National VOAD is excited to invite you to submit your proposal to present a workshop during the 2025 National VOAD Conference, which will be held May 19-22, 2025 in Louisville, KY. We are excited to announce the theme for the 2025 Conference is “Going the Distance“.
Please consider submitting a proposal to present a workshop at the 2025 National VOAD Conference—your expertise and lessons learned will help us host a great conference! The deadline for proposals is December 9, 2024.
Here are some suggested topics for workshops that we will slate as tracks in the final schedule appropriately:
Training and Education
Leading practices, continuity planning, raising the next generation of leaders, resource sharing, tutorials or guidance on old and new subjects.
Social Justice & Equity in Disaster Response
Case studies, focus on under-represented populations, and social justice implications.
Emerging Practices & Innovation
Use of technology, new approaches to ongoing and emerging issues, creative solutions in limited resource environments and the future of disaster.
The 4 C’s
Creative and diverse partnerships, collaborative programming, cross-sector success stories.
Behavioral, Emotional & Spiritual Wellness
Behavioral health in disasters, implications and approaches. Responder support systems, personal resiliency, and wellness approaches. Stories of coping and healing from those who work within the disaster sector: From first responders to support and administrative teams.
As we close 2024 with an unprecedented amount of catastrophic disasters, we would like to encourage the following in workshop submissions and presenters:
- Panels including diverse perspectives from non-profit, public, private, higher education and local/state/federal government
- Although slides are required to review the intent of a session, workshops focused on interaction and a conversational approach with the audience will be given preference
- Slide decks should be limited during the in-person sessions to foster a dialogue amongst attendees
- Incorporate the 2025 Conference theme when appropriate – How would you define Going the Distance in your work and the disaster sector?
All workshop proposals are reviewed and scored by the Conference Workshop Review Committee, which is comprised of representatives from the following stakeholder groups: National VOAD members, partners, board members, and staff. The committee will score and select workshops based on presentations that meet the following five criteria, including:
- Topic: Relevancy, importance and appropriateness of the topic to the field. Is this a topic that will be of interest to the National VOAD audience?
- Implementation Goals: Do the stated implementation goals provide the audience with ACTIONABLE knowledge and information?
- Engagement: Will the presentation engage the National VOAD audience?
- Quality of Proposal: Does the proposal communicate what the workshop is about?
- Collaboration: Does this presentation provide an example of collaboration and partnership especially public-private partnerships?
The allotted time for each workshop is 75 minutes, which should include time for questions.
Please note that if your submission is accepted, room assignments and setup will be determined by the Conference Planning team and no adjustments may be made. Also, if your submission was previously submitted, selected, and confirmed as a workshop for a prior conference and you did not attend after confirming your acceptance without reasonable excuse, we will be unable to accept your submission for the 2025 Conference. As a reminder, National VOAD is not able to offer discounts or compensation for presenters. If selected, presenters agree to cover all costs associated with attending the National VOAD Conference.
If you have any questions regarding the request for proposals or the selection process, please contact the National VOAD Conference Office by emailing [email protected] or calling 225-408-4459.
Deadline: Monday, December 9, 2024