As I predicted, progress towards a finalized list of attendees removed a huge barrier from getting all the other logistics figured out, but I found out that the ‘barrier’ was actually more of a dam. This week, I’ve been swinging from conference call to conference call, and from one email deluge to another.  I even set up my own ‘logistics’ conference call, which included sending out the meeting poll, deciding on a time, and writing up a meeting agenda- All on my own! (commence back-patting). This doesn’t sound like much, but for me at least, speaking up on a conference call can be almost as intimidating as any other public speech. This was especially evident after I could barely squeak out my name during the introductions round at a 60+ participant regional tsunami marine debris update call last week.  So I’ve made quick progress, from name-squeaking, to leading a call with the NOAA coordinators in DC, representatives from USFWS, among others. This call also turned out to be crucial for getting the next few weeks tasks in order as we decided what to do with “no-response” invitees, listservs, travel reimbursement protocols, and tracking information among the different agencies involved.

The workshop is shaping up to be pretty interesting, initially it was designed to be a small event, with around 20 participants, and on my last count we have 69 confirmed attendees. Because of the size, the workshop structure is becoming increasingly complex, including 6 breakout sessions where different combinations of scientists, communicators, and people representing levels of response and management can discuss and contribute to workshop items. Another one of my tasks is to make sure we have people to lead (facilitate) these sessions, but also different people to take notes on the discussions and conclusions made in each session. Since we are only just deciding on exactly how many breakout groups there will be, combined with the fact that facilitators and note-takers need to be relatively neutral, and generally non-participants, I’m caught in a bit of a scramble to recruit people to these roles. It was even suggested on my call yesterday that I myself might facilitate one of the sessions (just when I thought conference calls were scary…)