Re-entry from BE is always difficult for me. It is always such a high to be part of such a huge, collaborative, well received effort, and always so hard to let it go and move back into the real world, to walk among mere mortals.
I am profoundly grateful. Grateful to the 100 volunteers and 9 dedicated staffers who planned and executed this conference, and took seriously the charge to make it more inclusive, to open it to new audiences.
To the on-site volunteers, without whom, quite literally, the conference would not run.
To our members, who wore their hearts on their sleeves and talked without prompting about what NESEA had meant to their careers. You truly moved me.
To the many attendees who approached me with ideas and enthusiasm about how we can improve NESEA and BuildingEnergy in coming years.
To Conference Chair Robert Leaver, for infusing into the format many opportunities to come together as a community (or many communities), to set our learning intentions, and to reflect and act upon what we’ve learned.
To Vice Chair Paul Eldrenkamp for not letting a single day pass before we start to seize on what we’ve learned and to apply it to BE13.
And to so many other folks who made this the best week of my year.
I invite you all to continue to be part of our conversation and our community. To share what you’ve learned, how you’ve changed, how your practice has changed. Your “aha” moments, your breakthroughs, your suggestions. And, of course, any leads you think we should be pursuing to grow this conference, this community and this movement.
Many thanks.
Jennifer
