EarthX recently announced speakers and programming for Earthx2026, a three-day Congress of Conferences taking place in Dallas at the Hilton Anatole on April 20–22, 2026. Since 2011, the event has gathered leading voices from across the environmental spectrum to examine how innovation, markets, and culture can define the next chapter of environmental leadership.

Now in its 15th year, this event brings together policymakers, investors, scientists, business leaders, artists, technologists, and civic leaders to move beyond polarization and toward pragmatic, scalable action that supports both human prosperity and planetary health. This nonpartisan convening will offer an honest environment to identify common ground solutions that align incentives – not ideology – and set a course towards a healthy and flourishing future for the planet.

“Our mission at EarthX is to create a space where leaders from business, policy, conservation, and advocacy can cut through division and work toward pragmatic outcomes,” said EarthX CEO Peter Simek. “This event is about moving beyond rhetoric and building solutions that people across cultures, industries, and political lines can actually support.”

Congress of Conferences Speakers

Earthx2026 will feature an expanding roster of globally recognized leaders with new additions, including:

• Bob Ballard, Oceanographer and Founder, Ocean Exploration Trust
• Xiye Bastida, Executive Director of Re-Earth Initiative
• Felipe Calderón, Former President of Mexico
• Kristy Drutman, Founder Browngirl Green and co-founder of Green Jobs Board
• Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder, Mission Blue
• Isolde Fair, Grammy Award-winning Singer-Songwriter and Performing Artist
• Lord Fatafehi Fakafānua, Prime Minister, Kingdom of Tonga
• Peter Fiekowsky, Founder, Foundation for Climate Restoration
• Torrei Hart, Comedian, Actress, and Social Impact Entrepreneur
• Danielle Holly, Executive Lead, North America, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
• Dr. Serena McCalla, Ph.D., Founder, iResearch Institute; nationally recognized science education pioneer
• Juan Carlos Monterrey, Special Representative for Climate Change of Panamá
• Steven Nickel, Director, Consumer Hardware Operations, Google
• Adam Peer, Senior Director, Plastics Sustainability, American Chemistry Council
• Charlie Schwarze, Senior Director, Keurig Dr. Pepper & Board Chair, Circular Action Alliance
• Jeff Seabright, Former Chief Sustainability Officer, Unilever North America
• Bershan Shaw, Entrepreneur, Global Speaker, and Leadership Coach
• Stormy Simon, Former CEO, Overstock.com
• Dr. John Warner, CEO, The Technology Greenhouse and the founder of “green chemistry”
• Andrew Winston, Author of Net Positive; Thinkers50 “#1 Management Thinker in the World"

These speakers will join an exceptional roster of leaders, innovators, and changemakers from across sectors including Ed Begley Jr. (Actor and Environmentalist), Rachelle Carson Begley (Actor and Environmentalist), Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet (Oceanographer), Mariel Hemingway (Actor, Author, and Environmentalist), Commander G. Mark Miller (Co-Founder, GMSO), Margaret Trilli (CEO and Chief Investment Officer, ImpactAssets), Richard Wiese (President, The Explorers Club) with more to be announced.

Framing the Global Conversation on the Main Stage

New for 2026, the EarthX Main Stage serves as the narrative anchor of the event, platforming the biggest ideas facing the planet and the leaders driving real-world solutions. Programming will center on five core questions shaping the future of environmental leadership:

• America at 250: Can Nature Still Be Our Common Ground? At a moment of deep polarization, can land, water, and wildlife once again serve as a unifying national project—or has environmentalism become too politicized to repair?
• Innovation, Capital, and Corporate Leadership: Who Actually Drives Environmental Change Now? If government sets the rules but markets move the world, how are companies, investors, and entrepreneurs shaping the future of energy, conservation, and resilience—and where are they falling short?
• Nature Under Pressure: How Do We Manage Land and Oceans in a Resource-Hungry World? What frameworks allow conservation, restoration, and responsible extraction to coexist—without pretending tradeoffs don’t exist?
• Health, Culture, and Connection: Why Environmentalism Lost People—and How to Win Them Back discusseshas environmentalism failed by becoming abstract and moralizing—and can a renewed focus on human health, beauty, place, and lived experience rebuild broad public support?
• Designing for Nature and Life: What Comes After Sustainability? If “sustainability” is no longer ambitious—or honest—enough, what does a life-centered model of growth look like in practice across cities, infrastructure, food systems, and industry?

