GSMCON2023: Initial speakers announced! Early-Bird discount ends Nov. 18

We’re excited to announce over 30 speakers in the initial lineup for the 2023 Government Social Media Conference! GSMCON2023 is the largest social media conference for government agencies and is happening May 2-4, 2023 in Reno-Tahoe, Nevada and virtually from wherever you are. Early-bird registration prices for both in-person and virtual tickets ends at 11:59 p.m. PT this Friday, November 18, 2022! 

Industry leaders and professionals from a wide-variety of backgrounds and jurisdictions — including Washington State Department of Transportation, U.S. Chemical Safety Board, Huron Perth Public Health and many more — are hosting sessions at GSMCON2023, the best learning experience for government social media professionals of all levels.

After every GSMCON, what we hear from attendees time and time again is the caliber of sessions and the expertise of the speakers — making GSMCON stand leagues apart from other similar conferences. Each year, speakers take pride in sharing in-depth advice and top-notch tips, laser-focused on giving attendees the best social media training for government agencies on topics like accessibility, engaging your diverse communities through social media, handling crisis, social media policy and more.

More speakers, sessions, special activities and keynotes will be announced as we continue to develop our GSMCON2023 program happening in Reno-Tahoe, Nevada and online, May 2-4, 2023.

General sessions
General sessions are keynote-level conversations that all participants will attend at the same time. More will be announced soon!

General Session Panel: Accessibility
Alexa Heinreich, Director, Accessible Social
Emily Lucht, Director of Digital Communications, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation

Breakout sessions
This year, up to four concurrent breakout sessions will happen simultaneously. All attendees at all ticket levels will receive available recordings to watch on-demand for 90 days after the event.

60 Minutes: Managing the First Hour After a Crisis
Bronlea Mishler, Bronlea M Consulting

Authentic Long-Form Video for Difficult Stories on Social
Zachary Murphy, OSPI (Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction)

Copyright & Fair Use on Social Media
Julie Tappendorf, Ancel Glink, PC

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Social Media
Chris Hsiung, Mountain View Police Department
Kaitlin Keeler, Oakland County, Michigan Government
April Leonard, City of Kansas City, Missouri

Embracing Negative Engagement to Build Relationships
Jessie Brown, Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Danielle Rogers, City of Newton, Iowa

Engaging a Diverse Community Through Social Media
Cynthia Lemus, City of Arlington, Texas

Is it Time to Slow Down & Shrink Your Program?
Jameil Weldon, Mecklenburg County

Let's Be Neighbors! Finding Success on Nextdoor
Jessica VanderKolk, City of Battle Creek

Making Your Crews In the Field Part of Your Comms Team
Mike Allende, Washington State Department of Transportation

Managing Social for Large Agencies, State & Federal
Andrew Belanger, State of Michigan & GSM Membership Council
Andrew Palczewski, US Department of Education

Mission Possible: Protecting Your Agency's Brand
Jennifer Casey, Town of Collierville

Other Duties as Assigned: Surviving When Social is One of Many Responsibilities
Kate Langsdorf, City of Newcastle

Social Media Policy Even Your Agency Lawyer Might Not Know
Mark Weaver, Communications Counsel

We're on TikTok. Now What?
Jordan Gilgenbach, City of Minneapolis

Who Wants to Be an Accessibility Rock Star?
Emily Lucht, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation

YouTube: Building Your Cult Following Through Complex Topics
Shauna Lawhorne, U.S. Chemical Safety Board

All Access Only sessions
These sessions are special, hands-on classes only for in-person All Access and VIP ticket holders! These sessions go more in-depth and take attendees through various scenarios where they’ll practice what they learn from the speaker. 

All Access Live Review: Go From Design Disasters to Social Ready
Anndrea Harris, City of Wichita Falls

All Access PowerTalk: Creating & Editing Smartphone Video
Zach Whitney, GSM Membership Council, Utah Department of Commerce

All Access WWYD: Getting Leadership to Subscribe to the Work You Do
Chris Hsiung, Mountain View Police Department

Speed Sessions
New for 2023! Speed Sessions are fast-paced-style presentations where a speaker presents actionable advice on their topic in 10 minutes. Multiple speakers will present during each Speed Session time slot.

Finding & Leveraging Influencers
David Ramirez, TINT

First Amendment & Social Media
Julie Tappendorf, Ancel Glink, PC

Government Gets Reels
Angela Pitts, City of Tampa

Mastering Emoji for Public Agencies: From 😳 to 😎
Warren Kagarise, King County, WA

Tools to Say ‘No’ for Your Work-Life Balance
Jason Meinershagen, Central County Fire Rescue

Winning Internal Collaborations for Your Social Media Accounts
Marian Doucette, Huron Perth Public Health

Add-on, pre-conference Workshops
Workshops are 2-hour sessions that happen on Monday, May 1, the day before the conference officially begins! These are deep dives into some of socialgov’s most requested topics.

Creating Effective Social Media Reports Your Boss Loves & Understands
Sabrina Merritt, Founder and CEO, October Social Media

Government Social Media 101
Speakers will be announced soon

Instagram 201: Beyond Chasing Trends and Posting Photos
Eva Kirschbaum, Digital Communications Strategist, Gilbert, Arizona
Frances La Rue, Communications Manager, City of Anna, Texas

Register today!

Extended Early-Bird discount ends Friday, November 18, and afterwards, ticket prices for in-person tickets increase by $100 and virtual tickets increase by $50!

We offer a variety of ticket types to best accommodate government social media professionals, including add-on, pre-conference workshops and an All Access and VIP ticket. Virtual tickets are also available!

We can’t wait to meet with government social media professionals at the largest social media conference for government agencies during this special hybrid event May 2-4, 2023. Download our one-page event summary to help with your training/travel approvals, and save the most by reserving your spot before extended early-bird registration ends! Here’s how.

Best communicate with the public you serve and get connected with fellow socialgovs by registering for the 2023 Government Social Media Conference happening in Reno-Tahoe, Nevada! Join our free network for bi-weekly Government Social Media Chats or professional association for member-only webinars. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates on training, events and more.

We support the largest network of government social media professionals in the U.S. by guiding government agencies through complex social media issues. Government Social Media helps you successfully communicate with the public you serve, protect your agency and keep public trust while finding your support community.