Date: Monday, July 11, 2022
We acknowledge that the location of Evaluation 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana, is of great concern to some of our members. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, to overturn Roe v. Wade is significant and wide reaching. This decision will affect how AEA, and many other associations, will choose to conduct future business with states that may not reflect the values of the organization. Impact for 2022 Conference The AEA Evaluation 2022 conference is scheduled to take place in New Orleans this November, where the Supreme Court ruling triggered an abortion ban. Our commitments to the city of New Orleans and local businesses were contracted two years prior to the Supreme Court’s decision. At this time, we are unable to remove ourselves from these commitments without a significant financial loss for AEA. In addition, dissolving the contracts would result in a cancelation of the 2022 annual conference, which is a loss of valuable education, resources, and networking time for our community. Understanding the impact of these losses, AEA has decided to move forward with hosting Evaluation 2022 in New Orleans and stay committed to our contractual obligations with the hotel. We all need to make our own decisions regarding attending any conference based on individual health and safety, personal values, financial and other considerations. AEA respects the decision of any Evaluation 2022 attendee to participate. Future Event Locations AEA’s Conference Advisory Working Group, which includes a diverse group of members, is developing a new rubric of criteria for conference site selection that will prioritize Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and address human rights and social justice issues. We recognize that considering cities and states through this lens will narrow our choices for conference sites that can accommodate our needs and space requirements. Our new process will allow us to identify 4-6 cities that best meet our criteria, and rotate our events amongst them. The Conference Advisory Working Group and AEA leadership value the opinions and voices of our members when making these important decisions. We will be hosting a Town Hall at the end of summer to discuss the site selection process and hear the issues that matter most to our membership. This will be your opportunity to lend your voice to the conversation. We thank you for your patience as we navigate important issues that have an impact on all of us. Please reach out to AEA at info@eval.org if you have any questions.