2026 PSW CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS

16th Annual Prevent Suicide Wisconsin Conference

Prevent Suicide Wisconsin, Wisconsin's statewide public private partnership for suicide prevention administered by Mental Health America of Wisconsin, and the Conference Planning Committee are accepting presentation proposals for the 2026 Prevent Suicide Wisconsin (PSW) Conference which will take place as an online event Tuesday June 16 and Wednesday June 17, 2026.

Session Proposal Deadline: Friday, February 13th
Notification emails will be sent on or before: Friday, March 13th

**Please note: Accepted presenters will need to have all details for their presentation submitted by Friday, May 1st so we may apply for Continuing Education Hours through NASW.

The conference theme is Strategies for Action and Hope, building on the newly released 2025 Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Plan. We are especially interested in presentations about building protective factors or addressing risk factors for today's youth, as the state plan found that suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for Wisconsin youth ages 10-19.

We are interested in applications that continue building on the perspective that suicide is a public health and social justice issue, and not only a concern for the field of behavioral health. We hope to uplift voices of lived experience and innovative approaches to addressing the risk and protective factors surrounding suicide. Proposals that demonstrate evidence-based or promising practices, enhance practical skills, support recovery, and energize people are invited to apply. All proposals should demonstrate adherence to appropriate language and messaging around suicide and suicide prevention. See resources on messaging here: https://www.preventsuicidewi.org/prevention-messaging. If including Wisconsin suicide data, presentations should use data from the state suicide prevention plan, DHS Suicide Data Dashboard, or other WI and national sources.

Selection will be based on the following criteria:
1. Presenter qualifications and responsiveness,
2. promotion of evidence-based information/best practices,
3. integration of the experiences of communities at high/disproportionate risk of suicide (Native American, Black/African American, LGBTQ+ Youth, Military Service Members and Veterans, Men in the Middle years, Rural/Farm populations, etc.), and
4. the direct inclusion of presenters with lived experience of suicide loss, attempts, and/or thoughts (Note: lack of presenters with lived experience will not disqualify proposal).

All proposals must be submitted online using the survey below. Please email Kelsey at kelsey@mhawisconsin.org with any questions.

Question Title

* 1. Presentation Title

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* 2. If selected to present, do you have a preference for day? To the extent that we are able, we will try to build the agenda with presenter preferences in mind.

No preference

Tuesday, June 16

Wednesday, June 17

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* 3. Please choose the track with which your presentation aligns. Conference participants may choose a track that aligns with their work or experience.

Coalition Development and Systems Change - (e.g., How to Start a County Coalition, Writing Grants for Community-Based Programs, Advocacy)

Youth Prevention or Education System - (e.g., Implementing School-Based Programs, Data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey)

Health and Behavioral Health Care - (e.g., Zero Suicide, Monitoring and Managing Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Safety Planning, Screening and Assessment)

Lived Experience - (e.g., peer support, lived experience with suicide loss, thoughts/feelings/attempts of suicide or self-injury)

Crisis Intervention - (e.g., Emergency Services, County Crisis Services)

Other track (please specify)

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* 4. Given the virtual format of the conference, we want to ensure attendees can engage with the content (as opposed to just watching a presentation). What tools will you use to encourage participant engagement? You may choose more than one.

Breakout rooms for discussion

Polling

Q&A

Panel

Chat

Videos

Other (please specify)

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* 5. For which audience is your presentation content best suited?

Beginners/101 - people and professionals new to the suicide prevention and adjacent fields

Intermediate - people and professionals in adjacent fields to suicide prevention who have baseline knowledge about mental health, substance use, recovery, peer support, crisis intervention, etc.

Advanced - people and professionals actively working in the suicide prevention field for 5+ years

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* 6. Please identify three learning objectives. These are specific things individuals will have learned by the end of the session: e.g., "participants will be able to understand/learn/describe/name concrete strategies/etc."

Objective 1

Objective 2

Objective 3

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* 7. Please provide a BRIEF abstract of the presentation as you would like it to appear on the conference website and any promotional materials (max. 250 words). The next question will ask for a detailed description.

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* 8. Please provide a detailed description of the presentation. This is for submission of your proposal to NASW-WI (National Association of Social Workers-Wisconsin Chapter) to seek approval for Continuing Education Hours and not for the PSW website/conference participants.

Question Title

* 9. Lead Presenter:

First Name

Last Name

Pronouns (Optional-e.g., she/her, they/them, he/him)

Credentials

Organization/Affiliation

Title/Role

Address

City

State

Zip

Phone

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* 10. Please provide a BRIEF bio (Max. 250 words).

Please list name, title, role, and bio for co-presenters (if any).

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* 11. Presenter 2:

First Name

Last Name

Pronouns (optional)

Credentials

Organization/Affiliation

Title/Role

Question Title

* 12. Presenter 2 bio (max. 250 words):

Question Title

* 13. Presenter 3:

First Name

Last Name

Pronouns (optional)

Organization/Affiliation

Title/Role

Question Title

* 14. Presenter 3 bio (max. 250 words):

Question Title

* 15. Have you presented this or a similar presentation at other events (including at a prior PSW conference)?

Yes. If yes, please identify someone involved in organizing that event as one of your references below and indicate which person that is.

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* 16. If you have presented this or a similar presentation at other events, please upload your slides here. Presentation slides will need to be submitted to MHA by Friday, May 1st to be considered for Continuing Education Hours.

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* 17. Please provide name and contact information (phone and/or email) for 2-3 references who have seen you present or who could speak to the content you would be presenting:

Reference 1

Reference 2

Reference 3