Welcome to the Speaker Hub!

Welcome to the United Way NEXT Speaker Hub! On behalf of our team and the Engage & Exchange Work Group, we’re excited for you to share your expertise with our community!

If we haven’t met already, my name’s Ivy Cirillo and I’m the Marketing, Communications, & Events Manager at United Way NEXT.

Before diving into the Speaker Hub, I wanted to remind you that:

United Way NEXT is the official alumni association for United Way professionals. We offer memberships to current staff, alumni, and retirees as well as local United Ways, international, and state associations. This will be the main audience for your presentation, but you are more than welcome to promote it to your network & we’ll upload the recording to our website and YouTube channel.

Our events are typically hosted between Tuesdays and Thursdays, running an average of 60-75 minutes. And to ensure everything runs smoothly, we ask that our guest speakers hop on 30 minutes early. Plus, we offer a 15-minute debrief after each event.

As part of our Community Commitment, we make an intentional effort to provide diverse and inclusive programming. And in doing so, we request that our presenters take the time to create accessible slide decks and materials. To support you in this process, there will be a section on accessibility below.

As you explore the Speaker Hub, you’ll find a breakdown of expectations, an outline of our typical communication schedule, sample pre- & post-event emails, and Run of Show examples.

Of course, if you have any questions you are always more than welcome to reach out to me. And if you’ve recently changed roles, organizations, membership status, or you have new headshots, I’d encourage you to do so.

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So, what’s NEXT? After watching this video or reading this transcript, feel free to check out the frequently asked questions below and then click on the big blue button to apply! You’ll have the option to fill out the form as either a main presenter or a co-presenter. Main presenters will fill out the speaker application in its entirety while co-presenters (aka secondary speakers, panelists, and roundtable presenters) will only fill out details about themselves. Once you’ve applied, United Way NEXT staff and volunteers will review your applications and reach out to you directly with any questions we may have or provide a decision no later than November 17th.

If you’ve been selected as a 2026 Event Speaker, we will work with you to schedule your event date, create the registration link, and begin crafting your marketing materials. As we get closer, I’ll send you email updates about registration numbers, event volunteers, outstanding to-do’s, run of show, and anything else that may come up. You won’t have to worry about planning meetings, mock presentations, or anything like that! We’ll even send an email to everyone that’s registered the day before with any pre-reads or instructions you have for them & we’ll email them the following day with the event recording, your slide deck, how to get in touch with you, and any resources you shared. It’s as simple as that!

If you have any questions about applying, presenting, or need accommodations, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! Just email me at ivy.cirillo@uww.unitedway.org & I’ll be in touch! Otherwise, I look forward to reading your application!