An Update on Conference Site Selection
A great number of NCFR members have reached out to me in recent months in response to my spring Report column on the myriad challenges in selecting conference site locations. Thank you to everyone who sent feedback to me, the NCFR Board of Directors, and to other NCFR staff members. We truly value your comments and take them into consideration as best we can.
While NCFR has often faced one difficulty or another that has impacted its conferences—natural disasters, discriminatory policies, a global pandemic, just to name a few—additional political and current-event issues over the last several years have proved especially difficult to our conference planning.
Increasing concerns about access to full health care for pregnant women; the safety of cities; the cost of accommodations, air travel, and food; political unrest; and state-mandated travel boycotts have made it an almost insurmountable challenge to find a suitable location for the NCFR conference. In short, there are not many location options that will meet the requirements of the entire NCFR membership. If you missed this column, you may read it in full here: ncfr.org/conference-locations-may-2023.
Another major challenge in selecting a conference location is that change is inevitable, and sites selected under current acceptable conditions may no longer be viable 5-7 years later when the conference commences. Changes outside of NCFR’s control can happen between the time the hotel contract is signed and the date of the conference. For example, the state of California is set to repeal its law banning state employees from traveling to 26 states due to legislation in those states that discriminates based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Californians argued this policy had caused unintended consequences by keeping academics and policymakers from visiting over half of the country. Certainly, we have heard over the years from NCFR members in California who have felt conflicted. Do they travel to the NCFR conference on their own dime, and against the wishes of the state, or do they stay home in compliance with the intended purpose of the travel ban?
Even among the handful of site locations that meet our needs, available hotels for our conference dates in 2026 and 2027 were in short supply. In fact, the only available location meeting our criteria for both 2026 and 2027 is Minneapolis, Minnesota(as a quick reminder, our 2024 conference will be in Bellevue, Washington, and our 2025 conference will be in Baltimore, Maryland).
This summer, we asked members to complete a three-question survey as to whether they would rather attend an in-person conference in Minneapolis two years in a row or attend an all-virtual conference in 2027. The majority of NCFR members voted to attend an in-person conference in Minneapolis in both 2026 and 2027 – 61 percent (Minneapolis) to 39 percent (Virtual). Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete this important survey.
Moving forward, a committee of NCFR members and staff will be created to study and recommend potential changes to future NCFR conferences. Recommendations might pertain to the conference location, time of year, and even whether the conference should continue to meet annually. Much is on the table for discussion.
Staffing Changes at NCFR
2023 has been a time of staffing changes and transitions at NCFR. As many of you know, Dawn Cassidy is transitioning to retirement after 34 years at NCFR as director of Family Life Education. She has already moved to part-time status for the remainder of 2023 and will focus on special projects. Jennifer Crosswhite now oversees all education programs as senior director of research, family, and policy education. In May, Jessica Oswald joined the staff ranks as education manager and will focus her time on the CFLE credential and associated projects such as the CFLE Academic Program Review as well as managing many educational programs.
In the last couple months, we have bid farewell to two longtime NCFR staffers: Maddie Hansen and Jay McGraw. Maddie has overseen membership programs since 2019 (first as member manager, and later as director of development and member affairs). Before this, Maddie served as the education and certification coordinator beginning in 2017. Throughout these various roles, Maddie has been a reliable fixture that members could always depend and rely on and worked tirelessly to understand how to better meet their needs. Jay has served as NCFR director of technology since 2017. His role has encompassed managing everything from data and web integrations to computer hardware and software, and absolutely everything in between. Although tech matters can often be confusing and intimidating, Jay could always be counted on to explain things in an easygoing and patient manner.
Both Jay and Maddie have lent their ingenuity, enthusiasm, and passion to NCFR in creating solid and durable procedures, innovations, solutions, that will continue to guide NCFR’s work forward in their wake. They are both moving on to the next stage of their respective careers, and although we will fondly miss them, we wish them well.
Several other longtime staff members have shifted recently into new positions: Jane Reilly (manager of governance and board operations), Ginnie O’Neill (director of membership engagement and development), and Trip Sullivan (director of marketing and communications). Meanwhile, Bjorn Willms became the new office manager in March, and two part-time program assistants moved to full-time status in August. They are Kyle Armon (membership and education), and Kristal Johnson (communications and education). Please join me in welcoming these staff into new roles and positions.
At a recent staff meeting where we discussed possible projects for the coming year, we took time to reflect on just how much had changed in the last year that affects the work of NCFR’s staff and affects the work of NCFR’s members. We all agreed that there would inevitably only be more change coming in the months and years ahead, and that we will have to continue to try and find new ways of working. Indeed, the only constant we can count on is change itself. And while changing staff roles and new ways of holding conferences are challenging, they are necessary steps toward NCFR’s continued growth and success. Here’s to the journey ahead.
