Your Pathway to Becoming a HOPE 2027 Presenter
Thank you for considering sharing your expertise, your lived experience, and your passion with the HOPE 2027 – 28th International Families & Fathers Conference. Whether you are a first-time presenter or a longtime member of our Fathers and Families Coalition of America community, we are honored that you are considering joining us. Our goal is to create a conference experience where presenters, participants, researchers, practitioners, parents, community leaders, and partners learn with one another—not simply from one another. We believe every presenter helps shape the experience, strengthen our learning community, and leave a lasting impact on families throughout the world.
Why We Encourage Early Submission
Workshop proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis. Although proposals will continue to be accepted through September 30, 2026, submitting your proposal earlier provides the greatest opportunity for:
- Preferred presentation day consideration
- Greater workshop scheduling flexibility
- Placement within specialized learning series
- Balanced topic selection across conference tracks
- Earlier confirmation and planning for your travel
This year HOPE 2027 will feature a thoughtfully curated workshop schedule with fewer traditional workshop rooms and expanded Partner Pavilion learning experiences. While our submission deadline is September 30, available workshop opportunities may be filled before that date.
Your Presenter Pathway
- Submit your Workshop proposal, HOPE Talk proposal, or both.
- Our team will review your submission and send an acknowledgement confirming it has been received.
- If your workshop is approved, you will receive an invitation to complete your conference registration within seven (7) business days.
- During registration, you will have the opportunity to indicate your preferred presentation day.
- After workshop submissions have been completed, our Program Committee will thoughtfully develop the final conference schedule by considering presenter preferences, topic balance, room capacity, specialized learning series, and the overall participant experience.
- Once your conference registration has been completed, your workshop placement will be confirmed within the official conference program.
Helping Us Build HOPE Together
HOPE 2027 is made possible through the partnership between our presenters, participants, sponsors, exhibitors, and our official conference host hotel. By reserving your accommodations within the official Hilton Los Angeles Airport Hotel room block, you are helping strengthen the conference while allowing us to continue providing exceptional educational experiences and meaningful networking opportunities for our community.
Because presenter participation is part of our conference partnership commitments, accepted presenters are asked to complete both their conference registration and reserve accommodations within the official HOPE 2027 hotel block within seven (7) business days of acceptance.
If these steps are not completed within the requested timeframe, we may release the presentation opportunity to another qualified presenter on our waiting list. This allows us to finalize the conference schedule in a timely manner while providing opportunities to as many outstanding presenters as possible.
HOPE Talk Selection Process
Applicants submitting a HOPE Talk, whether independently or together with a workshop proposal, will continue through our HOPE Talk review process. HOPE Talks are reviewed separately from workshop proposals, with final selections anticipated during September 2026.
Our committee looks for presentations that inspire, influence, and create lasting impact through authentic stories, innovative ideas, practical strategies, and messages that strengthen children, families, and communities.
You Belong Here.
Whether your expertise comes from research, professional practice, lived experience, leadership, parenting, advocacy, education, or community service, your voice has the potential to encourage someone, equip someone, or change someone's future. We invite you to bring your best ideas, your authentic story, and your passion for strengthening families. Thank you for considering becoming part of the HOPE 2027 community. We look forward to welcoming you to Los Angeles.
A Historic Evolution of the International Families & Fathers Conference
HOPE TALK 2027
A New Generation of Voice, Purpose, and Possibility
After 27 years of keynote speakers and traditional plenary panels, we are creating a new conference experience: a continuous sunrise of diverse voices, lived wisdom, bold ideas, and messages of hope.
Your Experience May Be the Message Someone Else Needs
You may be submitting your first presentation. You may be beginning your professional career, leading change as a teenager, parenting a young family, conducting important research, developing a curriculum, or writing a book rooted in lessons that could help others. You may be a couple ready to share fifteen meaningful minutes from your journey.
You may be 19 years old or 104 years old. Your age does not determine the value of your voice. Your title does not determine the power of your message. What matters is whether you can bring truth, purpose, courage, generosity, and hope into the room.
Whether you are emerging, established, or beginning again, you belong in the conversation.
Before You Submit
What Makes a HOPE Talk?
A HOPE Talk is a focused, high-integrity, 15-minute presentation created to leave people with more than information. It should leave them with renewed possibility, meaningful reflection, practical wisdom, and a reason to move forward.
Every HOPE Talk must be:
It awakens courage, possibility, healing, or renewed belief.
It shifts thinking and encourages people to act with intention.
It offers value that can continue long after the presentation ends.
It respects the audience, honors truth, and reflects ethical purpose.
The Spirit Behind the Stage
Ikigai and Ichi-go Ichi-e
Ikigai — Purpose, Passion, Value, and Contribution
Your HOPE Talk should emerge from the intersection of what matters deeply to you, what you uniquely carry, what can serve others, and what the world may need at this moment.
Ichi-go Ichi-e — One Time, One Meeting
This precise audience, this room, this moment, and this opportunity will never occur in exactly the same way again. Your presentation should honor the present, celebrate human connection, and help participants look toward the future with greater mindfulness, gratitude, and hope.
