Best Keynote Speakers for Education Conferences & PD Days: Fall 2026 Planning Guide
If you’re planning a Fall PD Day or education conference in 2026/2027, know this: the tone you set in September carries the whole year. Staff walk into that first PD Day still catching their breath from the summer, wondering what this year is going to ask of them. The right keynote speaker sets the emotional temperature for the entire conference. This guide covers how to plan a Fall PD Day or education conference that lands. Plus, discover 7 PD Day and education conference keynote speakers who know how to speak to educators and parents.
TL;DR: Your Fall PD Day and Education Conference Speaker Shortlist
Anthony Morgan: Turning disagreement and curiosity into a stronger staff culture, from the host of The Nature of Things
AsapSCIENCE: High-energy science storytelling built for modern learners, from creators with over 10 million YouTube subscribers
Dr. Jody Carrington: The human connection message educators keep coming back to, long after the conference ends
Hannah Beach: Why kids are showing up more anxious and shut down than ever, and what to actually do about it
Eric Termuende: Building a staff culture people want to stay in, right from day one
David A. Robertson: Indigenous storytelling and mental health, timed for a season that includes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Peter Mansbridge: Canada’s most trusted voice, honoring the profession itself in a new book releasing this November
Your Fall PD Day or Education Conference Needs Its Own Playbook
A Fall PD Day isn’t a smaller version of your spring conference. It’s a different moment entirely.
Spring PD Days happen when staff are running on fumes, counting down to summer. Fall is the opposite. Staff are walking in with more energy and more uncertainty. New students, new challenges, new pressures around student mental health and classroom technology. What you program in September shapes how your staff shows up for the rest of the year.
This is the season that also includes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, a date many school boards and education associations build directly into their fall programming. If Truth and Reconciliation learning is part of your PD Day or eduation conference, that context should also shape your speaker selection.
According to Talent Bureau’s 2025 survey of event attendees, 49% of audiences rewatch, re-engage, or return to ideas after an event ends. We explored this stat in depth in our article on conference engagement that lasts beyond the event. For a education groups specifically, that number matters even more. Your staff will carry whatever your speaker gives them straight into their classrooms the very next day.
What to Consider When Planning Your Fall PD Day or Education Conference
1. Timeline: When to Book
Education bookings move on a different clock than corporate events. Many school boards and associations finalize their full-year PD calendar over the summer, which means fall dates often get locked in early. If you’re planning a September or October PD Day or education conference, start planning in late spring to secure top keynote speakers.
2. Budget: What You’re Actually Paying For
School board and association budgets typically move through committee approval, which takes longer than a single decision-maker signing off. Build that extra lead time into your planning. Work with a booking agent who can match your budget to a curated shortlist.
3. Format: Assembly Keynote, or Keynote Plus Breakout?
This is where education audiences differ from corporate ones. In Talent Bureau’s 2025 survey of 250 event attendees, interactive workshops were the most preferred format at 44%, ahead of panel discussions at 40% and standalone keynote talks at 31%. For a PD Day especially, staff expect to leave with something they can actually use in their classroom on Monday.
If your budget allows it, pair a full-staff keynote with breakout sessions where teachers can go deeper on the parts most relevant to their role. If it doesn’t, build in structured discussion time by grade, department, or team immediately after the keynote.
7 Fall PD Day and Education Conference Keynote Speakers (2026)
Anthony Morgan: For Turning Disagreement Into Productive Collaboration
Anthony Morgan is the host of The Nature of Things on CBC, and an innovation leader who helps organizations transform disagreement into productive thought. He holds an Honours degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour, and his current Ph.D. research explores how to reduce polarization in high-stakes conversations.
Why he’s right for fall: Staff rooms are full of people with different teaching philosophies, different comfort levels with change, and different opinions about the year ahead. Anthony Morgan gives staff a framework for turning that friction into something productive right from the season’s first PD Day. His ideas are also the kind that stick, we’ve featured his ability to create shared language that staff keep referencing well after the event.
AsapSCIENCE: Science Communication Made Simple for Modern Learners
AsapSCIENCE, created by Greg Brown and Mitch Moffit, has built over 10 million YouTube subscribers and billions of views making complex science accessible. As openly queer educators, they’ve collaborated with NASA and National Geographic, and their keynotes reveal the science behind connection, influence, and learning in the digital age.
Why they’re right for fall: Nothing sets the tone for a new school year like genuine, contagious energy. AsapSCIENCE brings the kind of high-engagement, research-backed content that equips educators to reach students who are growing up entirely online, making it a strong opening keynote for a full staff kickoff.
Dr. Jody Carrington: Human Connection and Resilience—the Message Educators Return To
Dr. Jody Carrington is a psychologist and bestselling author whose work centers on human connection in an increasingly disconnected world. She has worked directly with teachers’ convention associations and school districts, and past clients describe her as capturing the essence of education more accurately than almost anyone else who has spoken at their events.
