​I will cover the need for water storage and conveyance south of Lake Okeechobee as part of CERP to stop the toxic coastal discharges and re-hydrate Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.
 
Will also cover the ongoing human health threat and ecological damage to the St. Lucie River and the newly launched Now or Neverglades Declaration. 

Mike Conner is a resident of Stuart, Florida and has worked as a fishing magazine publisher, television host, editor, and freelance outdoor writer covering sportfishing and conservation. Mike has also worked as a licensed fishing guide since 1990 from Florida Bay to the Indian River Lagoon. Having moved to Florida as a 5-year-old, he took to the water and woods, and never looked back. Mike loved fishing and light hunting in the vicinity of the Big Cypress so became involved in Everglades and other Florida environmental causes at the age of 15 as a high school sophomore during the height of the push to establish a commercial jetport inj the heart of the woods that he loved. It was then that Mike realized that politics plays a key role in the preservation of, and now the restoration of, the Everglades.

​Mike became a member of Florida Conservation Association (now CCA Florida) in 1989 and served as an officer of the Dade County chapter, and a state board member for over 10 years. He presently serves as Director of Angler Outreach for Bullsugar.org, a non-profit 501 c(4) organization. Mike is also a board member of the Rivers Coalition Defense Fund and the Indian Riverkeeper.

In his spare time Mike enjoys fly fishing, cooking and gardening. 

Dara Schoenwald is a cultural anthropologist, eco-activist and social entrepreneur interested in understanding how to motivate people to adopt more environmentally sustainable lifestyle practices.  She spent most of her career in the marketing technology sector, first at Microsoft Corporation’s WebTV Networks pioneering interactive television and then 9 years as a consumer insights and user experience researcher at SapientNitro, a leading global interactive advertising agency.

Dara is currently the Executive Director of VolunteerCleanup.org, a non-profit grassroots organization that engages volunteers to clean their shorelines and waterways as a way to raise awareness about marine debris, and to encourage people to reduce their reliance on single-use disposable plastics. She is a winner of the Miami Foundation’s Public Spaces Challenge for her idea to install a water bottle refill station in parks, and is now expanding that idea by partnering with Woosh Water to deploy their service of “smart” and connected water bottle refill stations in Miami Beach.

​She completed graduate studies in Cultural Anthropology and Comparative Sociology at Florida International University and studied Communications and Media Studies as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan.

​In a global world, impacted among other aspects by the rise of immigration, it is necessary that communities develop programs in which immigrants can assimilate the new culture, integrate harmoniously with their environment and establish emotional attachments that identify them with the territory in which they live.

Hispanics are the fastest growing group in the United States. Florida is the State with the third largest number of Hispanic residents. It is imperative  that they  join efforts with environmental organizations to protect the Everglades. The best way to achieve this support is through education. We need to inspire Hispanic people to love the Everglades with the same passion as Marjory did. 

PILAR VELEZ Colombian writer and poet based in Southern Florida. Three times awarded at the International Latino Book Awards for her books: El Expreso del Sol (2016) and poetry works: Soles Manchados (2015) and Pas de Deux: Relatos y Poemas en escena (2014), which she co-authored. In the genre of children's literature, she is the author of A gift for Laura (2015). Her most recent poetry collection "Claroscuro" is part of the anthology "Equilibrios Contrarios: Tributo a Federico García Lorca". Her work demonstrates her sensitivity toward social causes based on actual events.
 
Pilar Velez obtained her Graduate Degree in economics from the Universidad Autonoma de Occidente (Cali, Colombia), with a Masters in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University (Miami, FL), a certification in Human Resources Management from Florida International University and specialized studies in the areas of marketing and business. Her outstanding academic performance earned her the highest honor, membership in Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society for business, management and administration. Her academic and professional interests have been accompanied by her  literary work..
 
Mrs. Velez commitment to literary and cultural development has been widely recognized internationally. She is the creator of the International Celebration of the Hispanic Book Month, President of the XII International Conference of Women Writers Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Miami, 2016), President of the Hispanic Heritage Literature Organization, Director and founder of the literary magazine Poetas y Escritores Miami and Director and founder of the Chapter AIPEH Miami (International Association of Hispanic Poets and Writers). Mrs. Velez collaborates on multiple projects for the dissemination of Hispanic culture, social causes and environmental preservation.
 
Visit her Web pages:
http://pilarvelez.com/
http://www.milibrohispano.org/
http://www.poetasyescritoresmiami.com
http://www.aipehmiami.com

E-mail: [email protected]