A Congress of Conferences with One Connected Ecosystem

Earthx2026 features more than 20 summits, stages, and forums, each designed to address a critical dimension of environmental leadership. Together, these conferences form a single ecosystem designed to foster collaboration across sectors, geographies, and ideologies. These include: 

• The Family Office Summit is a peer-to-peer convening for high-net-worth individuals, family foundations, and family office principals with more than $100 million in assets or net worth from the U.S., Latin America, and around the world. Designed as a confidential forum for principals and decision-makers, the summit focuses on long-term capital stewardship, intergenerational leadership, impact investing, and navigating geopolitical, environmental, and market volatility through pragmatic, values-aligned strategies.
• The 2026 E-Capital Summit convenes, inspires, and catalyzes action from thousands of the country’s and world’s leading investors, family offices/foundations, innovators, startups, established companies, industry leaders, policymakers, and innovation ecosystem leaders including incubators/accelerators/federal labs with the goal of driving substantial, positive impact on investments, businesses, people, and our planet.
• EarthxEnergy: Texas & the Next Nuclear Era Convened by the EarthX Institute, this new research-driven initiative brings together leading scientists, policymakers, investors, and technologists to examine how Texas’s track record in energy leadership can inform the next phase of nuclear deployment. Through focused discussions, the convening will translate Texas’s experience into a practical policy framework to accelerate advanced nuclear development, modernize the grid, streamline permitting, and position nuclear energy as a cornerstone of America’s clean-power future amid rising AI demand and grid stress.
• Circle America Summit: Advancing a Circular Economy and Culture convenes leaders across policy, business, and culture to examine how a circular economy can better reflect nature, protect human health, and reduce waste at scale. Through practical case studies and solution-driven conversations, the program explores innovations in reuse, recycling, and materials management, alongside the policies and market forces shaping their impact. The summit will also catalyze new partnerships and launch Circle America, a national effort to educate, engage, and mobilize the public around building a truly circular culture.
• The Nature Summit is an invitation-only, exclusive convening of government leaders, family offices, philanthropists, and corporate visionaries shaping the future of the blue and green economy. Designed to unlock sustainable investment opportunities, the summit aligns public, private, and philanthropic capital around nature-based solutions that enhance resilience, restore ecosystems, and drive long-term prosperity through high-impact collaboration.
• Blue Finance Convening and Workshop is where the Marine Technology Society convenes marine scientists, technologists, policymakers, investors, and industry leaders to explore how innovation and technology are advancing ocean health, resilience, and sustainable economic activity. The summit highlights cutting-edge marine technology, ocean observation, blue economy solutions, and cross-sector partnerships critical to protecting and restoring the world’s oceans.
• Sport as a Force for Sustainability, presented by the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, examines how the world’s most influential cultural platform—sport—can drive environmental leadership at scale. Featuring leaders from sports organizations, teams, and host cities, the summit explores sustainability in mega-events, infrastructure, fan engagement, and climate leadership, demonstrating how competition and culture can accelerate and craft a sustainable future for the world stage.
• The Monarch Corridor: Trade, Infrastructure, and Environmental Resilience in North America convenes business leaders, policymakers, and investors to examine the future of cross-border trade, supply chains, and sustainable growth between Mexico and Texas. The summit, hosted in partnership with Asociacion de Empresarios Mexicanos (AEM), focuses on nearshoring, energy, infrastructure, workforce development, and bilateral partnerships critical to economic resilience and environmental progress in North America.
• Island Resilience Forum brings together government leaders, development institutions, investors, and climate practitioners from island and coastal nations to address the urgent challenges of climate vulnerability. The forum focuses on adaptation finance, resilience planning, and scalable solutions that protect communities, ecosystems, and economies on the front lines of climate change.
• Texas Symposium on Climate and Energy Transition convenes legal, corporate, and financial leaders to examine the legal and regulatory frameworks shaping climate and energy transition projects. Through expert-led sessions, the program, organized by the Environmental & Natural Resources Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, explores dispute resolution, private capital deployment, community engagement, and the evolving role of legal professionals in enabling low-carbon technology, infrastructure, and project success.
• Climate Restoration Summit challenges conventional climate thinking by focusing not only on reducing emissions, but on restoring a safe and stable climate. Centered on the science, policy, and scalability of atmospheric carbon removal, the summit, organized by the Foundation for Climate Restoration, explores how nature-based and engineered solutions can reduce legacy CO₂ and create a future where both humanity and ecosystems can thrive.
• Citizens in the Arena: Leadership for Land and Energy, presented by The Roosevelt Initiative. Inspired by Theodore Roosevelt's call to those "in the arena", this inaugural convening examines the intersection of conservation, markets, and policy through the lens of civic responsibility and engagement. The summit challenges leaders to move beyond rhetoric and engage directly in the work of environmental stewardship, democratic leadership, and pragmatic problem-solving at a pivotal geopolitical moment.
• North Texas Day convenes leading regional environmental organizations, NGOs, government agencies, policymakers, and advocates to take stock of the year’s work on the ground. Through workshops, panels, and collaborative sessions, the conference sets priorities and strengthens partnerships to advance the North Texas environmental agenda for the year ahead.
• 9th Annual North Texas Climate Symposium serves as a platform for sharing the latest research, innovations, and strategies in climate action and sustainability focusing on how these critical issues affect the Dallas community, local businesses, and overall quality of life of city residents. Hosted by the City of Dallas Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability this year’s symposium theme is “Climate Resilience,” focusing on the capacity of social, economic, and environmental systems to support mitigation and adaptation efforts.
• The Solutions Stage is a fast-paced, public-facing platform showcasing tangible, real-world solutions emerging across the EarthX ecosystem. Featuring rapid-fire talks from innovators, businesses, governments, NGOs, and academics, the stage highlights actionable ideas, scalable models, and on-the-ground progress driving measurable environmental impact.