Bring value. Bring passion. Bring your uniqueness. Bring the message that only you can deliver.
We Invite the Full Diversity of Human Experience
We welcome first-time speakers, experienced presenters, professionals at the beginning of their careers, youth and community leaders, parents, couples, researchers, educators, practitioners, advocates, authors, curriculum developers, healers, innovators, and individuals whose lived experience carries wisdom.
Diversity and inclusion are not side themes of HOPE 2027. They are central to its purpose. We are creating a stage where different generations, cultures, professions, communities, identities, abilities, perspectives, and pathways can contribute to one shared experience of hope.
Imagine the Experience
Fifteen Minutes. One Stage. A Message the World May Need.
Imagine yourself standing before a room filled with people who serve children, families, fathers, organizations, schools, agencies, and communities. There is no podium separating you from them. There is only your presence, your preparation, your energy, your message, and the relationship you create in that moment.
Every Presentation Has a Sunset. Every New Voice Has a Sunrise.
At the conclusion of your fifteen minutes, your presentation will gracefully sunset. The stage will then transition to the next speaker, creating their sunrise. One message will flow into another, producing a continuous rhythm of stories, insights, lessons, research, lived experiences, and possibilities.
This is not a competition for attention. It is a shared movement of voices, each contributing light to the experience.
This Is a Stage for Contribution, Not Promotion
A HOPE Talk is not a sales presentation. It is not a place to promote consulting services, persuade participants to purchase products, or market books, curricula, programs, or materials.
Authors, curriculum developers, consultants, and presenters are warmly invited to apply, but the fifteen minutes must be dedicated to the message—not the transaction. Share why your work matters, what you have learned, what transformed you, and what could help others.
Leave people feeling an overabundance of insight, encouragement, possibility, and hope.
A Historic Conference Transition
We Are No Longer Building the Conference Around Keynote Speakers
After 27 years, traditional keynote speakers and plenary panels will no longer define the heart of our conference. HOPE 2027 begins a new generation—one that distributes the stage, expands participation, elevates authentic voices, and allows multiple people to contribute to the collective experience.
This is the new generation of hope. This is HOPE Talk 2027.
Come With Synergy. Come With Energy. Come With HOPE.
Imagine what could begin because you were willing to share fifteen intentional minutes. Imagine who may feel seen, encouraged, challenged, or inspired because you stepped forward. Bring your story. Bring your research. Bring your wisdom. Bring your purpose.
Your message matters. Your moment matters. You belong here.
Submit Your HOPE Talk or Workshop Proposal Review Presenter Registration Explore Meet the Authors View Official Hotel Information
The Vision of HOPE 2027
A Message from Dr. James C. Rodríguez, MSW
President and Chief Executive Officer
Fathers and Families Coalition of America
The Physics of Progress: From Grassroots to Global Impact
In 1996, we did not begin with a strategic plan. We began with a heartbeat. The Fathers and Families Coalition of America was born from a grassroots collective in Arizona grounded in one enduring truth: families matter. By 1999, we were helping secure some of the nation’s earliest grants focused on young fathers, workforce development, education, and life skills. We were building programs, services, and resources that moved people forward.
Yet over time, something deeper became clear. Programs matter. Resources matter. Services matter. But none of them are enough on their own. The machinery can be strong, but without hope, momentum fades. Hope is the fuel.
For 2027, our theme is HOPE — not as a passive wish, but as a functional force. HOPE is action. HOPE is movement. HOPE is what helps people move from where they are to where they are meant to be.
The Architecture of Hope
At HOPE 2027, we are embracing what we call a micro-to-macro-to-meso approach. Change starts at the micro level — the individual heart. When that heart is strengthened, it overflows into the meso — the family. And when families are fortified, they transform the macro — our communities, organizations, and systems.
That is why, alongside our traditional workshops, we are introducing HOPE Talks as a permanent part of our conference experience. A workshop provides the tools for the trade. A HOPE Talk provides the spark for the journey. These 15-minute sessions are designed to move hearts, shift thinking, and create momentum that lasts long after the conference ends.
Radical Generosity & The Sense of Belonging
At the Fathers and Families Coalition of America, we do not simply host sessions. We build bridges of destiny. Our work is rooted in generosity, inclusion, and belonging. We are not inviting you into a slot on a schedule. We are inviting you into a community.
We envision a space where the researcher from Almaty, the practitioner from Australia, the advocate from Puerto Rico, and the parent from Los Angeles can sit at the same table. We believe your time, your talent, your lived experience, and your voice deserve to be received with respect, care, and reciprocity.
The Three I’s
Inspiration — the spark that shifts a mindset.
Influence — the weight of your character and expertise that moves others to action.
Impact — the measurable change that outlasts the few minutes you spend on stage.
Every HOPE Talk should offer at least three Hope Nuggets — clear, practical takeaways that participants can carry back into their homes, classrooms, agencies, staff meetings, and communities. We are looking for presentations that do more than inform. We are looking for messages that move the needle, build belonging, and create action.
An Invitation to Lead
My colleagues, this is more than a submission process. This is an invitation. An invitation to lead. An invitation to share. An invitation to make a difference.
