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2026 Conference
May 1-2, 2026

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About The NMPW Conference

 

NMPW hosts a state conference every year in the spring. For 2026, our conference will be held at Isleta Resort on May 1-2. The conference is a perfect opportunity to network with media professionals across the state. Workshops are held and the organization announces the winners of the Zia Book Award, Communications Contest, Communicator of Achievement, and scholarships.

The 2026 NMPW Conference will be held Friday and Saturday, May 1-2 at Isleta Resort & Casino. The conference theme is “Resilient Communicators – Thriving in Challenging Times.” The program outline is below.

Melanie Stansbury

 

Our Keynote Speaker:

U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury leads with determination and compassion. Born and raised in New Mexico, Melanie now serves on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and also on the Committee on Natural Resources. She has dedicated her career to finding solutions to water issues, poverty, and climate change. She is a champion of efforts to address hunger, food, and water insecurity; conservation and climate change; and economic development and recovery. She worked in communities across the state as a STEM educator and researcher on land and water issues and served as a staffer in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

2026 Conference Program

Friday, May 1, 2026

  • 2:00pm-3:00pm [Sunrise Room]: Panel – Building Confidence Over a Writing Life, moderated by Saleema Ishq, award-winning author and speaker and Sherry Robinson, award-winning author and journalist
 
Writers are often told to “be confident” but rarely taught how to build that confidence. This panel explores confidence through the lens of self-trust: how it’s developed, tested, lost, and reclaimed over time in writing and journalism. Led by award-winning author Saleema Ishq, this discussion features women writers at various stages sharing honest insights on how they’ve found and sustained confidence throughout their careers.
 
  • 3:15pm-4:45pm [Sunrise Room]: Workshop – Freelancing 101: Survival Techniques for Independent Journalists, conducted by Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, freelance writer/editor
 
Colleagues with an eye for good grammar, correct usage, and proper punctuation might be able to work as an editor or proofreader. Learn what is needed for this area of the press industry, from personal characteristics to finding clients/projects, navigating risks, getting paid, and much more, from Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, who has expanded her journalism business by providing editing and proofreading services to publications, organizations, and individuals for many years.
 
  • 5:00pm-6:30pm [Seminar Room]: Reception with hors d’oeuvres and cash bar. Reception Speaker – Kelly Wendorf, founding CEO of EQUUS, author, and ICF Master Certified Coach. In celebration of this weekend’s Kentucky Derby, please wear your fascinator or fedora.
  • 6:00 [Seminar Room]: Parade and prizes for Kentucky Derby fascinators and fedoras
 
 

Saturday, May 2, 2026

  • 8:00am-10:00am [Seminar Room]: Breakfast
  • 9:00am-10:00am [Seminar Room]: Panel – New Models and Frameworks for Journalism, moderated by Gwyneth Doland, UNM Communications Professor of Practice
 

The digital revolution has forced a redesign of traditional journalistic models. This panel brings together leaders from distinct sectors of the news industry to explore new models and frameworks shaping the future of journalism. UNM professor of practice Gwyneth Doland will lead a discussion about adapting curricula and engaging the community to prepare the next generation, building resilient local news structures, and actions that can enhance the local daily’s presentation of news.

  • 10:15am-11:15am [Seminar Room]: Panel – First Amendment, Democracy and the Law, moderated by Dede Feldman, former legislator and author; featuring Eric Griego Montoya, policy analyst, Adjunct Professor at UNM and former legislator, Diane Denish, former NM Lt. Governor, and Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez, NM state Senator
 
The United States is experiencing unprecedented attacks on our First Amendment rights. Lawsuits directed at news organizations are resulting in people settling, closing shop, or self-censoring. How should we respond as communicators?
 
  • 11:30-1:00pm [Seminar Room]: Zia Book Award and Scholarship Lunch – Hosts: Dede Feldman and Regina Griego
  • 1:15pm-2:45pm [Seminar Room]: Workshop – “AI: Journalist Friend or Foe?” conducted by Tom Tenorio, Systems Engineer at White Sands and Regina Griego, NMPW President
 

The public forum has always been central to the survival and flourishing of cities. In the modern era, this took the form of journalism, where more than 30,000 local news offices acted as distributed civic intelligence systems. This workshop uses the familiar concerns of journalists about artificial intelligence (AI) to invite deeper deliberation about the underlying problem situation: whether cities can survive without the Fourth Estate functions that historically anchored local civic intelligence, and whether AI can be redirected to support a renewed public forum.

  • 3pm-4pm [Sunrise Room]: NMPW Annual Meeting
  • 5:30pm-8:30pm [Seminar Room]: Communications Banquet
    • 5:30pm – Reception (soft and hard drinks available from cash bar)
    • 6:00pm – Dinner
    • 7:00pm – Speaker: U.S Representative Melanie Stansbury
    • 7:30pm – Communicator of Achievement Award, Host: Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
    • 7:45pm – Communication Contests Awards, Hosts: Catherine Lynch and Carolyn Carlson
 
The awards program will highlight winners from all of the categories from the NM Press Women Professional Contest.
 

Registration Information: Pricing

Conference attendees can reserve a room at the Isleta Resort Hotel for the discounted rate of $159 per night by calling 505-724-3800 and giving the code NMP0526. All reservations must be made before April 16, 2026.

  • Full registration* (members: $210/ nonmembers: $230)
  • Saturday only, includes breakfast, lunch, and banquet (members: $180/ nonmembers: $200)
  • Saturday lunch** (members: $60/ nonmembers: $70)
  • Saturday banquet*** (members: $90/ nonmembers: $100)
  • Banquet table for 8: $1,000
  • Banquet half-table for 4: $500

NOTES:
*Full registration includes Friday reception and Saturday conference sessions, meals, and the banquet.
**Zia Book Awards and Scholarships will be awarded at the lunch.
***Communications Contest results and the 2026 Communicator of Achievement will be announced at the banquet.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Help NMPW conduct an outstanding conference! All sponsors will be acknowledged in the conference program.

We offer the following categories and benefits:

Gold

A gift of $2000 (opportunity to have literature and swag available and four tickets to the banquet)
Sponsor Today

Silver

A gift of $1000 (opportunity to have literature and swag available for attendees and two tickets to the banquet)
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Bronze

A gift of $500 (two tickets to the reception)
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