What to Expect?

Throughout the three days, EarthX will also offer curated side meetings, small group conversations, hands-on workshops, and designated meetup spaces designed to spark meaningful exchange around shared interests and real-world challenges. In-app tools allow participants to create or join meetups, whether planned in advance or formed organically on site.

EarthX is intentionally paced to create shared moments and rituals, from hosted lunches and evening networking hours to banquets, keynote moments, and awards celebrations that bring the full community together. These moments are not side events, they are central to how EarthX builds connection, trust, and momentum.

REGISTER:

Reserve your ticket at https://earthx.org/earthx2026/tickets/, with special Early Bird rates available for a limited time.

Grant Halliburton Foundation hosted its 17th annual Beacon of Hope Community Luncheon on Friday, March 13 at the Omni Dallas Hotel, kicking off the organization’s 20th anniversary year. More than 500 guests gathered in support of the Foundation’s mission, helping to raise $335,000 for youth mental health and suicide prevention programs across North Texas.

The event featured keynote speaker Steve Burns, best known as the original host of Nickelodeon’s “Blue’s Clues,” along with remarks from Foundation leaders and Co-chairs Meredith and David Camp and Amy and Michael Roseman.

Ahead of the program, DJ Lucy Wrubel set an upbeat tone at the Welcome Reception, where attendees enjoyed champagne and sparkling water from a 20th anniversary-themed champagne wall. Over coffee from Another Sunrise Coffee Company, guests connected and recorded messages of hope at the Hope Hotline telephone booth, an installation marking the Foundation’s milestone year.

Another activation featured an oversized “Blue’s Clues”-inspired purple mailbox inviting attendees to take an encouraging letter of hope. Guests also stopped at a 20th anniversary photo wall and browsed raffle packages that included luxury travel, high-end shopping experiences, sporting events and more.

