National Working Waterfront Network's Conference

The National Working Waterfront Network’s Conference is the only national event that brings together people from across North America to connect with one another and showcase initiatives that protect and promote working waterfronts. Working waterfronts include waterfront lands, waterfront infrastructure, and waterways that are used for water-dependent activities, such as ports, marinas, small recreational boat harbors, and fishing docks.

By design, the conference moves around the country to highlight the diversity of our nation’s working waterfronts; to foster a cross-fertilization of ideas, knowledge, and solutions; and to generate strategic partnerships. The National Working Waterfront Network is pleased to be partnering with California Sea Grant to host the 2025 conference.

The conference will take place from February 4 to February 6, 2025 in San Diego, California, with pre-conference events occurring on February 3.

Website registration is closed. Please contact Shannon at: iShannon.Hogan@umb.edu for tickets.

Purpose of the Conference

*To connect and unite stakeholders from across the U.S., and to showcase innovative, successful, and timely solutions to waterfront and waterway issues.

*To provide attendees an opportunity to network with others who are involved in the same types of professional issues and, together, develop strategies, timelines, funding sources, and regional alliances to address them.

Program Structure

*Plenary Sessions, which will feature leaders and keynote presenters from the working waterfronts and waterways community.

*Traditional Concurrent Sessions, which will include 15-20 minute speaker talks accompanied by PowerPoint presentations. Concurrent sessions will be arranged from individual abstracts submitted on similar topics.

*Breakout “Panel” Sessions, which will include 90-minute breakout sessions with a panel of speakers on topics related to a specific theme.

*Roundtable Discussions, which will include 90-minute breakout sessions of a facilitated and interactive discussion with engaged attendees on specific topics.

*Formal Poster Session, which will feature all NWWN Conference poster presentations.

*Creative Communication Installations, includes an individual or team presentation, discussion or performance of art, media, film, poetry, etc.