The annual California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC), typically hosted at UC Santa Barbara, went 100% virtual for the first time in its 19-year history. This rapid change was a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference steering committee retooled months of conference planning and challenged all of the assumptions around audience participation built up over almost two decades. Inspired by pioneers such as the UCSB Environmental Humanities Initiative that developed the Nearly Climate Neutral Conference Model, UC Santa Barbara sought to achieve online all that had historically been accomplished through CHESC and hosted several virtual networking sessions, panels and sponsor events.