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The National Genealogical Society seeks proposals for its 2027 Family History Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, including (a) main conference sessions, (b) pre-conference workshops, and (c) FOCUS on Genealogy Organizations sessions.

We welcome sessions in many formats: a lecture with clear takeaways, a focused spotlight talk, a hands-on pre-conference workshop, interactive sessions where attendees work through a problem, source, method, or sample case, and sessions for genealogy organization leaders during FOCUS on Genealogy Organizations. Ideally, the sessions will take advantage of a live audience and encourage a synergistic exchange of ideas. Whatever the format, show us how your session will help genealogists return to their own research with something they can use.

The conference theme—Lakesides & Legacies—invites a broad look at the places, records, communities, and stories that shaped our ancestors’ lives and the legacies they left behind. As you develop your proposal, consider whether it might connect naturally to the conference theme or to the unique history, records, cultures, and research opportunities found in Wisconsin and the surrounding Great Lakes region.  We encourage proposals inspired by the region’s rich history, diverse immigrant communities, remarkable archives and libraries, and the many ways the Upper Midwest has influenced the American story. Such connections are encouraged but not required. We welcome outstanding genealogy education on all topics that will help family historians build their skills, expand their knowledge, and make meaningful discoveries.

The Call for Session Proposals will close on September 15, 2026 at 3:00 PM EDT.

A. What We’re Looking For

Strong submissions should reflect the range of approaches, records, methods, and experiences used to explore family history. They should also make clear what attendees will learn, consider, practice, or be able to do after the session.

We are particularly interested in main conference sessions and pre-conference workshops that

  • share compelling case studies, clear methodologies, or strategies for tackling common research challenges;
  • introduce tools, methods, sources, or workflows attendees can apply in their own research;
  • help genealogists navigate complex, conflicting, or incomplete records;
  • place families and communities in historical, social, geographic, or cultural context;
  • offer fresh perspectives on familiar problems or overlooked records;
  • build in discussion, guided analysis, collaboration, or hands-on practice where appropriate; and
  • connect meaningfully to the conference theme, “Lakesides & Legacies.”

For information related to FOCUS on Genealogy Organizations sessions, see below.

B. Session Formats

NGS offers several session formats to support different kinds of teaching and learning. Choose the format that best fits the content, audience, and level of participation you have in mind. A strong proposal should explain both what you plan to cover and how the format will help attendees understand, practice, discuss, or apply the material.

Because the final program will include a mix of lectures, spotlight talks, interactive sessions, panels, and workshops, speakers who submit strong proposals in more than one format may give the committee greater flexibility when building the schedule.

PRE-CONFERENCE EVENTS

Pre-Conference Workshops

We welcome proposals for pre-conference workshops that offer in-depth, hands-on learning aligned with the topics listed below. Workshops should emphasize applied skills and active participation and may be proposed for 1.5 or 3 hours. Three-hour workshops will include a short break at the midpoint. Workshops will be held in a standard classroom setting with tables. If participants will need to bring their own devices or use specific software, websites, accounts, or apps, please include those requirements in your workshop description.

Pre-conference workshops require separate fees and registration for attendees.

FOCUS on Genealogy Organizations

We welcome proposals for FOCUS on Genealogy Organizations, an annual event that brings together genealogy society and library leaders, volunteers, board members, and reference experts to exchange ideas, strengthen organizations, and explore practical solutions to the opportunities and challenges facing the family history community. Proposals on any topic that helps organizations and libraries better serve their membership or community are encouraged.

FOCUS is for two primary audiences: (1) genealogy society leaders and (2) genealogy reference librarians and library leaders. Topics may include leadership, governance, membership, volunteer engagement, fundraising, advocacy, programming, communications, technology, partnerships, organizational sustainability, collections, archival practices, digitization, preservation, outreach, and innovative ways libraries and genealogical organizations can work together.

Sessions that provide practical ideas that attendees can put to work immediately are appreciated. Whether you share a successful case study, demonstrate an innovative program, or lead an interactive discussion, proposals should identify how your session will equip participants with strategies, tools, or inspiration they can adapt to their own organizations. We especially value presentations that encourage collaboration and the exchange of ideas.

To encourage a diverse program, please submit no more than two proposals. Proposals will be evaluated on their relevance to the intended audience, educational value, practical application, and overall quality. Sessions should be educational in nature and should not promote specific commercial products or services.

MAIN CONFERENCE SESSIONS

Traditional Lecture (60 minutes)

A structured, one-hour presentation including time for questions and answers. Optimal lecture proposals should offer clear takeaways and may include brief moments of audience reflection, guided analysis, polling, discussion, or applied examples.

