Conference Planning: From Vision to Execution

Course Description

Turn your vision into a well-executed conference with Conference Planning: From Vision to Execution — a self-paced, information-packed course designed for new and seasoned conference organizers, event planners, and administrators looking to hone their skills. Whether you are launching your first conference or adjusting your current plan, this course provides you with strategies and resources to confidently plan your conference from start to finish.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, learners should be able to:

• Understand and Select Conference Type and Session Formats
• Use Design Thinking to Define Conference Goals, Theme & Audience
• Evaluate & Select a Conference Venue
• Develop a Conference Program Agenda
• Select & Manage Speakers
• Identify and Engage Sponsors
• Implement Marketing & Promotion Plans
• Lead & Manage a Conference Planning Team
• Understand Potential Risks Associated with Conferences

Materials Provided

Modules include: Video and/or audio lessons, presentations, interactive exercises, and brief quizzes. Participants will also gain access to a downloadable conference planner, speaker guide template, and other resources to help you streamline the planning process.

Measure of Performance

Upon successful completion, learners will receive a Certificate of Completion, showcasing their knowledge in conference planning.

Instructor Bio

Instructor: Dr. Felicia L. Townsend

Dr. Felicia L. Townsend is a conference planning and program development expert with over 25 years of experience in higher education administration, nonprofit management, and corporate engagement. Throughout her career, she has successfully developed and led over 35 conferences across the U.S. and Canada, delivering transformative learning and professional development experiences for attendees from different industries.

Dr. Townsend’s expertise extends beyond developing conferences; she has created and managed high-impact educational and professional development initiatives for universities, community colleges, and a trade association.

Her leadership in higher education includes serving as director of corporate and community education at a public university, director of business and industry services at a community college, and assistant dean of recruitment, admissions, and marketing & director of the Center for Professional Excellence at a private Catholic university. Before transitioning to academia, she held director-level positions in newspaper publishing and an arts education organization.

Dr. Townsend’s doctoral research, The Stages of Training Transfer: What Should be Emphasized When? A Multiple Case Study Examining the Factors that Hinder and/or Support Training Transfer, reinforces her commitment to ensuring learners can apply their training knowledge in the workplace.

Dr. Townsend holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Adult and Continuing Education from National Louis University, an M.B.A. in Marketing from the Illinois Institute of Technology, an M.Ed. in Instructional Leadership from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a B.S. in Marketing from DePaul University. She also has a Certificate in Instructional Design from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.