Meeting Materials

Invitation Letter

Meeting Agenda

Ready Reference Travel Sheet

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel is located at 1300 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC at 12th and D Streets, SW. The hotel’s telephone number is 202-554-8588. A block of rooms is reserved for this meeting at the rate of $188.00 plus 14.5% tax per night. Each grantee is responsible for reserving rooms DIRECTLY with the hotel. The process is:

• Call 202-554-8588
• Request “Group Reservations”
• Reference the “George Washington University SPNS Meeting”
• Provide the dates of “January 28-30, 2007”
• Request the number of rooms and provide a credit card for payment and reservations.

Additional information about the hotel is available on their website at:
http://www.mandarinoriental.com/washington/ .
 

Costs for hotel rooms, air travel, ground transportation, and evening meals are the responsibility of the participants. Please contact your HAB project officer or your agency director if you have questions about allowable expenses. Conference attendees will receive a packet of meeting materials. To minimize the amount of materials participants must take home, however, the majority of materials will be placed on the YES Center website for use and review.
 
For those grantees desiring to venture out in DC, the concierge at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel is a great resource. The hotel lobby and each hotel room have information about area attractions. Blaine Parrish, YES Center Program Manager, can also answer questions about area attractions or activities. Blaine can be reached at: blainep@gwu.edu or 202-714-5450.
 

The grantee meeting will begin with a Networking Session on Sunday evening from 7:00 pm until 8:30 pm at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the Gallery Room, located beyond the lower level (follow the signs). Appetizers and beverages will be served. Participants should make dinner plans following this session. A restaurant list will be provided in your meeting packet. The Plenary session will also be located in the Gallery Room with lunch and breakout sessions in the room as well. On Monday January 29th and Tuesday January 30th, the meeting will begin at 8:00 am and end at 5:00 pm (with breakfast from 8-9am).
  

Washington, DC is served by three regional airports:

Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) is 5 miles from the hotel. This airport is directly accessible on the Blue and Yellow lines of the Metro ($1.35) and the closest stop to the hotel is the Smithsonian, which is just 3 block north of the hotel at the corner of 12th Street SW and Independence Avenue, accessible by the Blue and Orange Lines. Please see directions below. Taxi service is also available from the airport. Cost from Washington Regan National to the hotel via taxi is approximately $10.00.

To use the Metro from Washington Reagan National:  Purchase a Metro ticket ($1.35) at the kiosk located at the entrance of the Washington Reagan National Airport Metro Station (located inside the airport). Take the escalator up to the platform and wait for the Blue Line train traveling in the direction of Largo Town Center. The signs on the platform and the train will indicate the train arriving and its direction. Exit the train at the Smithsonian Metro Station. Exit the station in the direction of Independence Avenue and take the escalators to the street level. Make a right on 12th Street SW and the hotel will be three blocks down on the right at the corner of 12th Street SW and Maryland Avenue.

Dulles Airport is located 26 miles from the hotel. Taxi service from Dulles is approximately $44.00 and 30 minutes in duration. The Super Shuttle is approximately $22.00 for the first person and $10.00 for each additional person from Dulles to the hotel. Driving directions can be provided upon request. If flying through Dulles, please be sure to allow sufficient travel time to and from the airport in case of traffic. This airport is not recommended for this conference due to its location from the venue and recent issues with missed flights because of timely arrival.

Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) is 32 miles from the hotel. Taxi service from BWI is approximately $63.00. The Super Shuttle is approximately $31.00 for the first person and $11.00 for each additional person from BWI to the hotel. Driving directions can be provided upon request. If you are flying into BWI, please allow sufficient travel time to and from the airport in case of traffic. This airport is not recommended for this conference due to its location from the venue and increased air traffic at this airport causing significant delays going through security.

Parking
Valet parking is available at a rate of $26.00 for overnight valet parking and $16.00 for daytime valet parking. Self parking is not available (Metro is recommended).