This is a banner year for NERA—our 50^th Anniversary Conference! We are counting on you to celebrate it with us. Much has changed since 1969, so it is appropriate that this year’s theme is “Transformation by Design,” and we are planning the conference as purposefully as the theme indicates.
 
Join us for the 2019 NERA Conference at the Trumbull Marriott Shelton in Trumbull, CT on October 16-18, 2019. Membership and conference registration forms are available on the NERA website^[1]. Book your hotel^[2] by September 30^th, to ensure that you get the discounted rate of $152 per night + tax.
 
Many exciting things are in store for the conference participants this year:
 
Keynote Speakers: Three great keynote speakers are confirmed for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday:

• Dr. Monika Williams Shealey – Senior Vice President of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Division at Rowan University;
• Dr. Alina von Davier – Senior Vice President at ACTNext; and
• Dr. Ezekiel Dixon-Román – Associate Professor and Chair of the Data Analytics for Social Policy Certificate at UPenn’s Social Policy and Practice program.

 
Panelists: In addition to the speakers, we will have a panel discussion featuring Kristen Huff – Vice President of Assessment and Research at Curriculum Associates, Alina von Davier – Senior Vice President at ACTNext, and Rebecca Zwick – Distinguished Presidential Appointee at the Educational Testing Service. The panel will be moderated by Ellen Forte – CEO and Chief Scientist of edCount LLC and will focus on the experiences these thoughtful leaders have had transforming themselves, their organizations, and the education field.
 
Pre-Conference and in-conference Workshops: The membership-driven conference workshops begun last year. Given the positive feedback, we continued that process this year. We will have five pre-conference workshops beginning Wednesday morning, and additional in-conference workshop options on Thursday and Friday. These workshops were all chosen by the members votes. Some of the workship topics include:

• Using R to Automatically Generate Reports and Presentations with Officer
• Using Stan for Bayesian Estimation of Item Response Theory Models
• Supporting Social Justice in STEM for Culturally-Diverse Learners
• An Introduction to Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling with R
• Pursue Smarter Pathways to Success: Transform Education through Predictive Analytics

 
There are also different and interesting opportunities for professional development:
 
3MT Competition: Inspired by the University of Queensland’s Three-Minute Thesis Competition (3MT), this year NERA will hold its own 3MT event. Conference participants can volunteer for one of the limited spots in the competition, in which they will have three minutes to efficiently explain the breadth and significance of their research in a presentation aimed at a non-technical audience. We will have two competition groups: graduate students and professionals. Winners in each category will receive prizes!
     
Webinars: We are hosting three webinars tied directly to the conference:  

• 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition - Wednesday, May 1. The recording is available on the NERA website.
• Presenting at NERA: Key Suggestions for Different Presentation Types - Wednesday, September 18 at 12:30 pm EDT.
• Getting the Most Out of the NERA Meeting Thursday, October 3 at 12:30 pm EDT.

 
Our committees are also working hard to offer the best experience to our conference participants:
 
GSIC Sessions: This year, GSIC will be offering two different sessions. The first one, titled “Getting Through It: Managing the Dissertation Process,” is a panel discussion that includes doctoral students who recently finished their dissertations, sharing their stories and offering tips and guidance. The second one, titled “The Business of Our Business,” is a small workshop/panel that will explain how to incorporate yourself into a separate legal entity for business purposes, legal issues you may face when working on a grant or contracting, and how to plan for and limit your potential tax liability.
 
Mentoring: The mentoring program will provide graduate students with the opportunity to meet with professionals in the field. Mentors can provide individualized feedback on research projects and/or dissertations, as well as provide guidance during the conference.

Conference App: We will continue to use the conference app to provide conference information, facilitate interactions among NERA members at the conference, and allow researchers to share their slides and papers with colleagues easily. However, don’t worry, we will also have a PDF version of the program available!
 
We are also planning some fun activities to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of NERA:
 
Oral history project: To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the NERA conference, we will be video recording NERA members’ stories and anecdotes about how participating in NERA has impacted them. Have a story you want to share? Be on the lookout during the conference for scheduled times and locations to record your story. A compilation video of the best stories will be shared after the conference and posted on the website.
 
1969 celebration: Dress in your best groovy outfit and join us for an evening of peace, love, and fun; as we celebrate 50 years since the first NERA Conference in 1969. Best outfit wins a prize!
 
Photo Booth: Grab a prop, strike a pose, take some shots and share them using the hashtag #NERA50.


If you have any questions or comments about the conference, please feel free to reach out to the 2019 co-chairs at NERA.CoChairs@gmail.com.
 
We are looking forward to seeing you all in October at the 50^th Anniversary NERA Conference!
 
Best,
 
Alejandra Garcia, Paola Heincke, and Bridget Thomas
2019 NERA Conference Co-Chairs