{"id":1684,"date":"2025-10-07T19:40:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T19:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/saltlake2026\/?page_id=1684"},"modified":"2025-12-19T13:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T13:10:14","slug":"career-central","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/saltlake2026\/past-calls-for-proposals\/career-central\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Central Proposals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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How to Submit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Please Note:<\/em><\/strong> The submission website supports the latest version of Chrome, the current and previous release of Firefox, Safari and Microsoft browsers. Cookies and JavaScript must be enabled.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Submission Deadline<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Thursday, December 4th, 2025
5:00 PM EST (2:00 PM Pacific)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Submit a Proposal Here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Fall 2025 Federal Government Shutdown<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you are an affected federal employee planning to submit a proposal, please get in touch with us<\/a>. We can work with you to help you submit as much information as possible at this stage before review and update the details later. While we can\u2019t promise we can consider late proposals, we will see what we can do on a case by case basis. It will depend on how long the shutdown lasts and how developed your proposal is.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

You must submit your proposal using the online submission form. Proposals sent by email will not be considered. Proposals that are incomplete will not be considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All ESA Annual Meeting proposal and abstract deadlines are 5:00 PM Eastern so that technical support and ESA staff assistance will be immediately available when submitters need it. If you begin your submission very close to the deadline, you are choosing to take a risk, and we will not make an exception if you are unable to complete your submission in time. The form automatically closes at 5:00 Eastern Time (2:00 Pacific Time) whether you have completed your submission or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will receive an automatic email when you complete your submission. You will be able to return to the proposal to edit it until the submission deadline has passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To submit a proposal, you will need to log in using an ESA member account. If you have not been an ESA member or registered for an ESA meeting in recent years, you will need to create an ESA member account before you can submit. You do not need to pay membership dues to create an ESA member account or submit for the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Important Note<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

ESA meetings, open to ESA members and those interested in ecology, are among the most respected meetings of ecologists in the science community. ESA is committed to providing a safe, productive and welcoming environment. All participants including, but not limited to, attendees, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, ESA staff, service providers and others are expected to abide by the ESA Meetings Code of Conduct<\/a>. This Code of Conduct applies to all ESA meeting-related events including those sponsored by organizations other than ESA but held in conjunction with ESA events, in public or private facilities. In addition, ESA members and authors of ESA publications must adhere to the ESA Code of Ethics<\/a> and the ESA Diversity Statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>About Career Central Sessions<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We invite proposals for Career Central sessions for the 2026 ESA Annual Meeting. All sessions this year will take place in person. We will not offer virtual or hybrid sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, Career Central sessions have been organized by ESA\u2019s Membership Department. Starting in 2025, we have extended this call to the broader ecological community to meet strong ongoing interest in career-oriented programming. We would like as many of the sessions as possible to come from members of the ecological community who have valuable expertise and experience to share. ESA Membership staff will continue to offer resume review, mock interviews, and networking events at Career Central.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Audience<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Career Central sessions are 60-minute panels that take place in the Career Central area inside the Exhibit Hall. These sessions should help attendees learn how career pathways work in general and at various stages. We are looking for sessions with one of three approaches: 1) panels of up to 5 people, 2) one or two people giving a presentation with slides, or 3) a hands-on training. An ideal session is highly interactive, whether this is through an extended panel discussion with the audience, a generous amount of time spent in Q&A, or hands-on training with time for demonstrations and audience participation. Career Central is structured for smaller audiences (up to 50 attendees) to accommodate these interactive elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We expect the Career Central area to be of especially strong interest to students and early career ecologists. We welcome proposals for any career stage. Potential topics include advice on navigating a specific career stage or transition, sharing lessons learned from a certain career sector or specialty, and discussing skills that are important for career advancement. Each session will be included in the Career Exploration track. You can browse examples of Career Central sessions from 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These sessions are not appropriate for the presentation of formal talks and do not include presentation abstracts. Note that the One Presentation Rule does not apply to workshops, short courses, special sessions, and Career Central sessions. Anyone presenting in one of these sessions may also present in a scientific session (a formal talk or poster).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to these panels at Career Central, we welcome sessions on career topics for other session types as well. We encourage potential submitters to also review the calls for workshops, short courses, and special sessions to consider which session type would be more appropriate for the approach you have in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Logistical Considerations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Accepted sessions will be scheduled in 60-minute slots to minimize topic overlap and as meeting space and logistics allow.  Career Central is set in theater style. The standard A\/V setup is a screen, LCD projector, and laptop (with sound). Wireless internet will not be available at Career Central.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Proposal Format<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The information listed below must be submitted through the online submission form. It is provided here to assist you in planning your submission. The form may differ slightly from the version listed here. You may begin a submission and then return to edit it up until the deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Components of a Proposal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n