Kathryn M. Rybka
Apply to serve as one of the conference co-chairs for the 87th Annual International Conference in Tampa, Florida, October 3-8, 2022. If you have a colleague or a good friend who is also an ABC member, you may apply as a team. Applications are due by November 30, 2021.
The role of a conference co-chair is a critical one for ABC. Co-Chairs are responsible for
(1) creating a Call for Proposals;
(2) promoting the conference with the assistance of ABC's HQ team, which includes the Interim Executive Director, Business Manager, and Technology Coordinators, along with the Conference Planning Committee;
(3) coordinating the proposals submitted using ABC's powerful event software and and managing the submission review process;
(4) visiting the conference site with the ABC HQ team;
(5) coordinating the creation of the program: organizing the presenters into sessions and creating the program text;
(6) supervising the implementation of the conference program onsite;
(7) supervising the implementation of conference virtual programming;
(8) engaging attendees in-person and virtually through meet and greet, moderating, social, and networking events; and
(9) completing a post-conference survey and evaluation.
To enhance the value of knowledge gained via experience, we ask one of the co-chairs to stay on as a member of the Conference Planning Committee for the following year to help guide/assist the two newly appointed chairs. The tasks involved remain the same, but this person does not make the pre-conference visit. What this means is that the two co-chairs selected will also have one of the co-chairs from a prior year's conference as a team member.
For your work, you receive the following:
1. Undying appreciation of the entire ABC community
2. Travel and lodging costs for both pre-conference visit and conference, and
3. A stipend of $1000 paid post-conference.
Qualified candidates should be comfortable with learning and using conference management software and spreadsheets; candidates should also be available for weekly conference team meetings. Time demands will be steep at the submission deadline period (April), late August and September. There are additional hours needed the weeks prior the conference. Commitment is required the entire conference week.
To apply, please log on to our website and upload a short, one-page letter of application and a copy of your CV to the conference co-chair application.
If you have questions, please email either Marilyn Buerkens (ABC Business Manager) or Kathryn Rybka (ABC's Interim Executive Director). We would be happy to arrange a phone call or video/Zoom call. You may, of course, also contact previous conference chairs/co-chairs.
