Call For First Ladies Conference Presentation Proposals
First Ladies conference will celebrate '250 Years of First Ladies Making History.'
The First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) in partnership with the First Ladies Initiative at American University’s School of Public Affairs seeks presentation proposals for the upcoming conference “250 Years of First Ladies Making History.”
Organizers are particularly interested in proposals exploring the ways American presidential spouses or a group of first ladies made history for the conference slated for May 15.
The conference marks the nation’s founding 250th anniversary being celebrated throughout 2026, Diana Carlin, president of FLARE, tells East Wing Magazine. It also is recognition of the role of first ladies from the American Revolutionary War era, particularly the involvement of Martha Washington and Abigail Adams, Carlin added.
Colleen Shogan, former Archivist of the United States and CEO of In Pursuit, will keynote the conference luncheon with an interview by Anita McBride, FLARE founding member, a Gould Award Recipient, co-director of In Pursuit and Director of the First Ladies Initiative at American University.
Alan Lowe, host of the American FLOTUS podcast, will moderate the panel following the luncheon that will feature FLARE members who are authors of In Pursuit essays on first ladies. The discussion will later air as a podcast.
A patrons event will be held the evening before the conference with panelists as invited guests.
The framework of the conference will include two roundtable panels that will jointly cover the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Presentations should last no more than 10 minutes to accommodate a Q & A session with the moderator and audience.
Interested applicants should submit an abstract with a title, a description of the proposed first lady and her contributions of no more than 300 words and a biography of no more than 250 words. The deadline for submissions is March 20, 2026. Notifications will be made by March 25.
Once submissions have been selected, the full schedule of the conference will be released. The registration fee for attending the conference is $50 for FLARE members and $100 for non-members. The conference will also be livestreamed with registration for FLARE members $5 and for non-members $10. More information about the conference and how to submit proposals can be found here.