SUSTAINABILITY SUMMITS 
First held in 2013, the Extension Sustainability Summit was developed by
Utah State University’s Sustainability Extension Specialist Roslynn Brain McCann
in collaboration with the Western Rural Development Center’s Betsy Newman,
and a dedicated planning committee comprised of Mark Apel, Gregg Garfin, 
Milton Geiger, Rose Hayden-Smith, and Bob Simmons. 

The success of and interest generated from the inaugural summit inspired the planning committee to forge ahead in developing the 2016 summit. Based on participant feedback, the summit is held every other year, and thanks to an increased national interest, the summit will expand from a western-focused event to one with a national focus. This shift in focus caught the attention of new collaborators and partners including the Western Rural Development Center’s sister centers, collectively known as the Regional Rural Development Centers, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the National Network for Sustainable Living Education, an initiative of the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals. Using the Extension Sustainability Summit as a springboard, these entities are now working together to host future summits and develop a national strategic initiative for
Extension Sustainability Outreach and Education.

Three publications were produced as a result of these first two Extension Sustainability Summits:
“Extension Sustainability Summit: Outcomes and Impacts of the 2013 Summit”
“Extension’s Role in Sustainability - a special issue of Rural Connections”
"ESS 2016 Impact Evaluation and Lightning Sessions Summaries"

ENERGY SUMMITS
Biennial national summits organized by the National Extension Energy Initiative (NEEI) and hosted by Colorado State University in 2013 (Fort Collins, CO), Washington State University in 2015 (Seattle, WA), and the University of Tennessee in 2017 (Knoxville, TN).