Othering & Belonging Conference

The next Othering & Belonging Conference will be held October 9-10, 2026 in Louisville, Kentucky. 
Register Today! 

REGISTER HERE

Explore the O&B Conference Experience! 

We have an extensive media library of videos and podcasts, or click to download our latest post-conference report. And be sure to stay updated on all conference news through our OBI newsletter.

Date and Location

Our 2026 conference will be held October 9-10, 2026, with two full days of conference programming taking place from approximately 8:00 am to 5:00 pm each day. We will also be hosting a set of pre-conference sessions on October 8 and an evening event at the Muhammed Ali Center on Friday, October 9. Stay tuned for more details! 

The O&B26 conference will be held at: 
Kentucky International Convention Center
221 S. 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202

See more details on parking and other information about the venue here. 

Registration and Fees

The registration levels were developed to make the conference as accessible as possible to a wide range of attendees. OBI does significant fundraising to provide different fee levels as well as scholarships. 

Please select the highest level that your organization or you are able to afford. In this way, we are able to stretch our conference funding further and provide additional high-quality content and more scholarships to those who would otherwise not be able to attend.

Belonging Champion: $2,930*
You are a foundation, organization or individual who wants to spread Belonging to as many people as possible by supporting those who are not able to afford the full conference registration fee. This registration level will support yourself and two scholarship applicants to attend the Conference. Register here.

Pay It Forward Foundations and Businesses: $1800*
You work for a foundation or business that has a budget for conferences or are an individual with the means to cover the actual per person cost of the conference plus supporting two other attendees at the subsidized Co-Creator rate. Register here.

Architect of Belonging: $1000*
You work for a medium to large non-profit, government, or educational institution, and your organization is paying for the cost of your registration. By registering at this level, you are paying the actual per person cost to attend the conference. Register here.

Co-Creator: $600*
This subsidized registration level is for those who cannot afford the actual per person cost of the conference. This rate may be appropriate for UC staff and faculty, employees from organizations/ institutions that do not have sufficient conference or professional development budgets, or individuals who are covering the registration cost out of their own funds and who cannot afford the Architect of Belonging rate. Register here.

Bridge Builder: $250* (Limited availability)
This highly subsidized registration option is for individuals who are unable to pay the Co-Creator rate such as staff of nonprofits with very small budgets and underemployed/low-paid individuals who are covering the cost out of their own funds. Please only select this level if you do not have the capacity to pay the Co-Creator rate. Register here.

*There will be a 3.5% credit card processing fee charged on top of all registration fees listed above. Fee is determined by the credit card company.

**If you registered you should receive a confirmation email within a few minutes of completing registration and payment. If you did not, be sure to check your spam or junk folder of the email you registered under.

Group Registration, Rate and Discount
If you are registering/paying for a group, you must register yourself first (or choose one group member to serve as the primary registrant) and then you will be prompted to add additional members to the registration prior to payment. If members of your group are paying individually (for example, with different credit cards), each member must register separately.

If you work for a medium to large non-profit, government, or educational institution, and your organization is paying for the cost of your registration, register your group under the Architect of Belonging rate. For groups that cannot afford the Architect of Belonging rate, register under the Co-Creator rate. These are the discounted group rate options. Register here.

A note on Day Rates

The conference is meant to be experienced as a whole and as such, we are not extending day rates as a registration option.

Cancellation and Substitutions Policy
Please email cancellation or substitution requests to obconf@berkeley.edu.

- Cancellations requested before September 12, 2026 are eligible for a refund minus a $50 cancellation fee for each registration.
- After September 12, 2026 cancellations will be refunded at 25% of the registration fee.
- No refunds will be issued after October 8, 2026.
- Failure to appear at the conference will result in forfeiture of the full registration fee.
- Requests to substitute registrations can be processed until October 8, 2026.

Scholarships

A limited number of scholarships will be made available and will be accepted on a rolling basis. The scholarship application link will open in April 2025. If the link is active, we still have scholarships available. If your application is accepted, there will be a $35 processing fee that must be paid upon acceptance of the scholarship/registration. Scholarships will be for the cost of registration only. Scholarship recipients will be responsible for coordinating their own travel to and lodging during the conference.  

If you do not accept the scholarship by registering/paying the fee within 14 days, the scholarship will be made available to the next applicant. 

