09/28/2026
When we bring our community together, networking is always on the agenda. But traditional mixer-style networking can sometimes feel awkward or transactional—especially for students and early-career professionals trying to break into the field.
We want to design future conference experiences that offer real, high-impact mentorship, and we want to hear from you:
What is the best mentorship event, format, or structure you’ve ever experienced at a conference, and why did it work so well? For example,
> was it speed-mentoring with structured prompts?
> a thematic roundtable over breakfast?
> a field-based activity that naturally broke the ice?
Drop your best ideas, past successes, or even what not to do in the comments below. Let’s build something better for the next gathering!