Call for Speaker Proposals
Special Districts Association of Oregon (SDAO) is actively seeking speaker proposals for its 2024 annual conference. The conference will take place February 8-11, 2024 at Seaside Civic & Convention Center in Seaside, Oregon. All proposals will be reviewed by the SDAO Conference & Education Committee.
About SDAO and the SDAO Annual Conference
SDAO was formed in 1979 to give special districts a stronger and united voice at the Oregon Legislature. SDAO provides advocacy with state administrative agencies and other units of government, training, information resources, and other support programs. Membership has grown to over 950 local government members.
The anticipated number of attendees for the 2024 conference is 400-500. There will be representation from a wide variety of district types (there are over 30 total district types in Oregon) with board members, management staff, staff, and volunteers attending.
Due to the ongoing pandemic and uncertainty of possible restrictions, it is our plan to offer recordings of our conference sessions to our members. Though our plans are not finalized, we may request that you pre-record your session so that we may offer it to those unable to attend in person. We may be able to offer a small speaker fee for this additional training.
Categories for Proposals
Keynote Speaker: The conference keynote speaker will deliver a message to the conference attendees on Friday, February 9th at 8:45am. This will last one hour to one hour and fifteen minutes in length. There are no constraints on the type of message that we are seeking. Past examples include motivational, inspirational, and expert.
Pre-Conference Sessions: Pre-conference sessions will be held for a half day (three to three and half hours) or full day (six to seven hours) on Thursday, February 8th. Examples of past session topics include board training, risk management, and grant writing.
Breakout Sessions: Breakout sessions are 90 minutes in length and will be held on Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th. Session topics should align with one of four categories: board member development, human resources/legal, risk management, or miscellaneous.
Proposals for pre-conference and breakout sessions are encouraged, but not required, to address a topic in our SDAO Academy, Board Leadership Academy, or Fire District Directors Academy (please review these for curriculum).
Speaker Proposal Requirements
- Brief overview of your presentation, including at least three learning objectives.
- Brief speaker biography including professional background and speaking experience.
- Preferences for day and time to present. Requests cannot be guaranteed but are helpful when scheduling.
- Any other requirements such as speaking fee, travel/transportation needs, etc. For our breakout sessions, we generally do not offer payment of a speaking fee but do provide reimbursement for mileage and lodging expenses.
Submission Instructions & Deadlines
Please submit your proposal by August 15, 2023 for consideration. Our committee will begin reviewing proposals in August. Speakers will be selected and confirmed by October 1, 2023, at the latest.
Please email your speaker proposal to both:
Jennifer Quisenberry: JQuisenberry@sdao.com and Kaylie Bahnsen: kbahnsen@sdao.com
Speaker Selection
SDAO staff will review all proposals. Final decisions will be made by the SDAO Conference & Education Committee.
More Information
If you have questions, please contact:
Jennifer Quisenberry
Director of Association Services
503-798-9245