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Rising Waters, Rising Leaders: Charting a Climate-Conscious Course

This year's conference will focus on the critical topic of climate variability, sustainability, and resilience.

Registration Information

Be sure to log in to your PENC Member profile to access the member rates listed below! Not a member yet? Contact PENC to learn more!

• Full Conference - Member: $450
• Full Conference - Non-Member: $500
• Full Conference - Students: $250
• Awards Dinner Only (Friday, June 7) - member: $100
• Awards Dinner Only (Friday, June 7) - non-member: $125
• Spouse/Guest (Meals Only): $200**

**Tickets for guests may not be purchased separately. They may be purchased as part of an attendee registration. Guests (Meals Only Ticket) will receive access to all meals including the Welcome Reception (Thursday) and breakfast, lunch, and awards dinner (Friday) and breakfast (Saturday).

Government Rate: Contact PENC for a 15% off promo code for Government Employees only (cannot be combined with the group discount).

Group Discount: Sending 3 or more people from the same engineering firm to the conference? PENC is pleased to offer a 5% discount. To utilize the group discount, you must register as a group. Contact PENC for details.

Order of the Engineer Induction Ceremony: To be inducted into the Order of the Engineer on Friday, June 7 (6:30 PM), please select the $15.00 event fee which includes the stainless-steel ring provided to inductees. Ring sizing takes place on-site.

Sarah Spiegler
North Carolina Sea Grant
Coastal Resilience Specialist
NC State University | Center for Marine Sciences and Technology

Sarah Spiegler is the coastal resilience specialist for North Carolina Sea Grant, located at the NC State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City. As an extension specialist, she supports communities and stakeholders in addressing coastal and climate change resilience challenges through planning, facilitation, applied research, education, communication, outreach, and extension.

Sarah has worked on issues related to climate change and coastal resilience for over 10 years, collaborating with an extensive network of partners and stakeholders in North Carolina, regionally, and nationally. She works closely with the NC Division of Coastal Management on the NC Resilient Coastal Communities Program. She is also an award-winning science communicator for the NC Coastwatch magazine.

Previously, Sarah was the coordinator and outreach specialist for the NOAA-directed NC Sentinel Site Cooperative and a marine education specialist for North Carolina Sea Grant, focusing on the impacts of sea level rise to North Carolina’s coastal habitats and communities.

Sarah has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Kenyon College and a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. She has lived in Beaufort, N.C. as a full-time resident since 2011. In the fall of 2023, Sarah was elected to serve as Commissioner for the Town of Beaufort. 

Julia M. Harrod, P.E., F.NSPE
President, MWM Design Group
Vice President, NSPE Board of Directors

Julia is President of MWM DesignGroup, an interdisciplinary firm providing architecture, landscape design, civil engineering, land surveying and permitting services throughout Texas. She obtained her degree in Architecture from MIT in 1990 and her Masters in Engineering at the University of Texas in 1994.

She is currently serving as NSPE 2023-24 vice president and will be the NSPE 2024-25 president. She has been actively involved with NSPE since 2001 when she joined Travis chapter boards and committees in Austin Texas.

Conference Agenda

**Sessions are subject to change**

Thursday, June 6

• 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM - PENC Board of Governors (invite only) *BOG Breakfast available at 8:30 AM
  
• 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM - Board of Governors and Educational Foundation Board Lunch (invite only)
  
• 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM - Educational Foundation Board Meeting (invite only)
• 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM - Rachel Carson Reserve Clean Up (limited to 30, participants depart from Beaufort Hotel docks by boat)
  
• 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM - Conference Sessions
  • NCBELS - Ethics Presentation
  • Living Shoreline Along the Neuse River at MCAS
• 3:15 PM to 4:15 PM - Conference Sessions
  
  • Dampening the Effects of Climate Variability on Jobsites
  • Why the "Millennial Manager" mindset is your biggest asset
• 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM - Welcome Reception

