Call for Speakers

Thank you for your interest in speaking at our upcoming conference!

The Call for Speakers for the 2026 National Adoption Conference has closed. Submissions will open for our 2027 conference in August. Sign up for conference updates below to be notified!

Submitted a proposal this year? We will notify speakers of acceptance on a rolling basis starting in November 2025.

Information and FAQs

Conference Goals

Conference Theme

Our 2026 National Adoption Conference theme is Lifting Voices, Building Families.

By prioritizing family and connection, we affirm that every voice matters in shaping a supportive and inclusive adoption community. This conference aims to elevate the lived experience of all families formed by adoption, long-lasting ties to birth family, and actionable strategies and policy that ensure these families thrive.

Who are we looking for?

We want to hear from individuals with experience and expertise to share their knowledge with peers in the field.

We are seeking speakers from diverse backgrounds, roles, and perspectives. We are happy to receive presentations from those with lived expertise, as well as social workers, clinicians, attorneys, agency leadership, researchers, and more!

We especially welcome talks from underrepresented groups within the adoption community, including birth parents, adoptees, and others. We invite participation from people of all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, abilities, religions, and sexual orientations. We're actively seeking to increase the diversity of our attendees, speakers, and sponsors through our call for speakers, other open submission processes, and ongoing dialogue with the communities we serve.

Past speakers include:

Social workers and caseworkers
Adoptees and former foster youth
Birth parents
Adoptive parents
Counselors and Therapists
Clinical Directors
Attorneys
Pregnancy Social Workers
Filmmakers
Directors of Advocacy/Policy
Trainers
Researchers
Professors
Directors of Development
Executive Directors, Presidents and CEOs of adoption agencies and nonprofits supporting adoption
Directors of Pre & Post Adoption Services
HHS, Dept of State, and USCIS staff
Foreign adoption authority officials

Selection Process

We have a small panel of reviewers who will conduct an independent review of each proposal. Each reviewer considers factors like speaker qualifications, topic relevance, practical takeaways and session interactivity. Reviewers rate each proposal and then the top-rated proposals are discussed as a team. The call for speakers deadline closed on October 10, 2025. We will notify speakers of acceptance on a rolling basis starting in November 2025.

Not sure about submitting a proposal?

Don't worry too much about whether we will accept your proposal. It truly can't hurt to submit it anyway and then leave the selection up to us! It’s normal to wonder whether your topic is a good fit, to feel you may not have enough speaking experience for a conference, or to think someone else may be able to give a better talk on your topic, but that doesn't mean you don't have great things to contribute.

We are also happy to talk with you about any questions or concerns. You can reach out to us at ncfa@adoptioncouncil.org

What are we looking for in proposals?

Diverse speakers and topics

We're actively seeking to increase the diversity of our conference speakers and invite participation from people of all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, abilities, religions, and sexual orientations. We also encourage talks from underrepresented groups within the adoption community, including birth parents, adoptees, and others. By sharing your expertise, you can help foster a more inclusive and comprehensive dialogue about adoption. Whether you're an adoptee, birth parent, adoptive parent, or another member of the adoption community, we want to hear from you!

We are seeking professional proposals that will elevate diverse perspectives and address emerging topics and recent research. We accept presentations that address a wide range of adoption-related subjects, at various levels of expertise, and that offer information relevant to various types of adoption (adoption from foster care, intercountry adoption, and private domestic adoption). We also encourage presenters to consider how issues of race, equity, and inclusion affect their topic.

Here are some examples of presentations from our recent conferences:

Equipping Transracial Adoptive Parents to Cultivate Positive Racial Identity
Ethics and Challenges in Post-Placement Birthparent Care
Learning from Adoptees: Incorporating Adoptees' Voices into Practice
Fundraising Basics to Support Adoption Agencies
Race Equity in Adoption: Workforce Considerations
Decoding Special Needs Supports: From Subsidies to IEPs
The Continued Impact of Unregulated Domestic Infant Adoption

Practicality

Please ensure your presentation is connected to clear takeaways for attendees. Don't just detail the problem but also detail some solutions that adoption professionals can implement in their work. We prioritize proposals that will facilitate dialogue, interaction, and focus on strategies for practical application of skills taught. We also require most presentation topics to be backed by research (This does not apply if you are presenting on your lived experience).

Tailored for Adoption Professionals

Your primary audience will be adoption professionals coming from all different types of adoption (intercountry, adoption from foster care, and private domestic adoption). Attendees will have mixed levels of expertise, skill sets, and professions. Your presentation doesn't have to be relevant to everyone, but it should be relevant to most attendees and shouldn't make too many assumptions about what people already know (unless you are indicating your course is an advanced level offering).

If applicable, please include examples throughout your presentation that are relevant to each type of adoption. If you're coming from a foster care background, please connect your presentation to adoption!

Here are some examples of presentations from our recent conferences:

Equipping Transracial Adoptive Parents to Cultivate Positive Racial Identity
Ethics and Challenges in Post-Placement Birthparent Care
Learning from Adoptees: Incorporating Adoptees' Voices into Practice
Fundraising Basics to Support Adoption Agencies
Race Equity in Adoption: Workforce Considerations
Decoding Special Needs Supports: From Subsidies to IEPs
The Continued Impact of Unregulated Domestic Infant Adoption

Presentation Format

In 2026, a majority of sessions will be 90 minutes long, but some 60-minute slots will remain available. Please be sure to account for time for audience Q&A during your presentation.

We ask that presentations include a slide deck and incorporate opportunities for audience engagement. Proposals that facilitate dialogue, interaction, and practical application will be prioritized. Speakers may also provide handouts and additional resources.

We are planning to offer the majority of our sessions for social work CE credit. Required CE session materials include: presentation slides, learning objectives, and references/citations. Upon selection, our team will work with speakers to meet all CE requirements. Read about CE session requirements here.

See below for guidance regarding presentations on lived experience, as many of these requirements will not apply.

Presentations on Lived Experience

Whether you're an adoptee, birth parent, adoptive parent, or another member of the adoption community, your voice is invaluable in shaping a more inclusive and compassionate dialogue around adoption.

We are actively seeking to increase the diversity of perspectives included at our conferences and welcome presentations from people of all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, abilities, religions, and sexual orientations.

We ask that all presentations, including those solely focused on lived experience, include clear takeaways or messages for adoption professionals. If you are feeling unsure about developing these takeaways, feel free to reach out to us.

Here's some examples of learning objectives and takeaways from other lived experience presentations.

We are planning to offer all sessions for social work CE credit. Upon selection, our team will work with speakers to meet all CE requirements. Presentation requirements for those presenting solely on their lived experience will not require presentation slides.

Please note: All video or audio recording content of the sessions presented at the National Adoption Conference is the sole property of NCFA. Attendees are not permitted to record sessions.

Quick links

National Adoption Conference Info

2025 Conference Program

For questions about the Call For Speakers submission process, please contact us at ncfa@adoptioncouncil.org.

Sign up for Conference Updates

Save the date for our next conference, and sign up for updates!

June 24-26, 2026
Washington, DC

Sign up for our email list to be among the first to know about request for speaker proposals, registration, featured speakers and session topics, opportunities to exhibitor or sponsor the Conference, and other big announcements.

Email
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Name
First Last
Email
Address
Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region
Zip Code