Hello! I’m Jonathan Jones, co-chair of the AEA Local Arrangements Working Group (LAWG). As the LAWG is responsible for mobilizing local expertise and resources to enhance the annual AEA conference, a big focus of our volunteer work is ensuring that international attendees feel welcomed to the conference and to the Washington, DC area. The LAWG is undertaking a number of tasks on this front that we want to share with you.
Hot Tip: Consider participating in the International Buddy Program. This is an excellent program that connects US-based evaluators with international evaluators to share experiences and ensure that our international participants feel welcomed at the conference. Please visit the conference website if you are interested in participating in the program for AEA 2017. (Thank you to Michelle Tarsilla, who has managed this program for many years).
Hot Tip: Have you attended the annual AEA silent auction? If not, you are really missing out! The proceeds go towards supporting evaluators from developing countries to attend the conference. Last year, AEA was able to support 5 international participants! We want to do even better this year by launching an initiative for corporate sponsorship of the silent auction. If you are interested in learning more about this initiative, including how your company might support the silent auction, please contact Jonathan Jones (jonathanjonesjdj@gmail.com). (And, thank you to Hubert Palmer who has managed the silent auction for many years).
Rad Resources:
- The LAWG is also working on a number of other initiatives, such as organized tours and transportation from the airport for international attendees. If you’re an international attendee, please let us know your expected arrival time on this form. We’ll then see if one of our LAWG volunteers can meet you at the airport, or connect those arriving at the same time so you can share the cost of a taxi.
- The LAWG’s ‘Welcome to Washington DC’ committee is busy preparing a number of resources to help ensure that out-of-town participants have a great experience in Washington, DC. In addition to our local resource guide, we will also have an ‘Ask me about D.C.’ table set up near the registration area of the conference. If you know the Washington, DC area well and are interested in volunteering at the table for a 2-hour time slot, please fill out our volunteer interest form.
The LAWG is excited to welcome all AEA 2017 participants to our wonderful city during November 6-11!
We’re looking forward to November and the Evaluation 2017 annual conference all this week with our colleagues in the Local Arrangements Working Group (LAWG). Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to contribute to aea365? Review the contribution guidelines and send your draft post to aea365@eval.org.