Advance Registration for the NGA 2013 Winter Meeting closed at Noon (EST) on Wednesday, February 20, 2013. You may register onsite at the JW Marriott Hotel beginning at 7:00 a.m. Saturday, February 23. Contact the hotel (202-393-2000) directly if you need housing; however, you may find the hotel is sold out on some nights during the meeting and if rooms are available, they may be at a rate higher than the NGA meeting rate.

Also, the agenda will continue to be available on this website throughout the meeting.

As chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), I am pleased to invite you to attend the 2013 Winter Meeting, February 22-25, in Washington, D.C. This meeting will offer governors the opportunity to gather and address some of the challenges we face governing our states.
 

A major component of the 2013 Winter Meeting will be my chair’s initiative, A Better Bottom Line: Employing People with Disabilities. After an opening news conference on Saturday morning, we will meet in a plenary session on the initiative, which focuses on the employment challenges that affect individuals with intellectual and other significant disabilities and the role that both state government and business can play in facilitating and advancing opportunities for these individuals. Successfully achieving that goal will require not only attention to appropriate training, job placement and work-based support but also advancing best practices and meaningful engagement of the business community. Walgreens president and CEO Gregory Wasson will join us for this session.
 

The afternoon will begin with concurrent meetings of two of our committees: Health and Homeland Security and Natural Resources. We will end the evening with an all-attendee reception with our Adjutants General.
 

On Sunday morning we will hold a special session moderated by Judy Woodruff of PBS Newshour. This session is an opportunity to bring together some of the key players in the arena of employing people with disabilities to frame the broader issue. Our final two committees, the Economic Development and Commerce Committee and the Education Committee will meet in the afternoon. 
 

Monday morning will begin with our final business session before governors attend their annual meeting with the President.
 

NGA Vice Chair Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and I look forward to seeing you in our nation’s capital as we seek innovative solutions to critical policy issues facing our states and the nation.

 

Sincerely,

Jack Markell
Governor, Delaware
NGA Chair