HCA Leadership Summit
On September 24, 2026 the Hill Country Alliance will host its 14th annual Leadership Summit in Dripping Springs. The event theme, Small Choices, Big Changes, will bring together Hill Country leaders – online and in-person – eager to learn from each other in a day full of insightful discussions and informative panels. The Hill Country Leadership Summit is the Hill Country Alliance’s premiere annual gathering, and provides an opportunity for learning, networking, and being inspired among our region’s top community leaders, conservation practitioners, and natural resource managers.
Register for the Summit
| Ticket Type |
| $125 – Early Bird (available until 8/16) |
| $150 – General Admission |
| $50 – Virtual Attendance (livestream) |
| $20 – Student (in-person) |
| $20 – Student (virtual only) |
| $20 – Educator (virtual only) |
Brad Lancaster – Author and Permaculture Designer
Brad Lancaster is the author of the award-winning book Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond and co-founder of DunbarSpringNeighborhoodForesters.org. Since 1993, Brad has run a successful permaculture education, design, and consultation business focused on integrated regenerative approaches to landscape design, planning, and living. In the Sonoran Desert, with just 11 inches (280 mm) of average annual rainfall, he and his brother’s family harvest about 100,000 gallons (378,000 liters) of rainwater a year on an eighth-acre (0.05 ha) urban lot and adjoining right-of-way. This harvested water is then turned into living air conditioners of food-bearing shade trees, abundant gardens, and a thriving landscape incorporating wildlife habitat, beauty, medicinal plants, and more.
The goal of his book series and overall work is to empower his clients and community to make positive change in their own lives and neighborhoods – by harvesting and enhancing free on-site resources such as water, sun, wind, shade, community, and more. It’s catching on, as evidenced by tens of thousands of practitioners and demand for Brad’s work around the world. Click here to learn more.
Lodging Available
This year, we are happy to share a new group rate option for attendees and speakers who are interested in staying in Dripping Springs either before or after the Leadership Summit. The Sleep Inn & Suites (100 Hays Country Acres Rd, Dripping Springs, TX 78620) is offering rooms at a discounted rate of $99 per night for summit attendees on both Wednesday, 9/23 and Thursday, 9/24. Please note, the booking page defaults to a 2-night stay, so be sure to adjust your date range as needed!
Featured Speakers:
As always, the Summit is a chance to learn, network, and celebrate — with engaging presentations and conversations featuring local leaders and regional experts. While the full agenda will be released in September, we’re excited to share a sneak peek at some of the presentations, panels, and incredible speakers taking the stage later this month!
Keynote: Brad Lancaster – Author and permaculture design expert
Gullivar Shepard – Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc
Roger Wallace – Friends of the Little Blanco River Valley
David Zambrano – The Eyes of the San Marcos River
Jada Jo Smith – Hill Country Preservation Coalition
Northern Hendricks – Kerr Together River Working Group
Ann Howard – Travis County Commissioner
Austin Dickson – Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country
Adrian Shelley – Public Citizen
Angel Schatz – Central Texas Mycological Society
…and more!
Sponsorship Opportunities
The Leadership Summit is made possible through the generous support of our corporate and individual sponsors.
View our remaining sponsorship opportunity below, or click here to view the downloadable sponsorship package, to explore available sponsorship levels and benefits. When you’re ready, click the button to become a sponsor. If you have any questions, please contact Chanee@hillcountryalliance.org.
$2,000 Reception Sponsor | 2 Opportunities
- 3 tickets
- Tabletop logo recognition on reception bar
- Name & logo on summit promotional materials, event website, and from the speaker’s stage
A tremendous thank you to our partners and supporters who have signed on as sponsors for the Summit:
SIGNATURE SPONSOR
Yates Pecos River Enterprises
MULTIMEDIA SPONSOR
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
BREAKFAST SPONSOR
Edwards Aquifer Authority
Native American Seed
LUNCH SPONSOR
Lake Flato
Tres and Lida Plummer
Mike and Pam Reese
COMMUNITY SPONSORS
Defenders of Wildlife
Edwards Aquifer Conservancy
Texas Agricultural Land Trust
Texas Regional Bank
Trinity Edwards Science and Policy Alliance (TESPA)
Lucky Lindy
Karen Ford
GRASSROOTS SPONSORS
Halff Associates
Siglo Group
Pedernales Electric Cooperative
National Wildlife Federation
Llano River Watershed Alliance
Pioneer Water Tanks
Pedernales River Alliance – Gillespie County
Hill Country Preservation Coalition
The Cibolo Center for Conservation
Simplecity Design
Ozona Bank
Lon Shell
WOODLAND SPONSOR
Re:wild
Texas State University – The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment
Michelle Whitwell Pokorny
Commissioner Ann Howard
Gary Sertich
Venue: Sacred Oaks – Camp Lucy
Thanks to the generous support of our hosting partner, Camp Lucy, we will once again convene at the Sacred Oaks Hall at Camp Lucy. If you have not attended an event at the site, this venue is an inspiring space, with a large, air-conditioned meeting hall and spacious grounds for the evening happy hour from 4-6PM. Additional photos of the site and grounds can be found on Camp Lucy’s venue page.
Past Summit Testimonials
The Leadership Summit provide an annual opportunity for learning, networking, and celebrating and features presentations and conversation with local leaders and regional experts. Learn more from past attendees:
“Congratulations on putting on a fantastic Leadership Summit! I’ve been following HCA for about 10 years now and this was my first official event to attend – I feel like I’m truly a part of the HCA family now!”
“Just a quick note to say THANK YOU for a wonderful event yesterday. It was my first in person HCA event, and I left feeling such positive energy and hopeful confidence in what we want to work on in Real County. Thank you for all you are doing and for all of the support you are providing all of these people and entities doing the Good Work. We feel it!!”
“The “rapid fire” session and the panels were extremely well moderated and helped us participants engage with so many worthwhile people, causes, and concerns… As a first-time participant, that was the best bang-for-my-buck networking and learning opportunity I could have imagined.”
“Thank you, and all of HCA for putting the Leadership Summit on. It was a fantastic event and so great to be in the presence of like-minded conservationists! It was such an honor to listen to the panelists storytelling and perspectives. I left feeling inspired to take action and continue to work with the organizations involved with HCA, and those outside of it as well with common goals.”
“Just wanted to say you all did an awesome job on the Summit! The content was varied and interesting, the venue felt more like an adventure than a conference room, and the people were fun and friendly. It was informative, restorative and inspiring.”
Past Leadership Summits
For more than 10 years, the Hill Country Alliance has been convening partners for an annual summit. Click the button below to explore resources from past Leadership Summit events.