Secular Student Alliance 2024 National Conference

Conference Schedule

We are in the process of updating the conference schedule on a regular basis.  Events, workshops, meals, and times may change. Please check back soon for more information.

Thursday, June 13

Arrival Day

Plan to arrive on Thursday to make your travel plans easier. The campus housing will be available for students. Usually, students hangout in the lobby and welcome other students as they arrive.

Residence Hall Check In

More info coming soon!

Friday, June 14

Conference Registration Open

Starting at 9am

Exhibit Table Set-Up

9am to 12pm

Pre-Conference Workshop     10am to 12pm

Darrel Ray: There Are No Shortcuts to Leadership

Why the hell do you want to be a leader? It can be a thankless job. It is a job you can never do right in many people’s eyes.
Let’s explore why you want to be a leader and what it requires to effectively lead. We will examine the hazards of leading, what happens when you take shortcuts, what motivates people to follow you as a leader, how to find and keep strong members, and how to organize for success.

Welcome and Opening Plenary    1pm

  • Opening remarks from Olivia Goudeau
  • Welcome from Frank D. Scott Jr. Mayor of Little Rock
  • Opening remarks from Kevin Bolling, SSA Executive Director

Conference Workshops   2pm

Break    3pm

Conference Workshops   3:15pm

Friday Afternoon Plenary    4:15pm

  • Public Education and Separation of State and Church :: with Nick Fish

Dinner

 

Friday Night Event      6:30pm

Seth Andrews VS. God: Who is the Better Intelligent Designer

Religious apologists often get misty and reverent about the "obvious" design in nature, yet Seth Andrews thinks God did a pretty shoddy job. Join us for an entertaining, often funny, and sometimes alarming examination of the world's faulty wiring...and how humans could have easily done better.

Saturday, June 15

Breakfast   8am

Saturday Opening Plenary    9am

  • Featured SSA student speaker :: Luke Fisher
  • New Voters Get Unreasonable :: with Jahnavi Rao and Podcast Unreasonable

Conference Workshops   10:00am

Saturday Plenary      11:00am

  • The Threat of Authoritarianism Across the Political and Religious/Irreligious Spectrum :: with Kristina Lee

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy :: Backbone Award Recipient

Miss Major is a Black, transgender activist who has fought for over fifty years for her trans/gender nonconforming community.

Major is a veteran of the infamous Stonewall Riots, a former sex worker, and a survivor of Dannemora Prison and Bellevue Hospital’s “queen tank.” Her global legacy of activism is rooted in her own experiences, and she continues her work to uplift transgender women of color, particularly those who have survived incarceration and police brutality.

Lunch    12pm

Conference Workshops   1:00pm

Conference Workshops    2:00pm

Break    3pm

Conference Workshops   3:15pm

Saturday Afternoon Plenary     4:15pm

  • Ending Christian Nationalism: Defending Democracy through Local Action :: with Devin Withrow
  • How Project 2025 Will Impact Your Life :: with Anne Nelson

Dinner

 

Saturday Night Plenary    6:30pm

Documentary Screening:  BAD FAITH reveals how Christian Nationalist leaders have spread fear and anger for decades, distorting political issues into Biblical battles between good and evil. Financed through the secretive Council for National Policy, Christian Nationalists have succeeded in taking over the Republican Party, turning it into a powerful weapon to demolish democracy from within. Discover the origins of this organized grasp for power and the grassroots coalition of secular and interfaith leaders bravely confronting the unholy forces threatening democracy.

Sunday, June 16

Breakfast    8am

Residence Hall Check Out

If your travel plans have you leaving on Sunday afternoon, Residence Hall checkout is between noon-2pm.

Sunday Opening Plenary       9am

  • ​The Satanic Temple's After School Satan Club :: with June Everett
  • Podcaster Panel :: Conversations About Difficult Topics

Conference Workshops    10am

Sunday Closing Plenary     11am

Exhibit Tables Closed

 

Plan To Start Your Travel Plans Back Home After 12pm.

 

Monday, June 17

Resident Hall Check Out

If your travel plans have you staying overnight on Sunday, you can reserve an extra night in the residence hall for a Monday morning departure.

Speakers and Presenters

Sasha Sagan

Jeff Hawkins

Rep. Hank Johnson