If you are unable to attend the conference after receiving a scholarship, please let us know so we can offer the scholarship to the next applicant. 

After completing this form, you will receive a response from a member of our team within 2-3 weeks about your application and instructions on how to register.

Payment Methods

We accept all major credit cards, and credit card payments are strongly preferred. 

Select the “Check” payment option ONLY if you or your organization is paying and not using a credit card. Upon selecting the Check option, you must print out your registration invoice and send it along with your check made payable to the "The Regents of the University of California" with “Othering & Belonging Conference" in the memo line.  You can find our W-9 here.  Please do not send checks to the address in the W-9 but to:

O&B26
Othering & Belonging Institute
UC Berkeley
460 Stephens Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-2330

Your registration will be completed and considered active only upon receipt of your check. All checks must be received by October 7, 2026 to activate your registration for the conference. Please contact obconf@berkeley.edu if you are unable to meet this deadline.

Invoices will not be automatically generated. If you need to submit an invoice to your employer for payment, you must generate an invoice from the registration record page (following the payment page).

If you are a campus group in the UC system and are paying via chartstring, please use the Pay by Check option and contact Puanani Forbes with your chartstring.

Sponsor

Join our growing roster of supporters, download the Sponsorship Package.

Whether a returning sponsor, or donating for the first time, we hope you will join the many organizations, foundations, and companies who have provided support for the O&B Conference over the years. In addition to generous financial support, many staff from supporting organizations take leadership roles in conference sessions, as well as bringing large cohorts of their staff to the conference to take part in this dynamic learning space.

If you'd like to join our growing roster of supporters who have supported the Othering & Belonging Conference, please contact Sarah Legg. 

Accessibility

It is our goal that the Othering & Belonging conference is accessible to all who want to attend and to support attendees to engage as fully as possible. We are constantly working to be better stewards of accessibility and disability justice. We encourage attendees who require mobility aids to bring their canes, walkers, and wheelchairs to the conference. 

The venue is designed to accommodate everyone, and we want to ensure that you can move around comfortably and fully enjoy the enriching experience we have prepared for you. If you have specific accessibility needs that are not addressed here, or if you have any other concerns during the event, please contact our accessibility coordinator Jake Tompkins at jaketompkins97@berkeley.edu.    

Wheelchair Accessibility: The Kentucky International Convention Center is ADA compliant with elevator access to each floor. All conference offerings are wheelchair accessible with accessible parking nearby along with several drop-off locations.

American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation: ASL interpretation will be available upon request for the mainstage and at least one breakout session. Please inform us during the registration process or by emailing the accessibility coordinator at least three weeks prior to the event if you require ASL interpretation or have any specific requests. 

Live Captioning: Live captioning will be provided. Please inform us during the registration process if you have any specific captioning requests.

Seating Accommodations: To ensure your comfort during sessions, please let us know if you require specific seating accommodations for mobility access or hearing/visual impairments. Provide details about your seating needs or preferences in the registration process or by emailing the accessibility coordinator Jake Tompkins at jaketompkins97@berkeley.edu.

Onsite Accommodations

Seating Accommodations: To ensure your comfort during sessions, please let us know if you require specific seating accommodations for mobility access or hearing/visual impairments. Provide details about your seating needs or preferences in the registration process.

Fragrance-Free: We strive to create a comfortable space for all attendees, including those with fragrance sensitivities or allergies. We kindly request that all attendees refrain from using scented products such as perfumes, colognes, and heavily scented lotions during the conference.

Food Allergies: A variety of food preference options (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc.) will be made available at our conference lunch offerings. Please inform us during the registration process if you have any severe food allergies that we should be aware of.

Childcare Services: We will have childcare options available at the conference.  Please check back here for updated information. If you would like to be added to future communication by email on this topic, indicate your interest when you register. 

Nursing Information: We will have privacy rooms available for lactating mothers.

Prayer and Meditation Room: A nondenominational prayer and meditation room will be made available for attendees.

COVID-19 Protocols

Attendees are encouraged to test for COVID-19 in advance, stay home if they are feeling unwell, and wear masks if preferred as an extra precaution. We will closely monitor and adhere to local health and safety regulations and guidelines. Attendees are expected to comply with these regulations to ensure the collective well-being of the conference community. We encourage you to read further information on COVID-19 safety measures provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) on ways to protect yourself and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Participant Experience

Fragrance-Free: We strive to create a comfortable space for all attendees, including those with fragrance sensitivities or allergies. We kindly request that all attendees refrain from using scented products such as perfumes, colognes, and heavily scented lotions during the conference.

