Conference Agenda
AACD Board of Directors’ Meeting
August 3, 2026
August 3rd is for Conservation District Supervisors, Administrators, AACD Committee Members, and invited guests only. Thank you.
Keep scrolling for the full conference agenda.
2:30 PM BOD Meeting Check-In Begins (board packet pickup)
3:00 PM AACD Committee Meetings
5:00 PM Dinner, Board of Directors Meeting, Elections
Arizona’s Conservation Districts’ Annual Conference
August 4-5, 2026
Note: Our conference agenda is a living document. An asterisk (*) indicates an issued invitation at the time of publication—all others have been confirmed. Because many of our speakers manage dynamic professional schedules, we strive to remain flexible in order to provide attendees with the opportunity to hear from as many of these outstanding partners and subject matter experts as possible. Therefore, agenda timing and speaker placement may shift as we finalize schedules closer to the conference date, and the exact timing of individual speakers will be updated accordingly.
August 4, 2026
7:00 AM Conference Check-In Opens & Breakfast Buffet
7:45 AM Conference Welcome & Pledge, Tim Grandy, President, AACD
8:00 AM Emily Fife, Acting Deputy Assistant Chief – West Region, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, with an introduction by Keisha Tatem, State Conservationist, NRCS
8:30 AM Gary Blair, President, National Association of Conservation Districts
9:00 AM Stefanie Smallhouse, Executive Director, Natural Resource User Law & Policy Center, UA Cooperative Extension
9:30 AM Sine Kerr, State Executive Director, Farm Services Agency
10:00 AM Erica Rohr, Program Manager, Department of War, Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program
10:30 AM NETWORKING BREAK
11:00 AM Discussion: MAHA Q&A, with John Klar, MAHA Farmers Hub
11:30 AM Discussion Panel: Emerging Opportunities for Working Lands, with Amanda Zakharov, Partner and Director of Investments, Dirt Capital Partners, and Greg Bowman, Director, Bio Armor Environmental Inc.
12:00 PM LUNCH and Keynote Speaker, Chief Tom Schultz, U.S. Forest Service, and Conservation Stewardship Awards
1:30 PM Erika Boyland, Assistant State Conservationist, NRCS, and Paul Cattelino, State Easements Coordinator, NRCS, with an introduction by Keisha Tatem, State Conservationist, NRCS
2:00 PM Elvy Barton, Water and Forest Sustainability Senior Manager, Salt River Project
2:30 PM Phil Cooley, Acting Deputy State Director for Resources and Planning, Bureau of Land Management
3:00 PM NETWORKING BREAK
3:30 PM Discussion Panel: Wildlife and Working Lands, with Dan Sturla, Landowner Relations and Habitat Enhancement Program Manager, AZ Game & Fish Department; Heather Whitlaw, Arizona Field Office Supervisor, Ecological Services, US Fish & Wildlife Service; and Glen Dickens, Vice President, Arizona Antelope Foundation
4:00 PM Barry L. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, and Emma Cashman, Executive Director, The Land at Home Project
4:15 PM Sarah James, President, AZ Society for Range Management
4:30 PM Amber Morin, Public Lands Council
5:00-8:00 PM Casino Night! Small plates, open bar, and Vegas-style games
August 5, 2026
7:00 AM Conference Check-In Opens & Continental Breakfast
8:00 AM Welcome & Pledge, Tim Grandy, AACD President
8:15 AM State Natural Resource Conservation Board
8:45 AM From a Producer’s Perspective: Dawn Salcito
9:15 AM Jennifer Diffley, Land Policy Advisor, Governor’s Office of Resiliency
9:45 AM NETWORKING BREAK
10:15 AM B3 Strategies: Legislation + Districts
10:45 AM Discussion Panel with Rep. Gail Griffin, Sen. Tim Dunn, Rep. Patty Contreras, and Sen. Priya Sundareshan
11:30 AM-12:30 PM Lunch & Conference Wrap-Up with Outgoing and Incoming AACD Presidents
Conference Speakers
Speaker bios appear in alphabetical order by last name
-
![]()
Elvy Barton
Water and Forest Sustainability Senior Manager, Salt River Project
-
![]()
Greg Bowman
Founder, Bio Armor Environmental
-
![]()
Emma Cashman
Co-Founder & Executive Director, The Land at Home Project
-
![]()
Patricia "Patty" Contreras
Arizona State Representative, Legislative District 12
-
![]()
Philip Cooley
Branch Chief of Biological Resources, Bureau of Land Management Arizona
-
![]()
Glen Dickens
President, Arizona Wildlife Federation; Vice President & Projects Manager, Arizona Antelope Foundation
-
![]()
Jennifer Diffley
Land Policy Advisor, Governor’s Office of Resiliency
-
![]()
Tim Dunn
State Representative, Legislative District 13, Arizona House of Representatives
-
![]()
Emily Fife
Acting Deputy Assistant Chief, West Region, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
-
![]()
Gail Griffin
State Representative, Legislative District 13, Arizona House of Representatives
-
![]()
John Klar
Livestock Farmer, Attorney, and Author
-
![]()
Sine Kerr
State Executive Director, Farm Service Agency
-
![]()
Erica Rohr
Mission Sustainment Director, REPI Program — Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment
-
![]()
Tom Schultz
Chief, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
-
![]()
Stefanie Smallhouse
Executive Director, Natural Resource Users Law and Policy Center, University of Arizona
-
![]()
Priya Sundareshan
Senate Minority Leader, Legislative District 18, Arizona State Senate
-
![]()
Keisha Tatem
State Conservationist, Arizona
USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service -
![]()
Barry Taylor
Co-Founder & CEO, The Land at Home Project
-
![]()
Heather Whitlaw
Arizona Field Office Supervisor, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
-
![]()
Amanda Zakharov
Partner and Director of Investments, Dirt Capital Partners
