Public Speaking Opportunities in 2026: Vol. 1
- Lashawn Dreher
- Jan 29
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 13
This ongoing series highlights speaking opportunities for business owners, entrepreneurs, educators, creatives, corporate professionals, and more.
Find the latest conferences, summits, expos, and curated events, and submit your applications for a chance to take the stage and share your expertise.
Additional volumes will be published throughout the month with new speaking opportunities as they’re presented.
1. INBOUND 2026
COMPANY: HubSpot
DATE: September 16–18, 2026
LOCATION: Boston, MA
DETAILS:
INBOUND 2026 Call for Speakers opens on Monday, February 2 and if you’re leading real change in AI, growth, leadership, or customer connection, we want to hear from you. INBOUND is the ultimate event where 12,000+ in-person attendees, 90,000+ livestream attendees, and 200+ speakers come together to share experiences and connect with top leaders across marketing, sales, customer success, operations, and more.
Have you recently built something that made your team better, your customers happier, or your business stronger? This is your invitation to share it.
To learn of when our Call for Speakers will open for INBOUND 2026, please fill out the form at the top of the HubSpot blog post “Everything You Need to Know About INBOUND 2026 Speaker Opportunities.” For any questions, please email speaking@inbound.com.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: N/A
https://www.inbound.com/blog/apply-to-speak-at-inbound
2. The 24th LavaCon Conference on Content Strategy and User Experience
COMPANY: LavaCon
DATE: October 25 - 28, 2026
LOCATION: Charlotte, NC
DETAILS:
The next LavaCon will be 25–28 October 2026 in Charlotte, NC.
Our 2026 program will include over 70 sessions and hands-on workshops on how to plan, implement, and manage enterprise content initiatives. LavaCon’s overall focus:
Reducing Costs, Generating Revenue, and Improving the Customer Experience
Through Better Content
In addition to tracks on Content Strategy, Content Operations, and TechComm Management, the theme for this year’s AI track is:
Beyond Proof of Concept: How Leading Companies Are Using AI to Reduce Costs—
without Laying Off their Content Teams
Important Notes
LavaCon is not a stuffy conference where people talk about what attendees can do or should do with enterprise content. Instead, we feature practicing industry professionals who are successfully implementing enterprise content initiatives—the “Rockstars of Content Strategy” so to speak.
All session proposals must include what attendees will learn and how they can apply the information when they return to their organizations.
See the Call for Speakers in PDF for program information and for submission directions, or scroll down for submission information.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 12, 2026
3. Spark Women’s Leadership Conference
COMPANY: Spark Women’s Leadership Society
DATE: October 7-8, 2026
LOCATION: Fort St. John, BC
DETAILS:
Spark Women’s Leadership Conference has developed into a movement of women helping women to succeed in business and in the workplace. It pulls heavily on the model of mentorship, relevant skills training and professional development, with the northern workforce in mind.
We are looking for two types of sessions:
1) Soft skills in leadership development & strategies for women in the workplace at all levels
2) technical skills specific to career & business development (i.e., project management, social media, etc.)
APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 20, 2026
4. AfroTech Conference 2026
COMPANY: Blavity, Inc.
DATE: November 2-6, 2026
LOCATION: Houston, TX
DETAILS:
AfroTech™ is turning 10—and you’re invited to help shape our next era. The conference will take place in Houston, TX, November 2-6, 2026.
Over the past decade, AfroTech has grown from a 400-person gathering in Silicon Valley to a global platform where technology, community innovation, and impactful change intersect. We’ve connected over 200,000 engaged attendees, created billions in economic impact, and catalyzed opportunities across the tech diaspora.
We especially encourage submissions from:
Executives and Investors driving innovation and funding change
Healthcare and MedTech Leaders reimagining care through technology
Engineers, Designers & Technologists building the next frontier of AI and computing
Creators & Cultural Architects shaping the digital economy
AfroTech Global contributors from Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, and beyond
Educators, Advocates & Policymakers solving for equity in tech
Please note, we prioritize AfroTech Alumni and Insider Community Leaders first.
Focus Areas for AfroTech 2026
We encourage proposals that align with the following core themes:
Cybersecurity, Data Sovereignty & RiskInclusive digital frameworks, policy, and the ethics of digital transformation.
AI Edge: Building the Future ResponsiblyFrom agentic AI and quantum computing to edge innovation and governance.
HealthStack & MedTech InnovationPrecision health, equitable data systems, AI diagnostics, and transformative care.
AfroTech GlobalCross-continental innovation in Africa, Brazil, Europe, and the diaspora.
The Digital Cultural EconomyExploring XR, AR, decentralized platforms, ownership models, and creative tech.
Leadership, Workforce & Executive ImpactInclusive leadership, reskilling for AI, and building the tech workforce of tomorrow.
PRIORITY DEADLINE: April 10, 2026
FINAL NOTIFICATIONS: August 31, 2026
https://app.sessionboard.com/submit/afrotech-conference-2026/36e83672-778f-402c-90b7-eed6a5592466
5. (WOTC) Women of the Channel Leadership Summit East
COMPANY: The Channel Company
DATE: December 7 - 8, 2026
LOCATION: New York, NY
DETAILS:
The Channel Company strives to deliver events rich in content to our audiences. We are always interested in learning about prospective speakers - industry subject matter experts, inspirational leaders and individuals with unique perspectives - who can educate and empower our event attendees on a wide range of topics, such as leadership strategies, tech trends and business-model optimization.
