Frequently Asked Questions: PRESENTATION SUBMISSION

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Presentations may be either individual, or tandem teams of Public Safety and Behavioral Health Professionals and 60 minutes minutes in length with 15 additional minutes for Q&A. Presenting in tandem is strongly encouraged.

Consider innovative and impactful initiatives that you have been part of that should be shared with others. Presenters are encouraged to consider alignment with the conference theme and focus on one or more of the following suggested topical areas:

• Recognizing drug-induced behavioral symptoms and best ways to respond
• Compassion or work fatigue; Finding balance in your life
• Addressing burnout
• Trauma-informed response 
• Dealing with Death and Managing Grief
• The Importance and Science of Sleep / Sleep Hygeine
• Parenting in General /Caregiving as a First Responder
• Preserving and Improving Interpersonal Relationships
• Working with other sectors of the helping professions, such as Social Workers
• Peer support and sharing lived experience
• Showing humanity within first responder roles 
• Understanding the cultures of first responders
• Finding common ground in the community 
• Addressing fear and shame associated with addiction, isolation, depression, etc…
• How to address different types of addictions such as gambling; work, substances, etc
• Effective Communication/De-escalation
• Personal Safety
• Public Safety and Harm Reduction
• Sharing Resources across Disciplines
• Working w/Community Members who have Autism, Dementia, Homeless, or other specific mental health issues
• Cancer in First Responders
• Crisis Response

• Who is your audience?
• What do you have to offer the participants?
• How do we encourage the participants to think/do their work differently?
• How do we challenge participants to confront the hardest issues and overcome challenges?
• How do we help participants perform their roles exceptionally well?
• How do we help develop participants as exceptional professionals?
• How do we prepare participants to succeed now?
• How do we prepare participants to succeed in the future?
• How do we help participants see the work they perform as a catalyst to making our communities and the world a better place?
• What do you want participants to walk away with? *these may be either tangible or knowledge outcomes.
• Most of the attendees are experienced leaders and professionals, so start beyond the basics.
• Provide resources, handouts, and checklists for participants to utilize when they return to their organizations and jurisdictions.
• Your program and language must be inclusive of all participants at the conference.
• Research claims and data should be valid, reliable and relevant to the fields of public safety, behavioral health, mental health, and/or substance use disorders.

•  Provide an educational experience that is inclusive of all attendees, unless explicitly explained in the program summary.
• Register as attendees for the conference (free as a presenter), and attend in-person on the day of your presentation – please arrive at least 30 minutes prior to your presentation if you are not attending the full day.
• Share all Conference communication with co-presenters (if applicable).
• Acknowledge no schedule or program changes will be made after January 30, 2024
• Provide program presentation materials to AZ Summit by January 30, 2024. Materials will be published online immediately following the conference.
• Undertake all aspects associated with printing session handouts (creation, printing, distributing, etc.). AZ Summit will not provide any on-site copying for presenters.
• Be aware, a “session monitor” will be present to manage program evaluation and monitor on- time program ending. Session content should accommodate for a 2-minute introduction and a 5- minute conclusion from a session monitor.
• Presenters will receive a complimentary registration on their conference registration.
• Participants enjoy interaction to learn from one another in small groups while sharing great ideas from these discussions.
• Do not use the time on anything unessential to the learning experience or learning out-comes.

Deadline for submissions is November 21st 2023. Presenters will be notified the following week regarding selection.

The main speaker, and up to two co-presenters will receive complimentary registrations for the full conference, which includes breakfast, complimentary beverages for the day, and lunch on Wednesday and Thursday.