Call for Presentations Part 1

Thank you for applying to speak at the Zero Waste National Conference 2026!

This is a two-part form. Part one is your speaker bio information. Part two is your presentation information. We will ask you for duplicate information (name, etc.) to ensure the speaker information can be matched with the presentation information.

Part 1

Instructions (Part 1 of 2 Forms):

When you click Submit on this form, you will be directed to a second form (Part 2) to provide additional details about your presentation.

Directions

  • Presentation Title: Enter the title of your presentation here, and be sure to use the exact same title for Part 2.
  • Solitary Speakers: Please fill out both forms. That’s it!
  • Panelists: One of you will act as panel leader or moderator and fill out the forms.
    • Ideally, the panel leader or moderator should complete Part 1 separately for each panelist and then complete Part 2 one time with all panelist information. This is the fastest way to ensure consistency and a complete submission.
    • You will need all the information for each panelist, including social media and a non-selfie photo.
    • Link to this form – Part 1 – Speaker Information. Please bookmark it! You’ll submit this form once for each panelist.
    • If that isn’t possible, the panel leader should complete Part 2 with all panelist information, and coordinate with each panelist to submit their own Part 1 using the exact same presentation title. Other panelists should skip Part 2.
    • Please submit one shared slide deck for your panel.
  • The slide deck deadline is September 23rd. The earlier the better. We would like to make sure your slides present well on our system.
  • No more than one presentation or panel per application.
  • Use full URLs when we ask for web addresses — not @mybrandedaccount or socialmedia.com/mybrandedaccount. Help us make you look good: https://socialmedia.com/mybrandedaccount

Contact Information

This is your name as it will appear on our site. If you have a Ph.D., please use "Jonny Jones, Ph.D." rather than "Dr. Jonny Jones."
Why do we ask for your name twice? It helps us organize our site. No prefixes or suffixes… Just your given name or nick name. "Jonny" or "Jon".
This is your family name only. No suffixes or prefexes… just your family name. "Jones"
A direct contact cell number please. No front-office or staff numbers.

Profile Information

Please see the Photo Guidelines- shown below in the blue background. We really want to put you in your best light. We can only do that if you provide an image of you that does the same. Please rename your file before you upload to this convention for jpg or png format: jonny_jones_ru2026.png
Two or three short paragraphs, 800 characters or less.

Presentation Title

Please enter the same title for part 2 of this form so we can connect your presentation to you.

Social Media

Please enter your personal Linked-in page, but your business-specific Facebook and Instagram pages.

Other Panelists

If you are the only presenter, leave this field blank. If there are other panelists enter their names here. This allows us to link the profiles.

Speaker Comments and Questions

Please add your questions or comments for the committee.

Consent

Speaker Consent*
I consent to my session being recorded and authorize Northern California Recycling Association to share the recording and my slide deck online, including on their websites, YouTube, and social media.

Tips for Choosing a Photo for Upload

Why are we requesting this? We want to present you at your best!

  • Professional studio photos are acceptable.
  • The image format is either .jpg or .png. Please change any .jpeg extensions to .jpg.
  • Please use the file naming format: first_last_zws_2026.jpg or first_last_zws_2026.png
    • For instance:
      • jonny_jones_nzwc_2026.png
      • frodo_baggins_nzwc_2026.jpg
    • This way if we disconnect your image from your profile by mistake, we can find your image easier by search.
  • The photo should be recent – within the last year. If it’s the same photo on your website for years, we require a new photo.
  • If you don’t have studio lighting, take the photo outdoors.
  • The best time to snap great photos is dawn, dusk, or a bright, cloudy day. Avoid direct sun.
  • Find a shady spot with a suitable background.
  • Ask a friend for help. No selfies. The perspective is off when the lens is that close.
  • Have your friend hold your phone from six feet away. While you smile, have them take many photos and choose the best one.
  • The photo should show at least your head, shoulders, and torso.
  • There should be a decent amount of space around your form.
  • The photo should be at least 1000 pixels wide and 1000 pixels tall.
  • Before you send the photo, open it up in a photo browsing app—Zoom in to 100%. If we can’t see the eye color, separate eyelashes, or eyebrow hairs, it’s probably too blurry or too small.
  • While these should be understood, it’s probably worth saying it here:
    • No sunglasses, baseball caps, or broad-brimmed hats. (We need to see your eyes. If you are visually impaired, sunglasses are acceptable.)
    • No photos of just your face or part of your face.
    • Do not enlarge a smaller photo to make it big enough to meet the requirements. It will be blurry.
    • No tiny screen-captured photos from another website.
    • No photos of you with your pet or something that is supposed to “represent” you but isn’t you.
    • No action shots, so not you on your skateboard or riding your skeedoo.
    • No background removal. No fancy backgrounds. Just you and a real background.
    • Unless it’s professionally done, don’t pre-crop or edit the photo. We’ll manage that.
    • No blurry, underexposed, overexposed, or off-centered photos.

Small Print: Filling out this application does not guarantee that you will be selected. All selected speakers will have their presentations recorded by Zero Waste USA for future display on YouTube or a similar venue. Recordings are the property of Zero Waste USA. All selected speakers must submit their slide decks to a later specified Google Drive folder or similar venue. We will be using these slides for the presentation. Slides will be combined into a single deck, so slide decks must be ready September 23rd.