RESJ Conference – Call for Presentations

We invite you to submit a proposal to present at the 6th annual
Re-Imagining Behavioral Health: Race, Equity & Social Justice Conference

September 25-26, 2025

Submission deadline: Thursday, July 3, 2025

The RESJ conference brings together diverse members of the behavioral health community to share information, insights, practices, and policies related to advancing equity and social justice within the behavioral health sphere and within our communities. 

Our goal is to provide a learning and sharing experience that expands knowledge, promotes partnerships, and brings behavioral health systems closer to equity. We are interested in presentations that are innovative, include policy and practice insights, and are relevant to our diverse attendees. We anticipate more than 1,000 attendees – from Washington state and from around the country. This is a unique opportunity to share your knowledge and experience and to inspire others!

As a presenter at the 2025 RESJ conference, you’ll share you knowledge and experience, spark discussion, highlight your program or initiative and engage with a broad audience. Conference attendees include behavioral health staff, program and clinical leaders, people with lived experience, family members, peers, policy makers, public and non-profit employees, and general community members. 

Submitting a Proposal

  • Presentations are scheduled for 45-60 minutes (including Q&A), and each session has a limit of three speakers. 
  • For examples of past presentations, you can access recordings of previous conference sessions on the Past Events page.
  • Please submit your presentation proposal by clicking here.
  • Completed applications must be submitted by 11:59 pm on July 3, 2025.
  • Notifications of acceptance will be sent out in early August 2025.

Topics

You are invited to submit presentation proposals that address all areas of race, equity, and social justice in the behavioral health sphere.

Specific areas of interest for 2025 include policies and practices related to:

  • Community-driven and culturally aligned prevention and early intervention 
  • Expanding access to culturally responsive care
  • Intersectionality in behavioral health lived experience and service delivery
  • Trauma-informed and anti-oppressive practices
  • Equity-driven policy and social justice advocacy in behavioral health
  • Criminal justice, restorative practices, and alternatives to incarceration
  • Culturally responsive ethics and best practices
  • Narratives, arts, and community resilience
  • Ensuring equity in behavioral health training programs and workplaces 
  • Substance use, co-occurring disorders, and social justice  

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

  • Relevance to participants’ interests and clear benefit to attendees’ educational needs and skill development
  • Presenters who reflect or engage with underrepresented communities
  • Use of person-first language and sensitivity/applicability to a multicultural population
  • Presentation of ideas and activities that are connected to actionable learning
  • Clear articulation of the learning objectives, which must be measurable and achievable
  • Experience and/or expertise of the presenter(s)
  • Meaningful inclusion of people who identify as having lived experience
  • Contribution to improved outcomes, recovery, and quality of life of those served
  • Incorporation of evidence-based, best, and/or promising practices

All proposals must be complete, comprehensive, and deemed relevant and timely to the conference’s audience. Presentations must be educational in nature and must not be used to market products or services. If chosen, we expect that your presentation will reflect the materials and objectives submitted.

Completed applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on July 3, 2025, by clicking here and must include:

  • Presentation title
  • Focus area
  • Learning objectives
  • Abstract (No more than 300 words, for use in conference materials if the presentation is chosen)

Required information for each presenter (Note: There can be no more than three presenters per session):

  • First and last name
  • If applicable, academic degree/s and clinical licensure/s
  • Preferred pronouns (optional)
  • Organizational affiliation (if applicable)
  • Street address, including city, state & ZIP code
  • Phone number & email address
  • Biography for each presenter (No more than 200 words each)
  • Name, phone number, and email address for one reference regarding experience in presenting and/or facilitating

Please note:

  • Speakers will connect to the conference via their own computer. 
  • Before the conference, each presenter will participate in a one-hour orientation to the virtual conference platform. 
  • Each speaker will be offered a payment of $700 in appreciation of their time and expertise. 
Submit Proposal

The Re-Imagining Behavioral Health: Race, Equity, and Social Justice Conference is convened by the University of Washington Behavioral Health Institute at Harborview Medical Center and funded by the Washington State Health Care Authority.

Questions? Need help with the application? Please contact the Behavioral Health Institute at bhinstitute@uw.edu.