2025 State of the West Symposium
The Hoover Institution
The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
366 Galvez Street Stanford, CA 94305 United States
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Stanford University’s biennial State of the West Symposium takes stock of the economic and fiscal health of the North America’s Western region. We gather academic researchers, business and investment practitioners, and other stakeholders to address the well-being of the millions of Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans who dwell on the sunset side of the hundredth meridian.
The Columbia River Basin is a vital transboundary waterway, the very water of life for millions of Canadians and Americans alike. Its hydropower, fisheries, and diverse ecosystems have deeply shaped the history, culture, and landscape of the North American West.
This year’s State of the West symposium will consider the health and prospects of the Columbia River Basin on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. We’ll explore the history, current status, and possible future of a range of regional issues: from bi-national cooperation to the concerns of Native Americans and First Nations, to energy and hydropower, navigation, flood control, irrigation, environmental services, and climate change.
Check out the program brochure for more details.
Agenda
Friday, May 9, 2025
Check-in
Opening Remarks
Condoleezza Rice, Tad and Dianne Taube Director and the Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy, Hoover Institution
Lunch Served
Welcome Remarks
David Kennedy, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus, Founding Faculty Director, Bill Lane Center for the American West
Lunch Keynote
Jay Inslee, Former Governor, State of Washington
Break
Panel: Bi-National Management of Shared Natural Resources
- Richard Paisley, Director, Global Transboundary International Waters Governance Initiative, University of British Columbia
- Kurt Miller, CEO & Executive Director, Northwest Public Power Association
- Jonathan Yoder, Distinguished Professor for Sustainable Development, Washington State University/Director, State of Washington Water Research Center
Jonathan O'Riordan, Former Deputy Minister for Sustainable Resource Management in the British Columbia Provincial Government
Moderator
- Barton Thompson, Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law, Professor of Environmental Social Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Break
Panel: Priorities of Native Americans and First Nations
- DR Michel, Executive Director, Upper Columbia United Tribes
- Derek Epp, Chief, Tzeachten First Nation
- Aja DeCoteau, Executive Director, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
- Justin Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
Moderator
- Dominic Parker, Ilene and Morton Harris Senior Fellow (adjunct) Hoover Institution, Anderson-Bascom Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin
Terry Anderson, John and Jean De Nault Senior Fellow (adjunct) Hoover Institution
Closing Keynote
Murray Rankin, Former British Columbia Minister, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation