2026 Upper Mississippi River Conference Schedule
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026
2:30 – 4:30 p.m. | "Main Street Landing" Pre-Opening Tour + Presentation
- Zach Peterson, PLA, City of Davenport
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. | Vendor Tabling and Drinks (provided by River Action)
Wednesday, November 4th, 2026
7:00 – 8:30 a.m. | Registration, Breakfast and Check-in | Atrium/MRH Entrance
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. | Welcome Remarks | Mississippi River Hall
- Kathy Wine, Executive Director and Founder, River Action
9:00 – 10:15 a.m. | Keynote Session | Mississippi River Hall
"Title TBA"
- Dr. Aaron Thompson, Landscape Architect and Horticulturist, Purdue University
10:15 - 10:30 a.m. | Networking Break
10:30 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. | Water Quality Panel Pt.1
"Water Quality Crisis: Restoring Our River System" (Moderated by Scott Tomkins)
- Kathy Jo Jankowski, Principal Investigator, Mississippi Restoration LTRM Program
- Ted Kratchschmer, Senior Source Water Protection Program Manager, American Water, Iowa and Illinois
- Dr. Emily Jenkins, Senior Engineering Manager, Farnsworth Group
11:50 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Networking Break
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Water Quality Panel Pt.2
- Rachel Curry, Agricultural Educator, IL Extension Office
- Whitney Clark, Executive Director, Friends of the Mississippi River
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. | Boxed Lunch | Atrium
1:30 – 4:00 p.m. | Field Tour
Sustainable Agriculture with Rob Ewoldt Field Trip ($15) - "Title TBD"
- Robb Ewoldt, Regenerative Farmer/Director, United Soybean Board
4:00 - 6:30 p.m. | Break & Dinner Set-up
6:30 - 8 p.m. | Plated Dinner and Presentation | Mississippi River Hall
"Adventure Therapy: Creating access and fostering healing"
Using Chicago Adventure Therapy as a case study, this presentation will explore the healing opportunities inherent in green and blue spaces, ways to harness these opportunities with children, youth, and young adults, and the importance of building equitable access to these spaces in order to create healing spaces and experiences. We will explore the connections between individual healing, community healing, access, and conservation.
- Andrea Knepper, LCSW, Founder, Chicago Adventure Therapy
Thursday, November 5th, 2025
7:00 – 8:00 a.m. | Registration, Breakfast and Check-in | Atrium/MRH Entrance
8:00 – 9:15 a.m. | Journalism Panel | Mississippi River Hall
"PRESSing Forward: Addressing Challenges in Modern Journalism" (Moderated by Kathy Wine)
- Reggie McLeod, Editor and Publisher, Big River Magazine
- Debbie Anselm, Executive Director, Iowa Newspaper Association
- Noah Glasgow, Journalist, North Scott Press
9:15 – 9:45 a.m. | Networking Break | Atrium
Student Schedule
(see regular agenda in next section)
9:15 – 9:30 a.m. | Next Gen Scholars Arrive
9:30 – 10:45 a.m. | Welcome and Environmental Career Panel | Conjoined Breakout Rooms
- Audrey Tran Lam, Environmental Health Program Director, UNI Center for Energy and Environmental Education
- Sarah O'Connell, Conservation Educator, Great Outdoors Foundation
- Carli J Schlabowske, Geographer, USACE
- Noah Glasgow, Journalist, North Scott Press
10:45 – 11:00 a.m. | Water Quality Issue Presentation
11:00 – 11:30 a.m. | Problem Solving with River Scientists
11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Digital Poster Making
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. | Student Presentations and Discussion
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | Breakout 1 - all attendees | Mississippi River Hall
"Friends of the River: Community Action at Work" (Moderator TBA)
- Whitney Clark, Executive Director, Friends of the Mississippi River
- Margaret Frisbe, Executive Director, Friends of the Chicago River
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. | Breakout 2 - all attendees | Mississippi River Hall
"Conservation in the Age of A.I." (Moderator TBA)
- Kamyar Enshayan, Former Director, UNI Center for Energy and Environmental Education (CEEE)
- Everett Hamner, Literature, Film, and Science Professor, WIU
12:30 – 1:45 p.m. | Networking Luncheon | Main Ballroom
"A Healthy Iowa Needs Clean Water"
- David Cwiertny, Department Chair, University of Iowa Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Professor, Dept. of Chemistry
1:45 – 2:00 p.m. | Transition to Breakouts (Students Return to School)
2:00 – 3:15 p.m. | Divided Breakout Sessions
Breakout 3 | Mississippi River Hall
"Interdisciplinary Stewardship" (Moderated by Jerry Skalak)
- Carli J Schlabowske, Geographer, USACE
Breakout 4 | Mississippi River Hall
"Re-shaping Riverfront Recreation" (Moderated by James Lasher)
- Dan Williams, Principal Landscape Architect, MSA Professional Services
- Stephanie Oppel, Executive Director, ICON River Trails
3:15 – 3:30 p.m. | Networking Break
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. | Closing Plenary Session | Mississippi River Hall
"Title TBD"
- Chris Jones, Hydroscience Research Engineer, Iowa Water Center
4:30 p.m. | Adjourn
REGISTRATION NOT YET OPEN
CLICK HERE to download the 2025 printable brochure.