About OCEAN
Who We Are
The Oregon Conservation Education and Assistance Network (founded as the Oregon Conservation Employee Association Network) was formed in 1992 as a membership organization to provide conservation district employees with capacity building, education, and professional development opportunities to solve natural resource conservation issues that districts face throughout the state. OCEAN's strategy is to deliver the most comprehensive professional development program for conservation district employees, providing the skills necessary to be successful in delivering conservation on the ground. Our strategic goals are to:
- be the authority for training and conservation technology delivery
- build bridges between Districts and others to improve conservation effectiveness
- have the organizational knowledge to be self-sustaining
- enlist members that are actively involved in the organization because of our mission which inspires and enriches
What We Do
OCEAN delivers conservation based technical training, professional development, education, assistance, and networking opportunities to 150+ conservation district employees in Oregon. CONNECT is OCEAN's main endeavor, and provides attendees with two full days of technical training built around the feedback received from the attendees themselves. It is well attended and provides a depth of training that was previously unavailable to district employees on a statewide scale. OCEAN is planning to expand to deliver regional trainings that address topics specific to its basin members in the future.
How We're Built
OCEAN's voting membership is comprised of soil and water conservation district employees throughout Oregon, and non-voting membership is open to anyone. OCEAN has a 11 member board of representatives, drawing a member from each of eight distinct basins and three at-large positions.
Our Recent History
At the OCEAN annual meeting in 2009, members began the process of reorganization to focus the organization on capacity building and education. New bylaws were drafted and voted on at the OCEAN annual meeting at CONNECT 2010. In September 2011, the board began a strategic planning process to craft a new vision for OCEAN and to develop short and long term goals to guide the organization into the future. In addition, OCEAN changed its name to the Oregon Conservation Education and Assistance Network in April 2012 to better align its name with its mission and vision. OCEAN assumed sole responsibility for the annual statewide district employee training in 2011.