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Call for Presenters: AC26 Conference & Expo

You're invited to be a presenter!
Announcements

We’re excited to invite you to submit your proposals for technical sessions and pre-conference workshops at CWEA’s Annual Conference 2026 (AC26)! This is a unique opportunity to share your knowledge, inspire your peers, and help shape the future of California’s wastewater and water environment profession.

Important Dates

  • Proposal Deadline: August 22, 2025
  • Notification of Acceptance: No later than September 29, 2025
  • Accepted presenters will be asked to acknowledge and accept the CWEA Speaker Agreement via our online Cadmium platform. This will allow us to draft promotional materials for the January issue of CleanWater

Submit Your Proposal

Please submit via the Cadmium platform. You’ll be asked to provide:

  • Presenter information
  • Session title
  • Session abstract/description
  • Learning objectives

Session and Workshop Formats

Technical Sessions
  • Held Wednesday (April 8) through Friday (April 10)
  • 50 minutes, including audience engagement (Q&A, discussions, interactive elements)
  • Eligible for one (1) CWEA contact hour
  • If needed, consider adding co-presenters to fully utilize the session time, or to enhance the presentation’s value for attendees
  • You may submit more than one proposal—please do so as separate submissions
Pre-Conference Workshops
  • Held Tuesday (April 7) from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
  • Must include both presentation and hands-on or interactive elements
  • Two breaks and lunch are included

Workshops with hands-on learning are especially encouraged


START YOUR APPLICATION

Target Audience & Experience Level

AC26 draws from across disciplines and experience levels. Our diverse community of 10,000+ professionals include operators, maintenance technicians, engineers, laboratory specialists, regulators, educators, managers and more.

You’ll be asked to specify your target audience by discipline and experience level when submitting your proposal.

Presentation Topical Areas

We welcome presentations in a wide range of topic areas:

  • “101 Level” Educational Topics
  • Asset Management
  • Big Data and Artificial Intelligence
  • Capital Project Delivery Case Studies and Alternative Project Delivery
  • Collection Systems
  • Electrical and Instrumentation
  • Energy Generation and Management
  • Laboratory/ELAP
  • Leadership, Team Building / Collaboration, and Communication Skills
  • Maintenance Challenges
  • Nutrient Removal and Management
  • Pretreatment, Pollution, Prevention, and Stormwater
  • Public Outreach and Education
  • Regulatory (current challenges, new or pending issues)
  • Safety and Risk Management
  • Solids Treatment and Biosolids
  • Treatment Plant Operations and Process Optimization
  • Water Reuse, Advanced Water Treatment, and Brine Management

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on:

  • Educational value
  • Speaker expertise
  • Potential for audience engagement /hands-on experiences
  • Past presentation evaluations (if applicable)

Proposals that include one or more of the following are especially encouraged:

  • Co-presenters at different career stages (e.g., seasoned and first-time presenters)
  • New content not previously presented at another conference or CWEA Annual Conference
  • Practical takeaways for attendees
  • Topics that appeal to broad audiences

A high preference is given to proposals with one or more of the following:

  • Cross-discipline collaboration (e.g., engineer + operator)
  • Inclusion of multiple perspectives (e.g., vendor + public agency)
  • Collaboration between public agency and regulatory agency to resolve challenging compliance issue(s)

Speaker Expectations & Support

CWEA is a nonprofit organization. While we are unable to offer honorariums or reimburse travel, we offer the following support:

  • Discounted registration for one-day or full conference attendance
  • Speakers receive double contact hours (must be scanned in/out of your session)
  • Networking opportunities with over 10,000+ professionals and vendors

As a presenter, you agree to:

  • Engage your audience—polls, group discussions, challenges, and Q&A are all encouraged
  • Help promote your session (we’ll provide a toolkit for social media and outreach)
  • Submit your presentation slides by the provided deadline
  • Complete all assigned tasks in the Cadmium platform
  • Sign the CWEA speaker agreement after acceptance

Need Help?

We’re here to support you every step of the way.
We have collected best Practice for Presentation strategies here.

You can also reach out to our Director of Education with questions or for guidance. Please email Sue Alexander at [email protected]

Thank you for your interest in being part of CWEA’s Annual Conference 2026. Your knowledge and dedication make this event meaningful and impactful for our entire community. We can’t wait to see what you propose!

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