Dr. Heath Kelsey will deliver the keynote address at River Action's 9th Annual Upper Mississippi River Conference "Raising the Grade."

Kelsey is program director of Integration and Application Network, a group of scientists focusing on scientific synthesis and communication based at the University of Maryland.

Dr. Kelsey has developed ecosystem health report cards for numerous coastal and inland aquatic systems, including Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Coastal India and Chesapeake Bay. He earned his MSPH and doctorate in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of South Carolina.

River Action is excited to bring Dr. Kelsey to the UMRC to talk about the work he did for the Report Card for the Mississippi River Watershed, produced by America's Watershed Initiative (AWI).