Interactive Session (60 minutes; limited capacity of about 75 people)

These sessions are designed for active learning on a smaller scale than a pre-conference workshop. The best proposals will give attendees something specific to do: test a method, work through part of a record set, analyze a short case problem, use a map or worksheet, or take part in a structured discussion or activity. Proposals should explain what participants will do, how the activity will support learning, and what attendees will be able to apply afterward. Please note: power and computers are not provided. NGS will print approved handouts or worksheets. Presenters are responsible for any special supplies needed for the activity.

Spotlight Session (25 minutes)

Spotlight sessions are short, focused presentations built around one essential idea. They are ideal for a sharply defined case, a useful tool, a single record type, a teaching moment, or a method that can be explained clearly in less time. We especially encourage newer speakers, emerging projects, and experienced speakers with focused topics to consider this format.

Panel Discussion (25 minutes or 60 minutes)

A moderated conversation among two to four panelists, proposed as either a 60-minute or a 25-minute session. We also welcome a 25-minute spotlight session paired with a related 25-minute panel discussion on the same topic.

James Dent Walker Memorial Lecture Series

NGS and the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) seek proposals for (a) African American/black family history research lectures, and (b) lectures on any topic by lecturers of color. AAHGS members receive preference, but everyone is encouraged to submit proposals for inclusion in this series. Proposals may take the form of a traditional lecture, interactive session, or spotlight session.

Association of Professional Genealogists’ (APG) Track

APG is looking for proposals from APG members focused on any of these topics: initial educational options for becoming a pro; continuing education options and education planning during a professional genealogy career; an overview of key business skills needed to run your own genealogy business; and ethics, privacy, and professional standards.

Sponsored Lectures

We will accept a limited number of session proposals (lecture, spotlight, or interactive) from sponsoring organizations and companies. Sponsors pay speakers directly and must have a sponsorship agreement with NGS.

Other Creative Session Proposals

Do you have an innovative idea that doesn’t fit our standard formats? We welcome proposals for unique in-person-only experiences—such as a new interactive format, an unconventional presentation approach, or another idea for genealogical learning. Please contact the program chairs to discuss before submitting.

C. Session Themes & Topic Areas

Proposals should connect meaningfully to the conference theme, “Lakesides & Legacies.” Madison sits among lakes, with a history of Indigenous communities, state government, education, migration, and neighborhood life. The theme draws on both, inviting broad thinking about place and inheritance: the records families left behind, the communities they belonged to, the landscapes they knew, and the legacies we research, preserve, question, and share.

Proposals might address, but are not limited to

  • exploring Wisconsin, the Upper Midwest, and Great Lakes area research and repositories, including records, Indigenous history, military history, industries, transportation, immigration, settlement, and changing communities;
  • researching families in relation to place, including lakeshores, rivers, neighborhoods, farms, towns, cities, institutions, and borderlands;
  • reconstructing families, neighborhoods, and communities through land, court, tax, census, military, church, manuscript, business, school, and other records;
  • tracing family, community, or institutional legacies through land, law, religion, education, labor, civic life, artifacts, photographs, and records;
  • examining migration, settlement, displacement, mobility, and the ways families adapted to new places;
  • documenting people whose lives are harder to trace, including Indigenous communities, enslaved persons, immigrants, women, children, laborers, and others underrepresented in traditional records;
  • placing family history in historical, social, geographic, environmental, agricultural, or cultural context;
  • moving beyond familiar online sources to find records in courthouses, archives, libraries, historical societies, churches, museums, government offices, and other repositories;
  • using DNA, maps, databases, AI, and other digital tools to strengthen genealogical research and analysis; and
  • preserving, writing, teaching, or sharing family and community history with care and accuracy.

D. How to Propose

Speakers may submit up to five proposals electronically for the main conference, two for pre-conference workshops, two for the APG track, and two for FOCUS. Each submitted proposal should include the following information:

Session Title: maximum 200 characters

Session Summary: maximum 200 characters; used for the program brochure

Session Description: maximum 5000 characters (please don’t feel like you need to fill this space). This is the description that will appear in the conference program in Whova, and should, in an attendee-focused manner:

  • clearly explain the session’s focus and main topic(s);
  • describe what attendees will learn, consider, practice, or be able to do after the session;
  • explain how the session will support learning, whether through clear takeaways, applied examples, audience interaction, discussion, or hands-on practice;
  • identify how the topic connects to the “Lakesides & Legacies” theme; and
  • for interactive sessions and workshops, describe exactly what participants will do during the session.

Other Details: maximum 1000 characters; feel free to share an outline or additional details about your session which may be helpful to the program review committee

Session Format: select one format

Audience Level: (Beginner/Intermediate, Intermediate/Advanced, Advanced, or All Levels). If you select All Levels, explain how the session will provide meaningful takeaways for both new and experienced genealogists. For intermediate and advanced sessions, you may include entry points or brief context to help motivated beginners engage with the material without reducing the session’s depth.

