RETURN TO HOMEPAGE REGISTRATION VOLUNTEER EXHIBIT
FreeState Justice invites state and national partners to submit workshop proposals for the 2026 Pathway to Progress Summit. This summit brings together public health professionals, HIV advocates, service providers, and community health workers to share what is working, address what is not, and build what comes next.
We learn most from those doing the work. If you have a practice, model, or lesson worth sharing, we want to make space for it. We are accepting submissions for skill-building sessions, workshops, and presentations. Submit your proposal by Monday, July 6, 2026.
This Year's Tracks
Where does your work fit?
Track 1
Know Your Rights, Use Them
Knowing your rights means nothing if the system makes them impossible to access. This track connects legal advocacy, public health practice, and community strategy to show how organizations put the law to work for LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV.
Track 3
Building Organizations That Last
Sustainable organizations require intentional investment in people, systems, and community relationships. This track offers practical strategies for developing talent, strengthening organizational culture, and building infrastructure that holds up under pressure.
Track 2
Policy That Moves People
Good policy does not happen by accident. This track covers the full arc of advocacy, from building a legislative strategy to mobilizing communities and developing the next generation of advocates who can sustain the work long after session ends this track builds the advocacy capacity and mobilization infrastructure Southern
Track 4
Southern HIV Advocacy Mobilization Institute
The South is the epicenter of the HIV epidemic in the United States. In collaboration with Act Now: End AIDS and Us Helping Us, People Into Living, communities need to drive change at every level.
Proposal guidance
What to keep in mind
Audience
Attendees are movement professionals across a range of roles, including communications, fundraising, public health, organizing, advocacy, leadership, programs, operations, and finance. About half represent state-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, and the other half represent national organizations and funders.
Format
Workshop sessions are 60 minutes long. All sessions must include a strong interactive component. We expect more than Q&A. Formats that invite participants to draw on their own experience, such as facilitated discussion or structured group activities, are preferred.
Content
Sessions should address topics relevant to the day-to-day and strategic work of state-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations. The Summit uses a track-based learning model, allowing participants to engage more deeply with content aligned with their roles, identities, and learning goals.
Presenters
We strongly encourage submissions that include presenters from our state partners and BIPOC, trans, and/or gender-expansive individuals. Panel sessions composed entirely of white or male presenters are unlikely to be accepted without modification.
Presenter commitment: By submitting a proposal, you confirm that you and any co-presenters are committed to registering and fully participating if your proposal is accepted. All presenters must register by Monday, July 6, 2026. No more than four people, including the workshop lead, may present in a single session.