The luncheon opened with the Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy Singers performing “Seasons of Love” from the Broadway musical “Rent.”

Steve Noviello, FOX 4 News host, welcomed guests, followed by an invocation from Cantor Vicky Glikin, senior cantor at Temple Emanu-El. Guests then enjoyed lunch while connecting with fellow supporters.

TheRosemans thanked sponsors, donors, committee members and volunteers, along with Founding Luncheon Chair Barb Farmer.

TheCamps then presented the 2026 Vanita Halliburton Beacon Award to Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, founder of No More Victims and executive director of the Phillips Foundation.

Phillips was recognized for her advocacy for survivors of sexual abuse and for leading the passage of Trey’s Law in Texas and Missouri, which prohibits the misuse of nondisclosure agreements against survivors, in memory of her late brother, Trey Carlock, who died by suicide.

“We refuse to let the end of their story be the whole story,” Carlock Phillips said. “We invite joy and sorrow to coexist. Keep fighting for the unseen and the hurting.”

Following a mission video, Foundation President Kevin Hall reflected on the organization’s 20 years of impact.

“As the video showed, the story of Grant Halliburton Foundation is the story of a community that has shown up over the past 20 years to make sure young people know they are not alone,” Hall said. “The Foundation has reached more than 375,000 students, educators, parents and professionals with life-saving mental health and suicide prevention training because of you.”

Amy McCloskey, co-founder of the Foundation and Grant Halliburton’s sister, spoke about the organization’s ongoing work.

“Because of this community, there are young people who are alive and well today who might not have been otherwise,” McCloskey said. “Continue this legacy with us by bringing help, hope and peace of mind to young people and their families.”

David shared how he and his wife became involved after five friends lost children within five years and encouraged attendees to connect with young people in their lives.

“I realized it only takes five minutes to start a conversation that could change the trajectory of a struggling youth’s future,” he said.

David and Michael led the paddle raise, joined on stage by Amy Roseman and Meredith.

Burns delivered a personal message about his experience with depression during his talk, “The Cost of Showing Up Happy: Burnout and the Wisdom of Asking for Help.”

He now shares his story as a speaker, podcast host, musician and actor, continuing conversations about mental health with audiences of all ages.

“What made the show work was the idea that I needed [help from] the home viewer,” Burns said. “‘Will you help me?’ I would ask [on the show]. It’s OK to ask for help. Make asking for help seem ordinary.”

Burns said that while he appeared joyful to millions of “Blue’s Clues” viewers, he was living with undiagnosed depression.

Burns’ experience reflects the challenges many young people face, a focus of the Foundation’s work as it marks its 20th anniversary year and continues expanding youth mental health education and resources across North Texas.

That focus was echoed earlier in the program.

“Because the future we are working toward is one where young people feel safe asking for help, where parents know what to look for and where to turn, and where suicide prevention is proactive, not reactive,” Hall said.

About Grant Halliburton Foundation: Celebrating 20 years of hope and impact, Grant Halliburton Foundation was founded in 2006 in memory of Grant Halliburton, a Dallas teen who battled depression and bipolar disorder before his suicide death at age 19. Over the past two decades, the Foundation has provided mental health education, resources, and support to more than 375,000 students, educators, parents, and professionals. The Foundation also offers help through HereForTexas.com and the Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line. These free community resources provide North Texans with easy access to trusted information and support for mental health and substance use. Learn more at GrantHalliburton.org.

Photos: Simon Luna Studios 

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra League’s inaugural Winds and Winds Mahjong Tournament proved to be a winning hand, surpassing expectations and raising more than double its projected fundraising goal. The vibrant energy, thoughtful planning, and strong leadership of this year’s team transformed the evening into a remarkable success.

Held March 5 in a private country club setting, the evening combined spirited mahjong competition with lively socializing in support of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s community and engagement programs. Tables for foursomes were dressed in colorful linens throughout the room, creating a festive setting for the enthusiastic players.