Friday, June 7

• 7:30 AM - Breakfast Buffet Opens
• 8:00 AM - Legislative & Advocacy Update with NSPE
• 9:00 to 10:00 AM - Conference Sessions
  • Case Studies of Energy Resilience at North Carolina’s Military Bases
  • Using Sustainable Roofing Materials to Provide Climate-Conscious Solutions
• 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Duke Marine Lab Tour (PDH 1) - limited to 20 - own transportation required
• 10:15 to 11:15 AM - Conference Sessions
  • Digging Deep to Pivot from Reliance on Surface Water
  • Emergency Assessment and Repair of Chester Dam
• 11:30 AM to 12:30 - Conference Sessions
  • Beaufort Green Streets: Leveraging Existing Right-of-Way to Improve Stormwater Quality and Aesthetics
  • Incorporating Natural Channel Design with Flood Mitigation Projects across the Country
• 12:30 to 1:30 PM - Keynote & Lunch
  • Sarah Spiegler, North Carolina Sea Grant - Coastal Resilience Specialist | NC State University | Center for Marine Sciences and Technology
    • Climate Adaptation, Resilience, and Sense of Place in Coastal North Carolina
• 1:45 to 2:45 PM - Conference Sessions
  • Harker's Island Bridge Replacement
  • Restoring Power: Blue Sky to Sky is Falling
• 3:00 to 4:00 PM - Conference Sessions
  
  • Resilience and Ethics
  • Ground Improvements for Georgia Ports Mason Mega Rail Project
• 4:15 PM - Libations & Conversations
  • Beyond 9 to 5: Setting Limits in the Age of Constant Connectivity
• 6:00 PM - Leadership Institute Social
  
• 6:30 PM - Awards Dinner & Keynote
  • Julia Harrod, PE / NSPE Vice President - The Future of Engineering
    

Saturday, June 8

• 7:30 AM - Breakfast Buffet Opens
• 8:00 AM - Chapter Growth: Engagement + Empowerment Exchange
  
• 9:15 AM to 11:30 AM - Conference Sessions
  • 9:15 AM - Analysis of Tieback Soldier Pile Walls Using Numerical Iteration Method
• • 10:30 AM - Bone River Bridge
• 9:15 AM to 11:30 AM - Leadership Institute Presentations
• 11:30 AM - PENC Summer Conference Concludes / Lunch on your own
  
• 12:30 PM - Tour of Fort Macon with Paul Shivers, PE (own transportation required)
  

Sponsorship Opportunities

PENC Partners are in the spotlight at our events - providing you with access to network with industry decision makers and engineering professionals. Your investment will help to support the invaluable contributions made by PENC members, our volunteer leadership, the engineering community at large.

Partners are given name and logo recognition on all our conference marketing – which includes PENC’s website, email, social media, and print marketing. All partners are acknowledged during the program and have visibility on the welcome slide presentation. Deadline: Friday, April 29, 2024. To sponsor the PENC Summer Conference, just add the partnership option to your cart (see links below) or add it to your event registration!

Conference - $1,500

Your sponsorship powers a conference dedicated to engineering excellence, make a lasting impact. Includes one (1) complimentary conference registration, recognition at all sessions, and logo on front of conference brochure!

Awards Dinner - $1,500

Where excellence takes center stage! Showcase your brand amidst a night of recognition, innovation, and leadership. Recognition at the Awards Dinner. Includes one (1) complimentary conference registration, recognition at all sessions, and logo on front of conference brochure!

Lunch - $700

Be a force behind lunch! Fueling minds for a greener, brighter future! Recognition at Lunch & General Session.

Welcome Reception - $600

Be a captain of first impressions! Elevate your brand and presence at the Welcome Reception and be remembered as the catalyst for meaningful connections and memorable moments.

Breakfast - $500

Fuel the day and energize the minds as a Breakfast Sponsor! Your brand at the forefront of a morning dedicated to sustainable conversations, charting a climate-conscious course. Seize this opportunity to kick-start connections and discussions over a delightful breakfast.

Workshop - $400

Unleash innovation, shape change! Recognition at Workshop/Session of Your Choice.