Request for Education Session Proposals Now Open

Call for Presentations

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) invites proposals for educational presentations at the 2025 Montgomery County Energy Summit. Over the past eleven years, the Summit has annually offered cutting-edge education focused on the latest trends in green building, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and related commercial, multifamily, and residential topics in Montgomery County. This year’s Summit’s theme is Beyond Benchmarking: Navigating Energy Performance.

We’re particularly looking for proposals that address:

Leveraging local, state, and federal financing and incentives
Electrification options through decarbonization
Building improvement strategies
Case studies of successful energy performance improvements
Navigating regulatory landscapes beyond benchmarking requirements

The Summit will be submitting eligible sessions for GBCI continuing education credits (CEs).

Key Dates

Proposal Submission Deadline: December 6th, 2024
Announcement of approved proposals: December 20, 2024
Event Dates: April 8 – 9, 2025
Session Date: April 9

Submit Proposal

Why present?

Reach 300+ building owners, property managers, developers, energy contractors, policy makers, and sustainability professionals
Complimentary Summit registration for the day of your presentation, including breakfast, lunch, and networking sessions
Opportunity to attend other sessions and meet exhibitors in Innovation Alley
Professional exposure in the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) area

We are not able to compensate presenters for their time or travel.

Educational sessions are 50 minutes and are typically formatted as 40-minute education presentations and 10 minutes of Q&A. Presentations tend to include a panel of 2 or more speakers from different organizations to provide multiple perspectives on a topic but may feature a single presenter depending on the content. AV will be available including a laptop, digital screen, and slide advancer. Sessions will be submitted for GBCI CEs by the Summit organizers; if your presentation is selected, you must include a minimum of 10 questions for the Education @USGBC platform for continuing education offerings prior to the Summit. Presenters are welcome to self-submit for continuing education credits through other certifying organizations (e.g., AIA).

Slides required in provided template
50-minute total presentation time
40 minutes for content delivery
10 minutes for Q&A
Must include audience engagement elements

Only complete applications submitted through the online form will be considered. Applications cannot be saved and returned to later, so we suggest that applicants use a text editing program to compose and save their work before transferring the information to the application. Applicants may submit multiple proposals.

Our selection committee seeks presentations that transform benchmarking insights into actionable solutions for building professionals. Successful proposals typically feature diverse speaker panels combining perspectives from building owners, property managers, and service providers.

We particularly value submissions that include DMV area case studies, concrete financial data, and clear implementation strategies. The most compelling presentations demonstrate innovative yet practical approaches to energy performance, with specific emphasis on solutions relevant to Montgomery County’s building community.

Proposals will be evaluated on speaker expertise, content relevance to our theme, engagement strategy, and ability to provide actionable takeaways for our audience of building professionals and sustainability leaders.

Session Title (12 words maximum)
- Be specific and accurately reflect content
- Avoid abbreviations or technical jargon
Session Creator/Owner
- Name and organization
- Contact information (Email/Phone)
- Role in session development
Presenters (1-4 maximum)
- Name, title, organization for each
- Brief professional bio (100 words)
- Speaking experience
- Contact information (Email/Phone)
Previous Presentation Experience of each Instructor
Learning Objectives (4 minimum required). Learning objectives must be measurable, start with action verbs, focus on participant outcomes, and align with session content.
Course Level (select one)
- Basic: Introductory concepts; minimal prerequisite knowledge require
- Intermediate: Detailed materials; some prerequisite knowledge needed
- Advanced: In-depth application; preexisting knowledge required
- Expert: Mastery-level content; extensive prior knowledge expected
Primary Target Audience
Short Description for Promotion (25 words maximum)
- Concise overview for program guide
- Clear value proposition
- Target audience focus
Long Description (500 words maximum)
- Detailed session content
- Methodology
- Participant takeaways
Willingness to be combined with similar proposals
- Yes
- No

Submit Proposal