Join ESA President, Jennifer Henke, BCE and internationally recognized author, Shawn Otto as we kickoff Entomology 2024: Empowering Tomorrow with Insect Science.
Sunday, November 11
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
The Opening Plenary sets the tone for the conference, highlighting all that ESA has accomplished throughout the year, recognizing this year's Fellows and Honorary Members, and more.
We are excited to have Shawn Otto join as the Plenary speaker. Otto is an internationally recognized author, speaker and science advocate. He was the organizer of the US presidential science debate initiatives in three presidential cycles along with the AAAS and the National Academies, and was recognized with the IEEE-USA National Distinguished Public Service Award for his work elevating science in American public dialogue. 
Otto will discuss the scientific foundations of democracy, and strategies for communicating science effectively and countering mis- and dis-information.
Otto is the author of two award-winning nonfiction books, Fool Me Twice and The War on Science, which explore the relationship between science and democracy. The War on Science has been called "a game changer, and probably the most important book you'll read this year."
Otto is also a published novelist and screenwriter. His novel Sins of Our Fathers was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize, and he wrote and coproduced the Academy-Award nominated movie House of Sand and Fog, starring Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly.
He lives in Minnesota in a solar- and wind-powered home he designed and built with his own hands.