Why she’s right for fall: Dr. Jody Carrington’s message about connection and acknowledgment resonates precisely because staff carry it with them into the year. It’s one of the reasons we named her one of the speakers whose ideas create lasting conference engagement, the kind of talk that gets referenced in staff meetings for months.
Hannah Beach: For Understanding the Kids Walking Through Your Doors This Fall
Hannah Beach is a #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author and award-winning emotional health consultant. In our recent conversation with Hannah, she explained why today’s students are more anxious, shut down, and dysregulated than any generation before them, and what educators can actually do about it, starting with understanding that safe relationships, not compliance systems, drive behavior.
Why she’s right for fall: September is when educators meet their students for the first time and start setting the tone for the entire year. Hannah Beach’s insight on reading shutdown behavior and rebuilding connection gives staff practical tools before the first real classroom challenge shows up, not after. Her talks are built for educators, child-focused professionals, and parents.
Eric Termuende: For Building the Culture That Keeps Staff From Leaving
Eric Termuende is co-founder of NoW of Work and author of Rethink Work, with research into what makes top-performing workplaces genuinely resilient. He’s worked with organizations like Amazon and IBM, and his insights have been featured in Forbes and Fast Company.
Why he’s right for fall: Teacher retention is one of the defining pressures education leaders are carrying into this year. Eric Termuende’s work on culture and belonging translates directly to school administrators trying to build a staff environment people want to stay in, and fall is exactly when that culture gets set for the year ahead.
David A. Robertson: Truth and Reconciliation That Goes Beyond a Single Day
David A. Robertson is a member of Norway House Cree Nation, a two-time Governor General’s Literary Award winner, and one of Canada’s most influential voices on Indigenous storytelling and mental health. He serves as editorial director for Swift Water Books, the first Indigenous-led imprint at a major Canadian publishing house.
Why he’s right for fall: With the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation landing every September 30, many education conferences build reconciliation learning directly into their fall programming. David A. Robertson brings lived experience and genuine storytelling to that conversation, turning what could be a single symbolic day into something staff carry into their classrooms all year.
Peter Mansbridge: A Credible Voice in Canadian Media Reflecting on Educators Today
Peter Mansbridge anchored The National for CBC for three decades and is one of the most respected journalists in Canadian history. His next book, A Noble Profession, co-written with Mark Bulgutch, tells the true stories of teachers on the front lines of their profession, and releases November 3, 2026, right in the middle of fall conference season.
Why he’s right for fall: There’s something powerful about opening or closing a PD Day or education conference with a speaker who has spent his career telling other people’s stories, now turning that same lens on teachers themselves. With A Noble Profession landing this fall, Mansbridge’s keynote arrives with a timely, ready-made connection to the exact audience in the room.
Quick Reference: Match the Speaker to Your Moment
| Speaker | Core Strength | Best Slot | Best For |
| Anthony Morgan | Collaboration and productive disagreement | Opening or breakout | Staff navigating change or differing philosophies |
| AsapSCIENCE | High-energy science communication | Opening keynote | Full staff kickoff, engagement-focused events |
| Dr. Jody Carrington | Human connection and resilience | Opening or closing | Staff carrying burnout or disconnection into the year |
| Hannah Beach | Child resilience and behavior | Opening or breakout | Educators facing rising student anxiety and dysregulation |
| Eric Termuende | Culture and retention | Leadership or admin session | School leaders focused on staff retention |
| David A. Robertson | Indigenous storytelling and mental health | Dedicated session, ideally near Sept 30 | Truth and Reconciliation programming |
| Peter Mansbridge | The teaching profession itself | Closing keynote | Honoring staff, association-wide events |
Find the Right Speaker for Your Fall PD Day or Education Conference
Every of these speakers brings something different to a staff room. The right fit depends on what your team actually needs walking into this school year. You can browse more options by exploring our full list of speaker topics or browsing speakers by type.
Ready to build your keynote speaker shortlist? Visit talentbureau.com or contact us today. We’ll match your event format, themes, audience needs, and budget, to the right voice for your Fall PD Day or education conference.
FAQs – Best Speakers for Fall Education Conferences & PD Days
Earlier than you’d think. Many school boards and education associations finalize their PD calendars over the summer. If you’re planning a September or October event, start speaker conversations by late spring.
Spring PD Days often address burnout and year-end exhaustion. Fall PD Days set the tone for the entire year ahead; this means the speaker you choose shapes how staff show up for months.
Many PD Days and education conferences build reconciliation learning directly into fall programming. A speaker with genuine lived experience and storytelling ability, rather than a single symbolic gesture, tends to create the most lasting impact.
According to Talent Bureau’s 2025 survey, interactive workshops are the most preferred event format among attendees, ahead of panels and standalone keynotes. For PD Days, staff tend to value walking away with something they can apply in the classroom right away, which breakout sessions support well.
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