Stemming from the Society’s Visions Report in 2004, an Ecological Society of America Steering Committee has been working to move forward on complementing the Society’s national-level environmental policy activities with regionally focused policy and education initiatives. Steering Committee Chair and Past ESA President Jerry Melillo, together with President Alan Covich, will update attendees on the steps taken so far and the anticipated direction of the ESA Southeast Knowledge Partnership. Among other activities, the Committee has been working to identify key environmental issues in the Southeast that can benefit from ecological information as well as identifying regional stakeholders who will be critical to a successful knowledge partnership. The overall goal of the ESA Southeast Regional Partnership is to forge effective working relationships between science, business, and government to anticipate and solve emerging environmental issues that will have broad impact on the region’s economy and quality of life. The SE Knowledge Partnership is a pilot project for the Society.