I encourage you to approach this opportunity with courage, creativity, and confidence. Bring your boldest ideas, your most healing-centered practices, and your most authentic presence. Your message matters. Your story matters. The hope you carry may be exactly what someone else needs.
We are building something that will continue to grow for years to come — a platform where voices are heard, experiences are honored, and hope becomes action.
With gratitude and respect,
Dr. James C. Rodríguez, MSW
President and Chief Executive Officer
Fathers and Families Coalition of America
What Is a HOPE Talk?
A HOPE Talk is a focused, high-impact 15-minute presentation designed to inspire, influence, and create meaningful action. It is shorter than a traditional workshop, but it is meant to leave a lasting impression.
While a workshop gives attendees deeper training, tools, and structured learning, a HOPE Talk is designed to provide a spark — a moment of clarity, courage, healing, or vision that moves people forward.
Every HOPE Talk should deliver at least three Hope Nuggets — practical, memorable takeaways that attendees can carry into their homes, workplaces, agencies, classrooms, and communities.
We are looking for HOPE Talks that combine authentic voice, lived experience, practical wisdom, and purpose. The best HOPE Talks do more than inform — they move the needle, build belonging, and leave people with something they can use.
Important Submission Instructions
Please read carefully before completing your proposal.
Before you submit, we strongly encourage you to review the required presenter registration form all the way through. HOPE 2027 is designed with reciprocity in mind. A presenter may also choose to participate more fully as an attendee, exhibitor, Meet the Authors participant, or through other conference opportunities.
What You Need to Know
There are two proposal pathways within this application:
- Workshop Proposal — a 60 to 75-minute session focused on practical learning, professional development, and participant engagement.
- HOPE Talk Proposal — a 15-minute presentation centered on inspiration, influence, and impact, including at least three actionable Hope Nuggets.
You may submit for a workshop only, a HOPE Talk only, or request consideration for both.
If you are submitting for a HOPE Talk only: enter “Non-Applicable” in the Workshop Proposal section and select “Other” for Target Audience.
If you are submitting for a Workshop only: enter “Non-Applicable” in the HOPE Talk section.
If you are submitting for both: complete all relevant sections fully.
Presenter Requirements
- All accepted presenters must complete conference registration to be fully accepted.
- All accepted presenters must reserve their hotel room within the Hilton LAX and official FFCA hotel block.
- All presenters must complete the Agreement and Understanding of the Process and confirm review of presentation standards.
- All required proposal fields must be completed for your submission to be fully considered.
The proposal form will ask for your basic information, including your name, email, organization, mobile number, mailing address, applicable graduate degrees, and confirmation that you understand the registration and hotel requirements.
These instructions are here to help you present your ideas with clarity, strength, and intention. We appreciate your willingness to contribute your expertise, your voice, and your vision to HOPE 2027.
With gratitude,
Dr. James C. Rodríguez, MSW
President and Chief Executive Officer
Fathers and Families Coalition of America
HOPE 2027
28th International Families & Fathers Conference
Hilton LAX Hotel
5711 W. Century Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90045
April 11–15, 2027
We are excited to welcome accepted presenters to HOPE 2027 – The 28th International Families & Fathers Conference. As you complete your presenter registration, please review the following important details regarding registration options, meal selections, add-on experiences, optional training opportunities, and final confirmation requirements.
Opening Reception
Sunday, April 11, 2027 | 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Open Table Resource and Coalition Cafe Network Reception
Presenter Registration Options
All accepted presenters must complete conference registration. Presenter registration options for HOPE 2027 are:
- Presenter Only Conference Registration without meals — $325.00
- Presenter Only Conference Registration including lunch — $375.00
- Presenter Only Conference Registration including lunch and dinner — $425.00
- Presenter Only Conference Registration including lunch, dinner, and Meet the Authors or vendor table pathway — $450.00
Registration Policy
FFCA has a strict no-cancellations, no-refunds, and no-transfers policy, in line with other nonprofit conferences.
Completing registration confirms your acceptance of this policy.
Meal Acknowledgment
Please select your meal preferences during registration. You will be prompted to confirm your meal selection before finalizing your registration.
Meal options: Regular • Vegetarian • Vegan • Gluten-Free
These selections ensure accuracy for our caterers. There is no fee change associated with meal choice.
Add-On Experiences & Preconference Specialty Training Programs
Enhance your conference experience with optional professional development, certification opportunities, and special add-on experiences. These add-ons are available for an additional fee and may provide CEUs or certificates of completion.
| Program / Experience | Date | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Practitioner Credential Course | Monday, April 12, 2027 | $150.00 |
| Nurturing Fathers Program Training of Trainers | Monday, April 12, 2027 | $150.00 |
| Topgolf El Segundo Presenter Discount | Monday, April 12, 2027 | 5:30 PM–8:30 PM | $40.00 |
| Pacific Coast - Hollywood Bus Tour | Tuesday, April 13, 2027 | 4:45 PM–9:00 PM | $40.00 |
| QPR Suicide Prevention Training | Wednesday, April 14, 2027 | $75.00 |
| DiSC Course Certification Training | Thursday, April 15, 2027 | $100.00 |