Highlights of the 2015 AMS Washington Forum

Each spring, the AMS Board on Enterprise Economic Development (BEED) organizes and conducts the AMS Washington Forum (AWF) in Washington, D.C. This event provides an opportunity for members of the weather, water, and climate community to meet with senior Federal agency officials, Congressional staff, and other community members to hear about the status of current programs, learn about new initiatives, discuss issues of interest to our community, identify business opportunities, and speak out about data and other needs. The theme of the 2015 AWF was "Applied Decision Support: Meeting User Needs." The event included eight interactive panel sessions, three special topics and two featured keynote presentations (including opening remarks and the NOAA Big Data Project announcement by the Honorable Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, and a dinner presentation by the Honorable Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici). In addition to the 2015 AWF theme, discussion topics included: the latest plans forward for NOAA's weather satellites and associated data; weather impacts on hospitals and various modes of transportation; emerging issues in water rights and resource management; expert witness training; remarks by federal agency leads and congressional staffers; and the White House perspective and plans forward on climate resiliency. This presentation will summarize the highlights of the 2015 AWF and provide a brief preview of the 2016 event.