Food: Coffee and tea breaks will be provided throughout both days of the conference. Lunch will be provided on Friday, October 9. 

Please inform us during the registration process and/or by emailing the accessibility coordinator Jake Tompkins at jaketompkins97@berkeley.edu if you have any severe food allergies that we should be aware of. We welcome bringing personal food items which meet your dietary needs and/or traditions.

Family Friendly: The conference is family friendly. We will have a large area with arts and crafts and interactive exhibits which children and families may enjoy.

All youth attendees must be registered with an adult attendee at the time of registration. See more info under Registration and Fees.    

Childcare: We will be partnering with a local care provider to provide high quality children's programming for children ages 6 months to 12 years during the two days of the conference. Please check back for more information and how to register. Childcare is limited and will be provided on a first registered first serve basis. If you have any questions about childcare, please reach out to obconf@berkeley.edu.  

Nursing: O&B26 will also have dedicated private spaces for lactation, nursing, and families with babies should they want a quiet space to step away from the conference activities.

Prayer and Meditation Room: A nondenominational prayer and meditation room will be made available for attendees.

Photo and Video Usage: We will be documenting our conference to spread our message of belonging as far and wide as possible! Any photograph, sound recording, motion picture, or video taken during the conference is for the explicit purpose of collecting and/or representing factual information in the interest of serving our mission of research, education, and public service, and for promoting the public good. Attendee assigns to the conference organizers, including the University of California, all rights, title, and interest, including copyright, in and to any and all such photographs, sound recordings, motion pictures, or videos, and hereby irrevocably authorizes conference organizers, without limitation, to reproduce, copy, exhibit, publish, or distribute any and all such photographs, sound recordings, motion pictures, or videos in perpetuity for the purposes expressed above. Attendee further releases and forever discharges the conference organizers from any and all claims and demands arising out of or in connection with the use of any photographs, sound recordings, motion pictures, or videos, including but not limited to any and all claims for invasion of privacy, defamation, or infringement of copyright.    

Gender Neutral Bathrooms will be available at the venue.

Conference Medium of Language: The 2026 conference will be presented in English and American Sign Language. All post-conference recordings will be posted on our YouTube page and can be translated into other languages by the viewer through YouTube's translation function.

Planning Teams

The O&B Conference is organized by the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley. 

O&B 2026 Agenda Team:

• Rachelle Galloway-Popotas, Conference Co-Director
• Basima Sisemore, Conference Co-Director, Breakout Sessions Lead
• Christian M. Ivey, The Commons Lead
• Ashley Gallegos
• Christina Long-Vail 
• Jose Richard Aviles 
• Sarah Crowell
• Olivia Araiza
• Sumayyah Rose Abuelmaatti 

O&B 2026 Local Host Committee:

• Cynthia Knapek, CEO LeadingBetter/ President Leadership Louisville Center
• Mahogany Mayfield, Creative Professional, Community Connector, and Founder of The Sis That Journals 
• Rashaad Abdur-Rahman, Founder of the Racial Healing Project; Board member, Seven Counties Services and the Black Leadership Action Coalition of Kentucky 
• Sadiqa Reynolds, Esq., Founder and President, Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center; formerly CEO of Perception Institute, Chief Law Clerk for the Kentucky Supreme Court, and President, Louisville Urban League 
• Savannah Barrett, Exchange Director for Art of the Rural and co-founder of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange

Find out more about our Local Host Committee here!  

O&B 2026 Logistics:

• Accessibility Coordinator: Jake Tompkins
• Fundraising & Sponsorship: Sarah Legg 
• Conference Anchor Partnerships: Cecilie Surasky 
• Media Inquiries: Ivan Natividad
• General Inquiries: OBI Conference Support at obconf@berkeley.edu

Contact

If you have any questions about registration, accessibility, or any of the above, please email obconf@berkeley.edu or leave a message at (510) 642-3326. Please note that email is our strongly preferred method of contact (if possible); most of our team works remotely and may not be as responsive to voice messages.

Sponsorship Opportunities for O&B26!

Past Speakers

Read more testimonials here