09/01/2022

Career Development Around the World: A Call for Proposals

By Lisa Severy

The 2023 NCDA Global Career Development Conference theme is "Career Development Around the World: Making Connections and Increasing Access to Impact the Global Labor Market".

The conference planning team, which is headed by the 2022-23 NCDA President, Lakeisha Mathews, described the value of making global connections:

Career development is implemented by professionals working in a variety of settings with diverse populations. This includes the different populations served in the United States such as college students, displaced workers, retirees, the differently abled, LGBTQIA+ community members, international students, students in K-12, and more. This also includes professionals facilitating career development outside of the US, in countries around the world. (NCDA, 2022, para. 2)

Career development practitioners, facilitators, counselor educators, counselors, specialists and others are encouraged to submit proposals for the 2023 conference convening in Chicago, Illinois, June 29-July 1. Proposals are being accepted now until October 3, 2022 for four types of sessions:

1. Presentation: 60 - 70-minute traditional format.
2. Roundtable: Two consecutive 30-minute presentations at a roundtable that accommodates up to 20 people; no A/V equipment will be available. Roundtables provide a relaxed and interactive forum for presenters to share their work and ideas related to research, programs, and practical applications.
3. Professional Development Institute: 4-hour in-depth workshop to be held pre-conference.
4. Graduate Student Poster Sessions: Graduate students just joining our field have a great deal to share. If you are a graduate student, we highly encourage you to share information
   about your research, your practice, your program, or other thoughts on the field.

Proposals, which include session title, goals, objectives, description, abstract, summary and relevance to the theme, should reference relevant literature and NCDA publications as applicable. The NCDA Conference Program Committee will review all proposals. Final decisions will be based on quality, intended audience, and relation to the conference theme. The presentation chair
will be notified via email of acceptance or rejection of the proposal no later than Tuesday,
December 6, 2022. Paid registration for the NCDA conference is required of all presenters.

As the 2023 NCDA Conference Program Chair, I am looking forward to the conference next year. Some of my favorite NCDA conferences have been held in Chicago and I am so glad we are returning. I am especially excited by the global theme and can’t wait to see what our creative, innovative, and generous presenters offer to share.

According to the NCDA Conference Director (Powell, 2020), presentations typically generate positive feedback, such as

• The diversity of sessions is valuable.
• One of the best things about the conference is the speaker engagement with the audience.
• I gain information that I can share with clients.
• I liked the options for both formal presentation or roundtable sessions.

Former NCDA President, Seth Hayden (2020-2021), adamantly states the vitality of the field of career development is dependent upon NCDA and its conference presenters:

Professional associations provide a means of professional growth and a venue for connecting with colleagues in the field. Within this network of like-minded professionals, opportunity for engagement, involvement, and support occurs in formal and informal ways. The vitality of an association is dependent on the active participation of members in the functioning of the association. (Hayden, 2020, para. 1)

Anyone interested in submitting a proposal should first read the detailed instructions and then complete the online CFP form. Only electronic submissions using the CFP form will be accepted. The CFP deadline is October 3, 2022. Watch the conference website for more details about the 2023 conference: www.ncdaconference.org.

References

Hayden, S. (2020). The vitality of involvement in NCDA. Career Convergence. https://www.careerconvergence.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/326803/_self/CC_layout_details/false

NCDA. (2022). 2023 NCDA conference call for proposals. Author. https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/asset_manager/get_file/722063?ver=1

Powell, M. A. (2020). Inspiring Innovation, Increasing Diversity, and Promoting Social Justice in Career Practice. Career Convergence. https://www.careerconvergence.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/278113/_self/CC_layout_details/false

Lisa Severy, Ph.D, CCC, is the 2023 NCDA Conference Program Chair, and has been a leader in career development, counseling, and higher education since 1996. She served as the Director of Career Services at the University of Colorado Boulder from 2003 to 2020. Before joining the team in Colorado, she worked at the University of Florida for seven years. Lisa earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and has three graduate degrees, including a PhD in Counselor Education, from the University of Florida. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado. She is also an NCDA Certified Career Counselor. Lisa is on the Governing Council of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and is a past president of the National Career Development Association (2013-14).  She can be reached at lisasevery@yahoo.com