Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Draft meeting minutes attached. Minutes will be reviewed by board and approved at next meeting, July 7-8, 2012, Salt Lake City, UT.

1. Committee reviewed progress of regional climate change project, headed by Dr. Rupp, University of Alaska Fairbanks, with regional coordination and participation. Outcomes of this project include increased awareness of climate change impacts. Outputs include a Pacific-island climate model, which can be used regionally as a model for future projects. Activities for the period from July to December 2011 include a meeting to review the model with regional collaborators, and discussion of data (Sept 2011, San Francisco, CA). Also, during this period, the consortium (headed by Dr. Rupp) submitted a Letter of Intent for a SeaGrant funding opportunity. The LOI was unsuccessful. Additionally, during this meeting, the committee discussed future activities to further goals and possible funding sources for further development of the Pacific-island climate model. 2. Committee reviewed progress of regional childhood obesity project (Children's Healthy Living - CHL), headed by Dr. Rachel Novotny, University of Hawaii, with regional coordination and participation. Activities within CHL continue across the Pacific region. WERA committee members serve in an advisory role within the CHL program at the local level. During this meeting, members were able to discuss their role in the project and their challenges and successes in helping to implement change in their communities. Outcomes and outputs vary by location. In the next few months, the committee hopes to work more closely with program staff to facilitate program growth and development. 3. Committee reviewed progress of Agricultural Development in the American Pacific (ADAP) project. Although the committee continues to seek funding for ADAP, we are planning for a final close-out. ADAP has been an ongoing project for 23 years and has had a long history of collaboration across the region. This committee reviewed the project goals, and final activities to include professional development, educational opportunities, management and accountability development, and library services. Committee members will be seeking alternatives funding sources for these activities and will work to continue these education opportunities when available.