Call for Speakers

We are seeking professional proposals that will elevate diverse perspectives, and address emerging topics and recent research. This can be anything from presenting new research on post adoption depression, sharing your lived experience perspective, or discussing practical strategies for preventing disruption and dissolution. We are seeking presentations that address a wide range of 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 prefer presentations that are connected to clear takeaways for attendees. Don't just detail the problem but 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 require most presentation topics to be backed by research (This does not apply if you are presenting on your lived experience). 

Your primary audience will be adoption professionals coming from all different types of adoption (intercountry, adoption from foster care, and private domestic adoption). The audience will have a mix of 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). It can be helpful to include examples that will be relevant to each type of adoption. If you're coming from a foster care background, please connect your presentation to adoption!

Here are some sample titles and learning objectives from the 2023 conference:

• Equipping Transracial Adoptive Parents to Cultivate Positive Racial Identity
• Ethics and Challenges in Post-Placement Birthparent Care
• Supporting Adoptees in Early Adulthood
• Fundraising Basics to Support Adoption Agencies
• The Continued Impact of Unregulated Domestic Infant Adoption

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

We expect most presentations to last a minimum of 60 minutes but will consider presentations of other lengths as well. Please be sure to include a note if you expect your presentation to be a different length.

We expect most presentations to include a slide deck and incorporate time for Q&A. 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. (Specific Guidelines) Upon selection, our team will work with speakers to meet all CE requirements. If you are submitting a session that is your lived experience story, many of these requirements will not apply.