Speaker Biography: maximum 2000 characters; will appear on conference website

Speaker Biography for compendium: 160 characters; we need a very short bio for the conference compendium

Recent Teaching Experience: maximum 5000 characters; list national or regional conferences, in-person workshops, institutes, or online courses where you have presented in the past three years. If your list is long, please give us only the highlights.

NGS members receive first consideration as speakers.

Newer speakers are encouraged to submit proposals. NGS may ask newer speakers to provide a recording of an earlier presentation, or you may point us to one or more online recordings, if available.

E. Previously Presented Content

NGS seeks sessions that bring new ideas, approaches, case studies, or formats to conference attendees. Our goal is to offer content that participants are unlikely to have seen elsewhere in substantially the same form.

Please indicate on the proposal form whether your presentation, or a substantially similar version, has been presented, proposed, or scheduled elsewhere before May 2027. This includes presentations given at regional, state, or national conferences; recorded for widely accessible platforms such as Legacy Family Tree Webinars; offered through free public webinars; or otherwise available free online. Priority will be given to new and original presentations. Sessions that have been significantly updated, reworked for this audience, or adapted to a different format may also be considered.

F. Speaker Honorarium and Expense Reimbursement

All accepted main conference and workshop speakers receive complimentary conference registration, valued at approximately $350.

Main Conference One-Hour Sessions

Main Conference One-Hour Sessions

For a single one-hour conference session (including interactive sessions), speakers receive a $300 honorarium and up to $500 in reimbursable travel expenses with receipts. Combined with complimentary registration, this represents a total compensation value of approximately $1,150.

For each additional one-hour main conference session, speakers receive a $300 honorarium and up to $200 in reimbursable travel expenses with receipts.

Main Conference Spotlight Sessions

Main Conference Spotlight Sessions

Spotlight Session speakers receive a $200 honorarium per 25-minute session. Spotlight Sessions do not include additional travel reimbursement. If you are selected for both a one-hour session and a Spotlight Session, you receive the one-hour session honorarium, the travel reimbursement associated with that session, and the $200 Spotlight honorarium.

Pre-Conference Workshops

Pre-Conference Workshops

Presenters of standard 3-hour workshops will receive a guaranteed honorarium of $500, plus $45 for each paid registrant above twelve (12). Compensation for workshops of other lengths will be adjusted accordingly and specified in the presenter agreement. Workshops with fewer than ten (10) paid registrations as of the enrollment review date may be canceled.

FOCUS

For a single one-hour FOCUS session, speakers receive a $200 honorarium and up to $200 in reimbursable travel expenses with receipts. Speakers also receive complimentary registration for FOCUS.

G. Speaker Selection Process

The program committee reviews main conference and workshop proposals through a multi-step evaluation process. In the initial phase, proposals are reviewed without submitter names so reviewers can focus on content quality, clarity, audience value, format fit, and relevance to the conference theme.

After the initial review, the committee builds a balanced program that reflects a range of session types, audience levels, topics, regions, communities, methods, and speaker perspectives. Final selections may also consider presenter expertise, prior teaching experience, and the overall needs of the conference program.

Main conference proposals and workshops are evaluated using the following criteria:

  • relevance to the conference theme;
  • quality and clarity of learning outcomes;
  • value and applicability for genealogists at the stated audience level;
  • fit between the topic, format, and proposed learning experience;
  • potential for in-person engagement;
  • presenter expertise relevant to the proposed topic; and
  • contribution to a balanced program in topic, geography, community, method, and perspective.

FOCUS proposals are evaluated for their relevance to society and library leaders, quality of learning outcomes, potential for in-person engagement, presenter expertise, and practical application.

H. Proposal Preparation

We have a free webinar, Becoming a Better Conference Speaker: Proposals and Preparations, on our YouTube channel. We encourage you to view the video before beginning the proposal process. Topics covered include lecture proposals, presentations, syllabus materials, communications, and delivery.

I. Proposal Acceptance

We will send acceptance notifications and speaker contracts in the fall of 2026. Syllabus material, due 1 March 2027, is required for each main conference lecture, spotlight presentation, and interactive session, and will be included in the compendium distributed to all conference registrants.

J. Session Recordings

As with the 2026 conference, NGS will provide main conference lecture recordings via the conference app to paid registrants until 15 August 2027, so every registrant (in-person and virtual) can watch every lecture. Workshops and interactive sessions will not be recorded; NGS has not yet determined whether FOCUS sessions will be recorded. All speakers agree to have their slides and audio (no speaker video) recorded live from the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center.

Using the same email address in Whova ensures a smooth transition from submitter to speaker and attendee. If you use a different email, duplicate accounts will be created requiring you to login separately.

Go To Submission Site

Questions?

Contact Lauren Henretty ([email protected]) with questions about session formats, the theme, or the submission process.