Hostesses came ready for play, bringing the 2025 National Mah Jongg League card—known to players as “The Big Card”—along with full mahjong sets and mats for each table.

Guests were greeted upon arrival with chilled sake and a refreshing grapefruit cocktail while enjoying sushi rolls that set a celebratory tone for the evening.

Event co-chairs Chelsea Hargrave, Kelly Ongena, and Claire Busch welcomed the crowd and introduced Dallas Symphony Orchestra League President Claire Catrino, who shared the inspiration behind the event. In addition to friendly competition and an evening of fun, the tournament served as a creative fundraiser that also introduced many new guests to the League’s mission and its support of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

A buffet of Chinese favorites followed, including egg rolls, fried shrimp, and chicken served in classic Chinese takeout containers with chopsticks—an imaginative thematic touch that delighted guests.

Among those attending were Anne Stodghill, Katy Bock, Tracy Lange, Claudia Conrad, Jennifer Cardwell, Anne Hendrix, Angie Bullard, Melissa Pogue, Lauren Isom, Joanna Clarke, and Ashley Gawley, along with several mothers of the 2026 Dallas Symphony Orchestra League debutantes, including Kathryn Rader and Jen Siguenza.

Raffle tickets added to the evening’s fundraising total, with prizes generously provided by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Eiseman Jewels, Chelsea Hargrave Interiors, and The Charleston Club.

A DJ kept the atmosphere lively throughout the night as tiles clicked, laughter filled the room, and players focused on building winning hands.

Event sponsors included Hawkins-Welwood Homes, Claire Catrino, Bru Juracek, Nancy Labadie, TT Ranch Group, and Compass School of Texas.

Photos by Chuck Clark Photography

There is so much to explore in Texas. With cultural landmarks, natural landscapes, and great weather, there is always something new to experience. Whether you are planning a weekend getaway or a scenic drive, there are plenty of exciting destinations just a short distance from Frisco and Prosper. When you live at The Links on PGA Parkway, you are perfectly positioned to experience it all.

Day Trips and Local Adventures

Arbor Hills Nature Preserve
Just a short drive from Frisco, this 200-acre preserve offers a peaceful escape into nature. With miles of hiking and biking trails, scenic overlooks, and picnic areas, it is a great place to spend time outdoors. In the spring, blooming wildflowers make it especially beautiful and perfect for a relaxing day outside.

Historic Downtown McKinney
Explore one of Texas’ oldest and most charming downtown areas. Historic Downtown McKinney is filled with boutique shops, cozy coffee houses, and locally loved restaurants. Walking through the streets feels like stepping back in time, making it a perfect spot for a leisurely afternoon.

Lake Lewisville
For those who enjoy being on the water, Lake Lewisville is a go-to destination. Spend the day fishing, kayaking, boating, or simply enjoying a lakeside picnic. Located just about 30 minutes from Frisco, it is an easy and refreshing escape from the city.

Weekend Getaways Worth the Drive

Waco – Magnolia Market & Cameron Park
Waco offers a great mix of shopping, dining, and outdoor activities. Start your visit at Magnolia Market for home decor inspiration and a lively atmosphere, then head to Cameron Park to explore scenic trails and take in views of the Brazos River. It is a well-rounded destination that offers something for everyone.

Fredericksburg – Texas Wine Country
If you are looking for a more relaxed getaway, Fredericksburg is the perfect choice. Known for its beautiful vineyards, charming shops, and excellent restaurants, it is a great place to unwind. Spend your time learning about the winemaking process, enjoying tastings, and exploring the scenic Hill Country.

Life at The Links on PGA Parkway

Living at The Links on PGA Parkway means more than just having a beautiful place to call home. It means having access to some of the best destinations in North Texas and beyond, all within a convenient drive. Whether you are heading out for a quick morning hike, a spontaneous afternoon exploring nearby towns, or a full weekend getaway, everything is within reach.

With its prime location in Frisco, The Links makes it easy to enjoy both everyday convenience and weekend adventure. Pack your bags, plan your route, and make the most of living in a place that keeps you connected to everything Texas has to offer.