DAY ONE: April 14
• 8:00 - 8:15 am Coffee and Snacks
• 8:15 - 8:30 am -Welcome and Logistics
• 8:30 - 10:00 am: Session 1
Pivoting the Challenges and Opportunities of Land Modeling Across Multiple Perspectives
Short Description: This session explores how different groups are using modeling and data in the LULUCF sectors to respond to evolving policy, environmental, and technological landscapes. Speakers will reflect on what has changed in land modeling approaches, priorities, and applications—and what has remained consistent despite these shifts. Through brief perspectives and discussion, the session will examine how actors are pivoting to address new challenges and opportunities, while building on established methods and collaborations. The conversation will highlight lessons learned, emerging needs, and key questions for the broader technical and research community.
Session Coordinators:
Alice Favero, Research Triangle Institute; Zach Xu, Natural Resources Canada
Speakers:
• Nicklas Forsell, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
• Anne-Hélène Mattey, Natural Resources Canada (virtual)
• Marcus Sarofim, NYU Marron Institute
• Cassaundra Rose, US Climate Alliance
• 10:00 - 10:15 am: BREAK (onsite cafeteria available)
• 10:15 - 12:00 pm: Session 2
Natural Disturbances: Dynamics, Data, and Modeling
Short Description: This session focuses on understanding the drivers and impacts of natural disturbances and post-disturbance recovery, highlighting advances in data, remeasurement, remote sensing, and modeling methods to represent changing landscape dynamics.
Session Coordinators:
Justin Baker, NC State University; Marcela Olguín-Álvarez, Wilpa Capacity Development
Speakers:
• Richard Manner, NCSU SOFAC
• Viola Heinrich, German Research Center for Geoscience (GFZ) Potsdam (virtual)
• Greg Latta, University of Idaho
• Carolyn Smyth, NRCan/CFS (virtual)
• 12:00 – 1:00 pm: LUNCH (onsite cafeteria available)
• 1:00-2:30 pm: Session 2 Continued
Natural Disturbances: Resilience, Management, and Integrated Systems
Short Description: This session examines how management strategies and integrated modeling frameworks—including carbon, water, and life-cycle approaches—can improve representation of resilience, feedbacks, and risk in forest and agricultural systems under climate change.
Session Coordinators:
Justin Baker, NC State University; Marcela Olguín-Álvarez, Wilpa Capacity Development
Speakers:
• Radost Stanimirova, WRI
• Guillermo Murray, Institute of Ecosystem and Sustainability Research, UNAM, Mexico (virtual)
• Chris Wade, Research Triangle Institute
• 2:30-2:45 pm: BREAK (onsite cafeteria available)
• 2:45-5:00 pm – Duke Farms presentation and tour
DAY TWO: April 15
• 8:00 - 8:15 am Coffee and Snacks
• 8:15 - 8:30 am -Welcome to Day2
• 8:30 - 10:00 am: Session 3
State of the art modeling, Part 1: A.I and other new technologies
Short Description: This session explores how artificial intelligence and emerging modeling technologies—integrated with satellite imagery and economic models—are advancing the representation of land use, carbon, biodiversity, water, and other interconnected environmental outcomes, while highlighting best practices and limitations.
Session Coordinators:
Amanda Stamplecoskie, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Marcela Olguín-Álvarez, Wilpa Capacity Development; Chris Wade, RTI International
Speakers:
• Jingjing Liang, Purdue University
• Benjamin Hudson, Carbon Accounting and Reporting, Natural Resources Canada (virtual)
• Catherine Champagne, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (virtual)
• Greg Bronevetsky, X the moonshot factory (virtual)
• 10:00 - 10:15 am: BREAK (onsite cafeteria available)
• 10:15 - 11:45 am: Session 4
State-of-the-art modeling Part 2: model comparisons and integration
Short Description: : This session examines model intercomparison efforts and integration across economic, biophysical, and life-cycle frameworks to improve transparency, consistency, and collaboration in land, agriculture, and climate modeling.
Session Coordinators:
Robert Beach, RTI International; Liz Marshall, USDA
Speakers:
• Cornelis van Kooten, University of Victoria, (virtual)
• Yushu Xia, Columbia University
• Yuan Yao, Yale
• 11:45 – 12:45 pm: LUNCH (onsite cafeteria available)
• 12:45 - 2:15 pm: Special Session: Selected Topic
Short Description: This panel will examine how the agricultural and forest modeling community can better translate analytical insights into information that directly informs policy decisions. Policymakers and modelers will discuss opportunities to strengthen collaboration and institutional pathways for impact, drawing inspiration from efforts such as the Energy Modeling Intercomparison Project.
Session Coordinators:
Sacha Spector, Doris Duke Foundation
Speakers:
• Rebecca Jablonski-Diehl, Doris Duke Foundation
• Sean Babington, Bipartisan Policy Center
• 2:15-2:30 pm: BREAK
• 2:30 - 4:00 pm: Session 5
Land-based Solutions: Part 1 Current practices, modeling tools, and insights from country experiences
Short Description: This session reviews current land-based mitigation practices, modeling tools, and country-level experiences, examining how markets, policy incentives, and accounting frameworks shape carbon outcomes, co-benefits, and trade-offs across forests and agriculture.
Session Coordinators:
Zach Xu, Natural Resources Canada; Robert Beach, RTI International
Speakers:
• David Wear, RFF
• Benjamin Filewod, Research Scientist, Natural Resources Canada (virtual)
• Ted Christie-Miller, Residual Carbon
• Alice Favero, RTI International
• 4:00 - 5:15 pm: Session 6
Lands-based Solutions: Part 2 Land-Based Activities Across Scales: From Policy to Practice—Delivering Environmental and Community Benefits
Short Description: This session will explore how land-based activities across forestry and agriculture are assessed and implemented at different governance levels, from state to national scales. The discussion will examine how forests, croplands, and other managed landscapes can deliver benefits beyond carbon sequestration, including ecosystem integrity, biodiversity, soil and water outcomes, and rural livelihoods.
Session Coordinators:
Marcela Olguín-Álvarez, Wilpa Capacity Development; Alice Favero, RTI International; Chris Wade, RTI International
Speakers:
• Niklas Hinkel, IIASA
• Adam Daigneault, University of Maine
• Jason Funk, Conservation International
• 5:15-7:30 pm Reception and dinner at Duke Farms, return to hotel on the shuttle
DAY THREE: April 16
• 8:00 - 8:15 am Coffee and Snacks
• 8:00 - 8:15 am -Welcome to Day3
• 8:15 - 9:45 am: Session 7
Innovations in bioenergy and the bioeconomy
Short Description: This session explores how emerging and traditional bioenergy and bioeconomy pathways—including data center growth, novel forest and agricultural commodities, and carbon removal technologies—are shaping land and resource demand, with insights from modeling, life-cycle analysis, and policy perspectives.
Session Coordinators:
Greg Latta, University of Idaho; Sheng Xie, Natural Resources Canada
Speakers:
• Peter Osborne, Carleton
• Raju Pokharel, MSU
• Justin Baker, NCSU
• Kanishka Narayan, PNNL
• 9:45 - 10:00 am: BREAK (onsite cafeteria available)
• 10:00 - 11:00 am: Session 8
Innovations in bioenergy and the bioeconomy (continued)
Speakers:
• Jesse Henderson, USFS
• Qingshi Tu, UBC (virtual)
• 11:00 – 12:00 pm: Bringing it all together
Speakers:
• Forum planning committee