Events

Call for Session Proposals

Share your experience as a housing and community development professional by submitting a session proposal for the 2025 NAHRO National Conference & Exhibition, taking place September 28-30 at the Phoenix Convention Center.

All proposals must be submitted thru NAHRO’s online submission portal. Click the button below to submit. You will need to create a log-in for the portal — this is different from your NAHRO log-in.

Proposal Guidelines:
NAHRO is looking for your best 75 minute session proposals on current and emerging issues, programs, legislation and regulation; best practices; and strategies to handle challenges facing the industry. Ideal are speakers who reflect our audience and can share their experiences and expertise, as well as, provide new thinking. We are interested in your thoughts from your own experience, building on what’s worked (or not) in your agencies, organizations, or communities. Different types/styles of presentations are also encouraged…panels, debates, round-table discussions, etc. Presentations can be designed for all levels of experience – from fundamental to intermediate to advanced. It’s very important that sessions are presented in ways that actively engage and challenge the audience.

All submissions should incorporate sufficient time for audience Q&A (within the 75 minute session.)

Panels must be kept to no more than 5 speakers.

Sessions will occur over September 28-29 (Sunday-Monday); as such, please ensure session participant availability over both days as we do not accept specific day/time requests.

All sessions will occur live and in-person in Phoenix. Virtual presentations/virtual speakers will not be considered.

Since there are many opportunities for vendors to interact with attendees, we are committed to keeping our sessions free of commercial offerings such as sales pitches for services or products. Vendor members are encouraged to submit non-commercial session proposals, and to invite their agency customers to be on their panels.

Session information in conference materials will appear as provided in the proposal submission. Please check the spelling of all relevant titles, academic degrees, and professional designations and provide correct contact information for all session participants.

You are welcome to submit up to 2 proposals, if you have more than one idea to present.

Topic Categories:
Generally, session proposals should fall under one or more of the following topic categories. We encourage innovative proposals and out of the box ideas.

  • Advocacy for Housing/Community Development
  • Climate Resiliency
  • Commissioners
  • Community Development & Redevelopment
  • Community Partnerships
  • Cybersecurity & IT
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Emergency Preparedness
  • Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS)
  • Finance/Mixed Finance
  • Homelessness
  • Housing Choice Voucher
  • Human Resources
  • Innovation in Housing
  • International Housing & Community Development
  • Leadership and Emerging Leaders
  • Legislative/Regulatory
  • Marketing & Communications
  • Moving To Work
  • Public Housing
  • Resident Services
  • Repositioning
  • Youth Engagement and Leadership

Submission Guidelines:
Submissions should be complete with the following.  Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

  • Session Title (10 word max)
  • Session Description (100 word max)
  • (3) Learning Objectives
  • Identified panelists – all panelists identified in proposal submission must be aware and confirmed for participation. Panels must be kept to no more than 5 speakers.

NAHRO seeks to meet the goals of its Diversity Statement by encouraging diverse panelists. We ask session coordinators to be mindful of this objective when coordinating panels.

Audience:
Approximately 50% of conference attendees are CEOs/executive directors; 35% are commissioners; affordable/public housing and community development professionals make up the balance.

Selection Process:
The Call for Proposals submission period will end April 30. All proposals will then be reviewed and evaluated by a select team of industry professionals. Proposal status will be provided by mid-June.

Proposals are selected based on the following criteria:

  • Thoroughness of the subject matter and proposal.
  • Originality and relevance of the proposal.
  • Quality of learning objectives and takeaway tools offered to attendees.
  • Level of interactivity and diversity of presentation styles.

Session participants will be provided with confirmation of session day/time with session acceptance status. All participants are expected to adhere to all indicated policies, procedures, and deadlines.

Please note: We seek presenters who are willing to share their expertise without the expectation of payment in the spirit of cooperation and networking. NAHRO is unable to provide speaker stipends and speakers are responsible for their own travel, lodging, and any other related expenses. Additionally, NAHRO requires that all presenters are registered for the NAHRO conference; confirmed presenters are offered a discounted registration fee.

Questions? 
Contact Jill Randles, NAHRO Director of Conferences jrandles@nahro.org