Monday, March 11, 2019

9:30-10:30  SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY     Presidents’ Hall

Bioengineered Transplantable Organs to Solve the Organ Transplant Shortage

Speaker: Jeff Ross, PhD, CEO, Miromatrix Medical Inc.

Miromatrix Medical was created with the idea of living in a world without an organ transplant waiting list. They produce extracellular matrix-based medical devices for soft tissue reinforcement and advanced wound care. With breakthrough scientific advances, Miromatrix is bringing the promise of fully biologic livers and kidneys to the people who need them.

10:45-11:45   ENVIRONMENT   Presidents’ Hall

Land Stewardship Project: Soil Health, Landscape Change, and Social Justice

Speaker: Robin Moore, Project Coordinator, Chippewa 10% Project

Moore will describe the Land Stewardship Project (LSP), its mission, programs, and focus, as well as some of their current projects. She will explain how soil health at the core of her work in the Chippewa River Watershed is the cornerstone for connecting profitability, conservation, climate change, and farming. Communities are understanding, framing, and supporting sustainable farming techniques. Moore will talk about how racial justice and gender equity are part of LSP’s work and how that commitment is essential to the pursuit of sustainable agriculture and communities.

11:45-12:15   BUSINESS MEETING – Election of new officers

12:15-1:15     LUNCHEON

1:15-2:15   LITERARY PURSUITS   Presidents’ Hall

Power of Imagination

Speaker: Sheila O’Connor, Associate professor and Advisor, MFA Program, Hamline University

As a professor of creative writing, O’Connor shares her skills by teaching and mentoring writers of all ages. An award-winning writer of poetry, fiction and nonfiction for children and adults, she often focuses on strong female characters and historical details. What part does imagination play in her writings and that of her students?