04 Aug Best Keynote Speakers for State Education Association Conferences
The best state education conference speakers give educators something they can use in their buildings on Monday, delivered with enough energy to hold a general session after a full day of breakouts. Collaborative Agency Group works with state and regional education associations across the country, and these four speakers are the ones fall and winter conference planners are booking right now.
Why Fall and Winter Education Conferences Book in August and September
Most state education association conferences run between October and February, and program committees are finalizing general session keynotes now. Keynote fees for these events typically range from $10,000 to $35,000, and the speakers below all have a track record with education audiences at that level. Waiting until after Labor Day usually means choosing from what is left. Browse the full roster of education speakers for more options.
Steve Gilliland: The General Session That Everyone Stays For
Steve Gilliland is a Speaker Hall of Fame inductee and one of the most-booked speakers in the education association world. His blend of humor and substance is built for the closing or opening general session, where the job is to send an entire membership home energized.
Kate Roberts: Literacy Credibility That Teachers Trust
Kate Roberts is a national literacy consultant and author whose sessions are grounded in real classroom practice. For associations whose members are living the reading instruction conversation, she brings authority without the lecture.
Crystal Washington: AI for Educators Without the Hype
Crystal Washington is a technology futurist named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Female Futurists. She translates AI into what it means for schools, classrooms, and the profession, in language that lands with both superintendents and first-year teachers.
Karen Walrond: Belonging for the Whole Building
Karen Walrond, author of The Lightmaker’s Manifesto, speaks on belonging and leadership in a way that gives educators a practical role in building inclusive schools.
The Bottom Line
State education conference speakers at the general session level are signed in August and September for fall and winter events. Collaborative Agency Group can check availability and fees for any of the four speakers above, or recommend others from a roster of 700+ based on your conference theme.
Finalizing your fall or winter conference keynote?
Collaborative Agency Group can check availability and current fees for these speakers, or recommend others matched to your conference theme within one business day.