03/06/2026
Last weekend several of our chapter members had the opportunity to attend the 2026 Engineers Without Borders USA National Conference, held in Portland, OR this year.
The theme for this year’s conference was . It was with that in mind that the conference showcased how engineering, collaboration, and innovation drive a more equitable and sustainable future.
Over 800 fellow volunteers from around the country and the world gathered. From the greater Houston area alone, in addition to our chapter’s attendees, volunteers were also present from the Engineers Without Borders - JSC Professional Chapter, the Engineers Without Borders - UH Student Chapter, the Rice University Student Chapter, and the newly-formed Texas Southern University Student Chapter.
The conference featured daily inspiring keynotes, breakout sessions, a poster exhibition featuring the work of other chapters, and several pre-conference workshops. A full list of conference sessions and presentations for download may be found here: https://volunteer.ewb-usa.org/s/article/2026-Conference-Presentations.
Our chapter members attended a number of sessions – ranging on topics such as fundraising methodologies, PMEL tools, EWB-USA’s new Community Health Initiatives, the role advocacy plays in our volunteer work, and the application of the new Purposeful Partnership Model in Peru and Kenya.
In a GIS workshop, our chapter learned the basics & differences between mapping and GIS, and received hands-on demonstrations of using GNSS, using a total station, and flying a drone to perform a photogrammetric survey.
Then our chapter’s Vice President – Projects, Terry Applegate, chaired a panel on “Building Strong Stakeholder Relationships” that was well attended and received.
To cap off the conference, a volunteer celebration was held at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, housed in a former converted General Electric power plant. Our chapter members came away with much enthusiasm for many of the new and ongoing EWB-USA initiatives and look forward to applying these to our chapter’s ongoing and future work.
Be sure to save the date - next year's EWB-USA National Conference, celebrating 25 years of EWB-USA, will be held in St. Louis, MO (March 4-6, 2027). Our chapter hopes to see you there!
