Conference Wrap-Up
The 2022 EEAI Annual Conference was held April 7-9, 2022 at Hoover Forest Preserve in Yorkville, Illinois. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Jean-Marie Kauth, from Benedictine University spoke on the realities of children’s environmental health and steps we can take to improve our local and regional environments. We welcomed 115 attendees to the conference. We hosted 29 conference sessions, 13 exhibitors, as well as 2 optional field trips and 4 workshops. The 50th anniversary dinner and awards banquet was a wonderful way to honor a number of individuals and their hard work across the state of Illinois. During the EEAI annual member meeting, we welcomed several new regional directors to the EEAI board.
EEAI partnered with the IL Green Ribbon Schools program on this conference and welcomed quite a few educators and organizations from that program to the conference. Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Green Alliance and EEAI were honored to recognize Wheaton Christian Grammar School as a 2021 Illinois Green Ribbon School. EEAI then also honored Don Arnold as the 2022 Non-Formal Educator of the Year and Christy Trutter-Ganson as the 2022 Formal Educator of the Year.
We would especially like to thank our sponsors, who helped support us and our ability to host this wonderful conference and gather together for the first time in three years.
THANK YOU!
Thank you to our Conference Planning Committee! The Conference Co-Chairs were the Northeast Regional Directors: Karly Tumminello, Emily Shanahan, and Rebecca Pruim. The Co-chairs of the Program Committee were Colleen Filipek and Tina Heidrich. The Co-chairs of the Silent Auction Committee were Janet Dahlberg and Bailey Lutz. In addition, the conference planning committee included: Tina Dawson Scott, Jennifer Tariq, Savannah Donovan, Janet Beach Davis, Caty Roland, Kimberly Adams, Stefanie Wiencke, Deanna Bazan, Liz Wimmer, Amy Phillips, Kelli Park, Susie Grana-Ingram, Lizzie Van Ert, Marvin Warner, Teresa Vaughn, Ramona Pollard, Andrea Wallace, and Kristi Shoemaker. We would also like to thank our conference partnership with Illinois Green Alliance.
Initial feedback from the conference evaluations show that 73.9% of conference attendees were non-formal environmental educators. 100% of respondents indicated that they would recommend an EEAI conference to a colleague!
Here is a selection of excerpts from conference attendees:
“I am so glad that I did the field trip to Red Oak Nature Center! It was a wonderful experience.”
“The keynote was powerful.”
“The information I learned from her will definitely be used at my job.”
“The keynote speaker was great and presented strong science and insight.”
“I enjoyed all of the sessions. For me, my favorite experience though, was getting to meet so many amazing educators and catching up with old friends/former intern teammates.”
EEAI partnered with the IL Green Ribbon Schools program on this conference and welcomed quite a few educators and organizations from that program to the conference. Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Green Alliance and EEAI were honored to recognize Wheaton Christian Grammar School as a 2021 Illinois Green Ribbon School. EEAI then also honored Don Arnold as the 2022 Non-Formal Educator of the Year and Christy Trutter-Ganson as the 2022 Formal Educator of the Year.
We would especially like to thank our sponsors, who helped support us and our ability to host this wonderful conference and gather together for the first time in three years.
THANK YOU!
Thank you to our Conference Planning Committee! The Conference Co-Chairs were the Northeast Regional Directors: Karly Tumminello, Emily Shanahan, and Rebecca Pruim. The Co-chairs of the Program Committee were Colleen Filipek and Tina Heidrich. The Co-chairs of the Silent Auction Committee were Janet Dahlberg and Bailey Lutz. In addition, the conference planning committee included: Tina Dawson Scott, Jennifer Tariq, Savannah Donovan, Janet Beach Davis, Caty Roland, Kimberly Adams, Stefanie Wiencke, Deanna Bazan, Liz Wimmer, Amy Phillips, Kelli Park, Susie Grana-Ingram, Lizzie Van Ert, Marvin Warner, Teresa Vaughn, Ramona Pollard, Andrea Wallace, and Kristi Shoemaker. We would also like to thank our conference partnership with Illinois Green Alliance.
Initial feedback from the conference evaluations show that 73.9% of conference attendees were non-formal environmental educators. 100% of respondents indicated that they would recommend an EEAI conference to a colleague!
Here is a selection of excerpts from conference attendees:
“I am so glad that I did the field trip to Red Oak Nature Center! It was a wonderful experience.”
“The keynote was powerful.”
“The information I learned from her will definitely be used at my job.”
“The keynote speaker was great and presented strong science and insight.”
“I enjoyed all of the sessions. For me, my favorite experience though, was getting to meet so many amazing educators and catching up with old friends/former intern teammates.”
Conference Keynote
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Dr. Jean-Marie Kauth
Professor English Language and Literature St. Benedictine University Dr. Jean-Marie Kauth has taught at Benedictine University for 25 years. She earned a PhD from University of Michigan and, more recently, an MPH from Benedictine to support work as a local, regional and national activist in Children's Environmental Health. She has helped integrate sustainability into the curriculum, worked with student leaders to implement Healthy Lawns, co-hosted Sustainable Saturday and other events, and maintained the Community Garden at Benedictine University.
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Conference Strands |
Full Conference Schedule |
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Building Awareness - Information or investigative sessions to support environmental literacy and inquiry of the natural world.
Building Bridges - Highlights of partnerships and projects that promote collaborations between organizations Building Networks - Sessions focused on careers in the environment and programs connecting early career professionals Building Sustainability - Special strand focused on Illinois Green Alliance and U.S. Department of Education's Green Ribbon Schools 3 Pillars of Sustainability |
Conference Exhibitors
EEAI is thrilled to have an incredible group of exhibitors joining the conference this year! Stop by the Rookery to visit all of these organizations.
- Sun Foundation/Clean Water Celebration
- Forest Immersion
- Hoo Haven Wildlife and Education Center
- SCARCE
- The Morton Arboretum
- Angelic Organics Learning Center
- Eklund Publishing
- Budburst and Chicago Botanic Garden
- Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
- BlueStem Ecological Service
- Kendall County Forest Preserve
Conference Partner
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EEAI is thrilled to announce a unique new partnership for the 2022 conference. Illinois Green Alliance will be joining the EEAI conference to help increase awareness and connections to the IL Green Ribbon Schools program. The Building Sustainability strand will focus specifically on schools and organizations that work on the 3 Pillars of Sustainability required by the U.S. Department of Education's Green Ribbon Schools program.
Pillar I: Reducing environmental impact and costs; Pillar II: Improving the health and wellness of students and staff; and Pillar III: Offering effective environmental and sustainability education. Schools that have projects or programs in these areas are encouraged to present their work at this year's conference. But presentations from organizations and companies that can help schools with initiatives or innovative approaches to these pillars are also encouraged to present! |
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Conference Location - Hoover Forest Preserve
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EEAI Annual Silent Auction
2022 Conference Sponsors
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Oriole Sponsors
$1,000 
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Hummingbird Sponsors
$100 
SoPrime Entertainment
Kendall County Forest Preserve District 
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