Engaging Seattle Conference

The Engaging Seattle Conference brings together Seattle University faculty and community partners to share how place-based community engagement can happen.

  1. Center for Community Engagement
  2. Engaging Seattle Conference

Engaging Seattle 2026: Coming Together for a More Just City

On June 17, 2026, Seattle University's Sundborg Center for Community Engagement is hosting a no-cost day of learning, storytelling, and reflection about what it means to work for a more just city of Seattle. Engaging Seattle is a unique, hyperlocal conference where attendees will offer and receive insights that can be applied to further their work as professionals, public servants, university faculty and staff, educators, and community-engaged practitioners in the city of Seattle. Session proposals are now being accepted through March 2, 2026. 

Invitation To Our Partners

The Sundborg Center for Community Engagement (CCE) invites you – Seattle University faculty, staff and representatives of community organizations – to propose sessions that provide history and context relevant to the work you do in classrooms or in the community, demonstrate models for how you’ve centered community voice or built justice-centered coalitions or teaching practices, or lead attendees to reflect on the values and skills they bring to community engagement. As attendees exchange lessons and insights about histories and current social issues impacting our city, we will focus on positive solutions, highlighting how we can come together to create change and inspire others to come alongside this work.  

The conference will feature keynote speakers (TBA) representing community leaders who will share their wisdom gained from working for a more just Seattle. In addition, pre-conference experiences on June 16 will offer no-cost opportunities to move through and learn about Seattle’s neighborhoods through museum visits, walking tours, workshops, and more! 

Contact us with questions. 

Conference presentation proposals accepted now through March 2, 2026.

Engaging Seattle is free to all attendees, though space for non-presenting attendees will be limited. Presenters will be guaranteed registration, so all are highly encouraged to submit a proposal. This is an opportunity to share knowledge, learn from, and build connections with those invested in similar challenges. Before submitting your proposal, choose which conference theme - listed below - that your presentation will best align with.

Conference Themes

  • What can Seattle University faculty and staff and community-based practitioners learn from Seattle’s community leaders – past and present – that might inspire our collective action today? 
  • How can we acknowledge and address the violent histories that shape Seattle’s neighborhoods, including the realities of redlining, gentrification, and the displacement and genocide of Coast Salish peoples? What practices of reparation, repair, and healing can we uplift? 
  • Why is it important to promote and share Seattle histories and current issues? What are some projects, lessons plans, activities, etc. that support this learning? 
  • What are some models or promising practices for centering the voices and self-determination of those impacted by our programs and classrooms? 
  • What are some spaces, programs, course assignments, events, etc. that promote community connection, including connection across a variety of differences (age, class, race, neighborhoods, political interests)? 
  • What wicked problems do community organizations and university staff face in building broad coalitions to address urgent challenges such as race and economic justice, climate change and sustainability, or rapid technological change and its social impacts? What strategies or insights help engage people in addressing these challenges? 
  • What are some models or promising practices for engaging young people and emerging adults in local politics or civics education more broadly? 
  • How can we design volunteer or engagement experiences to promote long-term commitments to a more just Seattle, nation, or world? 
  • How do organizations create opportunities for collective envisioning for a better future? 

  1. Steps To Apply As A Presenter:

  2. 1

    Choose Conference Theme

    Consider the conference theme above and decide on an area of your work you’d like to share about. This can be a project you’re proud of, a story that’s impacted you, a practice that guides you, or a challenge you’re facing. 

  3. 2

    Choose Your Format

    Decide how you hope to share the work. You might opt for: 

    • Panel: Present for 15-20 minutes as part of a panel. (The conference committee will group short presentations together and moderate Q&A.) 
    • Workshop: Host or co-host a 75-minute workshop that engages attendees in discussion, reflection, or skill development. 
    • Dialogue: Provide background about an issue or challenge you’ve encountered and lead or co-lead a discussion around that issue for a total of 75 minutes. 
    • Other format: Pitch an alternative format to the planning committee. 
  4. 3

    Optional Guidance

    The conference planning team is available to offer guidance and feedback as you prepare your proposals. Contact us with questions or to schedule a meeting to discuss your plans.  

  5. 4

    Apply

    To access the submission form, click APPLY NOW at the right. Submissions are due by March 2, 2026. You will need to prepare: 

    • Proposed Session Title 
    • Proposed Session Format (Panel presentation, workshop, dialogue, or other format) 
    • Names and contact details of co-presenters 
    • Which of the three conference focus areas (Seattle Stories, Coming Together, Looking Forward) align with your session? (You may select multiple.) 
    • 1-3 bullet points listing your goals for the session. What do you hope your attendees will gain or learn from your session? (100 words max) 
    • A brief description of your plan for the session. (300 words max) 

Review Process

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee of Seattle University faculty members and community partners. The committee will review proposals based on how well the proposal aligns with the conference theme, and how the plan for the session will contribute to the overall experience of the day. 

Our Goal: The committee will work to ensure the final agenda represents a balance in overall contributions from community partners and Seattle University members, reflecting our intended spirit of co-learning and exchange. They will also seek to balance the three conferences categories listed above and will prioritize proposals that create opportunities to address legacies of structural racism in Seattle neighborhoods.

Applicants will be notified if they are accepted by the end of March, and the final conference schedule will be shared in April.