DEADLINE: N/A
6. EmERGe Leadership Summit
COMPANY: Seramount
DATE: April 21 - 22, 2026
LOCATION: Jersey City, NJ & Hybrid
DETAILS:
Seramount’s EmERGe conference empowers Employee Resource Groups and their leaders to increase their impact through trainings, workshops, and educational seminars. From presentations focused on the most pressing inclusion challenges to panels covering ERG structures, EmERGe offers sessions for all ERG leaders to learn, regardless of industry, company size, or ERG maturity.
Whether you’re an ERG leader, a program manager, an inclusion or HR leader -- EmERGe has sessions for you! With customizable agendas, attendees have the option to choose the sessions best fit for you and your specific needs.
DEADLINE: April 1, 2026
https://seramount.com/events-conferences/call-for-speakers-for-seramount-events/
7. WBENC Events
COMPANY: Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
DATE: Varies
LOCATION: Varies
DETAILS:
WBENC accepts speaker/instructor proposals on a rolling basis. If you have the experience and subject matter expertise to help women entrepreneurs or the supplier diversity community, we encourage you to apply.
Showcase Your Expertise & Present at a WBENC Event
Our mission is to fuel the success of women-owned businesses. That means providing targeted and innovative educational programming aimed at helping women entrepreneurs develop as leaders and arming them with the tools and resources they need to grow their businesses.
We accept speaker/instructor proposals on a rolling basis. If you have the experience and subject matter expertise to help women entrepreneurs or the supplier diversity community, we encourage you to apply.
DEADLINE: Applications accepted on a rolling basis
https://www.wbenc.org/events/speaking-opportunities/#apply-now
8. 2026 NASWA Veterans Conference
COMPANY: National Association of State Workforce Agencies
DATE: July 8 - 10, 2026
LOCATION: Washington, DC
DETAILS:
Planners for the 2026 National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) Veterans Conference are seeking workshop presenters and panelists from external stakeholders who can provide learning opportunities for conference attendees on a variety of topics relevant to serving our nation’s Veterans, Transitioning Service Members, caregivers, and military spouses, and the employers who hire them.
As always, this year’s 13th annual conference will include several Veteran-focused themes: serving specific Veteran populations, military spouses, disabled Veterans, significant barriers to employment, employers, state promising practices, and transitioning from the military to a civilian career. Presenters are encouraged to consider these topics, but we have also provided a list of suggested subject areas below, as well as more information about the conference itself.
Please do not feel you are limited to these topical areas. If you have developed a great idea, a better way of doing business, or saved time/money with a new process, please share it!
Please email your proposal with all requested materials to Lori Adams, NASWA Senior Policy Advisor, at ladams@naswa.org, by COB (5:00 p.m. ET) Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
DEADLINE: April 8, 2026
https://www.naswa.org/conferences/call-for-presenters-2026-naswa-veterans-conference
9. Digital Summit
COMPANY: Digital Summit
DATES:
Tampa, FL | March 17-18, 2026
Chicago, IL | April 7-8, 2026
Denver | June 15-16, 2026
Minneapolis | August 12-13, 2026
LOCATION: Varies
DETAILS:
Digital Summit is actively accepting speaking proposals for the 2025 & 2026 Digital Summit events. If you’re an expert with a tactical digital marketing tutorial, case study, or digital-jedi-wisdom to share, we want to hear from you.
Topics we cover include Content Marketing, Video, Analytics, Big Data, SEO/SEM, Automation, UX, Email Marketing, Social Media, User Acquisition/Retention, Paid Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Engagement Strategies, Voice / AI / AR, Personalization, Millennials & Gen Z, Brand Strategy, Storytelling, and more.
If you have questions in the meantime, see our speaker applicant FAQ.
10. DevLearn 2026
COMPANY: Learning Guild
DATE: November 4–6, 2026
LOCATION: Las Vegas, NV
DETAILS:
DevLearn 2026 Conference & Expo is an in-person event taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, November 4–6, 2026. Full-day pre-conference workshops will be offered November 2–3, 2026.
DevLearn 2026 Conference & Expo seeks strategic, inspiring, interactive, and informative sessions that address key challenges faced by learning professionals in customer education, higher education, and all areas of corporate training and development.
DEADLINE: February 27, 2026
https://app.sessionboard.com/submit/devlearn-2026/cbbbd9be-a914-4950-b526-1bf2d9cb1032
11. Accelerate Conference & Expo
COMPANY: Women in Trucking Association
DATE: Oct. 25-28, 2026
LOCATION: Dallas, TX
DETAILS:
Drive the conversation at #WIT2026
If you’re a thought leader with compelling insights, real-world solutions, or forward-looking strategies, we want to hear from you. Whether you’re a seasoned executive, a frontline driver, or a rising expert, your insights could support many across the industry.
WIT’s mission is to champion the employment and advancement of women in trucking, foster connections, and recognize achievements—and this conference is one of the most powerful ways we bring that mission to life. If your organization’s goals align with ours, presenting offers a meaningful opportunity to contribute to industry progress while elevating your brand alongside a respected community.
By sharing your expertise, you position yourself and your team as credible thought leaders and subject matter experts. Speaking at Accelerate! can open doors to professional growth, stronger visibility, and new business relationships.
DEADLINE: March 31, 2026
https://www.womenintrucking.org/accelerate-conference-call-for-speakers#submit
12. XCEL Summit for Men
COMPANY: Black Enterprise
DATE: October 21-23, 2026
LOCATION: Orlando, FL
DETAILS:
The XCEL Summit For Men is the nation’s leading conference dedicated to elevating and empowering men—celebrating their excellence through the XCEL Awards and equipping them with the tools to thrive at every level of leadership, from entry-level to the C-suite.
https://www.blackenterprise.com/xcelsummitformen-becomeaspeaker/
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