sanitization of commonly used spaces and materials.

Subject to change dependent on CDC Guidelines.

COVID-Related Cancellation Policy

We currently do not anticipate the conference being canceled due to COVID-19, but are monitoring the CDC, State, and applicable County guidelines. We plan to hold the event following the most current COVID-19 safety protocols.

Registered attendees requesting a refund due to individual COVID-19 concerns will be held to our existing refund policy (see Registration section). If the National Park Service prevents us from holding the event, or external factors arise that prevent us from holding the event, we will issue full refunds to registered attendees.

All attendees will need to 1) submit proof of vaccination, or 2) show proof of a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours or less prior to the event. We may update these requirements in accordance with CDC, State, and County guidelines. Please check our website regularly. If you have already registered, information will be sent to you directly on any new changes.

No refunds will be issued to registrants who refuse to follow COVID-19 protocols; however, we will issue a partial refund (the registration fee paid less a $100 administrative fee) to those who submit proof of a positive COVID-19 test within 7 days of the start of the event.

For questions on the conference, please contact:
Alana Ramsay
HR Associate
(916) 448-1198 ex 313
aramsay@civicwell.org