MEDA 2022 Fall Conference – Speaker RFP

The MEDA Fall Conference will be held on October 25, 2022 from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm in Howard County (in person).

The theme of this year’s conference is Cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity touches all areas of business throughout Maryland (and the nation). The goal of this conference will be to cover many aspects of cybersecurity, from talent attraction to its impact on small businesses. This RFP process for the MEDA Fall Conference aims to identify diverse, creative, innovative thought-leaders who can speak to this economic opportunity.  The conference topics noted below are intended to provide a framework for idea generation. 

Seeking Speakers: 

All submitted proposals will be considered, but MEDA is interested in speakers who can cover any of the following topics:

• Talent attraction programs in the area of cybersecurity
• Cybersecurity’s impact on agriculture (and all other industries in Maryland)
• What small businesses need to know about cybersecurity
• Role of the federal government in cybersecurity
• Cybersecurity from a technical perspective (for the novice)

Submission Process:

Please complete the online form (below) no later than 5:00 pm on August 24, 2022.

Late proposals will not be considered. MEDA does not allow sales-oriented (promotion of products, services, or consultation) as part of the Fall Conference. If a commercial representative is included on a panel, they are asked to speak broadly about industry best practices with only minimal focus on their particular commercial entity and only as it relates to the topic or project being discussed. MEDA may invite legislators to moderate the panels, particularly when the subject matter extends into state policy or potential legislation.

MEDA’s educational sessions are typically 1 hour to 1.5 hours in length and focus on issues of interest to economic development professionals. It is strongly encouraged that a proposed session meets the conference theme. To ensure that MEDA presents a balanced conference with varying viewpoints, MEDA’s conference sessions typically include 2-3 panels and one keynote speaker.

MEDA’s Program Development Committee may add or substitute speakers to achieve its desired level of viewpoint diversity – MEDA will make final decisions on speakers and invite speakers directly.

Contact Information:

Any questions regarding this process may be directed to Sandy Dubay sandy@medamd.com or Pam Ruff pamr@medamd.com.