Conference Event Coordination Request Proposals

Conference Event Coordination Request for Proposals

February 9, 2026

We are seeking a talented event planner to help coordinate the Ohio Environmental Council’s Ohio Public Interest Environmental Law Conference and associated public interest, advocacy oriented “Public Interest Utility Advocate Convening.”

Day 1: Eighth annual Ohio Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, hosted in coordination with law students from OSU Moritz College of Law, CSU Law, and Case Western Reserve School of Law. The 2026 law conference will have all of its content focused on data centers, including the legal processes surrounding data centers, movement tactics to engage with proposed data centers, the environmental impacts of data centers, and beyond.

Day 2: “Public Interest Utility Advocate Convening,” intended to provide in-depth educational content for advocates working in the energy law space to understand more deeply rates, riders, and other mechanisms used in regulating investor-owned public utilities across the country.

Since 2018, the Ohio Environmental Council has hosted the Ohio Public Interest Environmental Law Conference.

In 2026, we are expanding the law conference to feature a second day of specific educational content focused on public utilities commission advocacy. In addition to our regular content for the 2026 law conference, which will focus on data centers and be supported extensively by law students, the OEC is hosting a “Public Interest Utility Advocate Convening.” The convening will be geared toward equipping advocates with specific knowledge and skills relevant for engaging in public utilities commission cases regulating investor-owned public utilities.

We are seeking a talented event planner to help coordinate the development of both events, but with a particular focus on the new Public Interest Utility Advocate Convening.

For the first time, we are also planning on marketing the event as more “regional,” rather than solely focused on Ohio, especially when it comes to the potential audience for the Public Interest Utility Advocate Convening.

• Attorneys
• Public interest environmental and energy advocates
• Energy and environmental academics

• Individuals or firms with event planning experience, especially public interest advocacy educational events. Preferred experience and skill set includes:
• Meeting facilitation
• Speaker acquisition, including a focus on diversity of panelists and presentations
• Logistics coordination, both in planning and day-of event
• Clear and concise writing (for panel descriptions, continuing legal education applications, email invitations)
• Event marketing tactics

Remuneration Guidelines: The budget for this project is up to $10,000 for this scope of work, depending on experience and scope of proposal. This budget is for contractor labor only and does not include additional event expenses paid for by OEC or other partners (food, venue costs, speaker fees and travel expenses, etc.).

Interested contractors should submit their proposal for planning the 2026 Law Conference and Public Interest Utility Advocate Convening to Chris Tavenor, OEC General Counsel, ctavenor. Competitive proposals should include a complete Scope of Work, references, and examples of past coordinated events (or equivalent experience). OEC hopes to finalize a contract by early March 2026.