Join us at HOPE 2026!
Mark your calendar for HOPE 2026, March 25–27 in Dallas, Texas! Join us for the premier national convening dedicated to student parent success. HOPE 2026 brings together higher education leaders, advocates, and student parents to elevate parenting student voices, build family-inclusive campuses, and drive change. Through powerful storytelling and dynamic conversations, we’ll grow a national network of champions and spark bold action across policy, philanthropy, and higher education.
Dallas, TX | March 25-27, 2026
We’re excited to host our third annual national conference, continuing our mission to make economic mobility possible for millions of student parents and families across the country. You're invited to join us!
What is the HOPE Conference?
HOPE is designed to bring together student parents, education leaders, policymakers, nonprofit professionals, and philanthropists from across the country to work together to accelerate economic mobility for families — a gathering that is needed now more than ever. By helping to create strong connections among change-makers, HOPE serves as a place for new and brave thinking around the practices, organizations, policies and systems that need to shift to help families thrive.
HOPE 2026 Main Stage Speakers
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Glory Edim
Author, Entrepreneur and Founder, Well Read Black Girl
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Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew
President & CEO, Soulstice Consultancy, on community-centered leadership and belonging
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Dr. Christopher Nellum
Executive Director, Education Trust–West, advancing systems change and economic mobility
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Dr. Candice Bledsoe
Global CEO, Action Research Center, bringing lived experience at the intersection of parenting, persistence, and power
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Miguel Cardona
12th U.S. Secretary of Education, speaking to education equity and opportunity for families
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Thana Hickman
CEO & Founder of Viola’s House
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DeRionne P. Pollard
President and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
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Richard Walker
President, University of Houston-Clear Lake
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Consultant, Parenting Students and Basic Needs Issues
A National Voice for Students and Families: Secretary Miguel Cardona at HOPE 2026
Founding CEO of Cardona Solutions & 12th United States Secretary of Education
Couldn’t join us in New Orleans or National Harbor? The HOPE Backstage Pass gives you 365-day access to high-quality recordings from HOPE 2024 and HOPE 2025. For $150 per year, you’ll unlock every plenary and select breakouts, bonus content, and unlimited views—so you can learn, reflect, and access the content on your own schedule.
HOPE 2024 Backstage Pass
$150
11 hours of video, including all plenaries + 5 breakouts. 365-day access with unlimited views.
