LUNCHEON - KEYNOTE - Governor Bobby Jindal

Bobby Jindal is Governor of Louisiana and is the youngest governor currently serving in the nation. He was sworn into office on January 14, 2008, after receiving 54 percent of the vote in the October 2007 primary. This marked the first time that a non-incumbent candidate for governor was elected without a runoff under the current election system.

BREAKFAST SESSION - Karl Rove

Karl Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. At the White House he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison, and Intergovernmental Affairs and was Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, coordinating the White House policy-making process.

Karl writes a weekly op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, is a Newsweek columnist, and is the author of the forthcoming book “Courage and Consequence” (Threshold Editions).

MID-MONRNING SESSION - Bruce Vincent

IPAA Chairman, President and Director - Swift Energy Company
Mr. Vincent is President and Director of Swift Energy Company and has been employed at Swift Energy since 1990. Swift Energy is an independent oil and gas company engaged primarily in the exploration, development, acquisition and operation of oil and gas properties in the United States and New Zealand.

MID-MORNING SESSION - Regina Hopper
President & CEO America’s Natural Gas Alliance

Regina Hopper is President and CEO of America’s Natural Gas Alliance, which is dedicated to increasing appreciation of the environmental, economic and national security benefits of clean, abundant and affordable North American natural gas.

AFTERNOON SESSION - Dr. Loren Scott

Economist

Dr. Loren C. Scott is President and founder of the firm. He was on the Economics Department faculty at Louisiana State University from 1969 to 1998, where he rose through the ranks from Assistant Professor to the holder of the Freeport-McMoran endowed Chair of Economics. He is presently Professor Emeritus of Economics at LSU.

AFTERNOON SESSION -Secretary, Scott Angelle

Secretary, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources

Scott Angelle was appointed secretary of the Department of Natural Resources by Governor Bobby Jindal in 2008. This is his second term of office in state government. He also served as the DNR secretary under past Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco from 2004 to 2007, making him the first DNR secretary to make the transition between two administrations since the department was created in 1976.

AFTERNOON SESSION - James D. "Buddy" Caldwell

Attorney General

James D. "Buddy" Caldwell comes to the Attorney General’s office after 29 years as a District Attorney in the 6th Judicial district. Buddy’s roots run deep in northeast Louisiana. He was born May 20, 1946, the fourth of seven children, in Columbia located in Caldwell Parish. The family moved to Madison parish in 1949, when Buddy was three years old, and has lived there ever since.

AFTERNOON SESSION - Commissioner Jim Welsh

Commissioner of Conservation

Jim is a Certified Professional Geologist and has served on Louisiana's Ground Water Advisory Group, Louisiana DEQ's "NORM" Advisory Committee and USEPA’s national negotiation team to draft the regulations for underground injection of hazardous waste.

AFTERNOON SESSION - Secretary, Robert Barham

Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Robert Barham, a life-long resident of Oak Ridge, served as a State Senator for Louisiana’s 33rd District from 1994 to 2008.In the Senate, he served as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and was a member the Senate Natural Resources Committee among others.

AFTERNOON SESSION - Assistant Secretary, Louis Buatt

Assistant Secretary for the Office of Coastal Management

Before joining DNR, he was the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Environmental Assessment for the Department of Environmental Quality. In addition to his position as assistant secretary, Buatt served as the general counsel for DEQ, and as attorney for the Office of Environmental Assessment. Prior to his state service, he was in private practice in Lake Charles and in Houston.