Safety and occupational health (SOH) professionals have an opportunity to earn free continuing education credits and training without the burden of travel or conference fees when the Naval Safety and Environmental Training Center’s 34th Annual Joint Safety and Environmental Professional Development Symposium (PDS) convenes April 20-24, 2026.
The PDS is a professional development event for Department of Defense uniformed and civilian professionals to share innovative ideas, new trends and information. Presenters from government, industry and academic agencies participate in the symposium, and speakers host from locations worldwide. This year’s PDS will feature claimant meetings, keynote speakers and breakout sessions on a variety of topics.
The conference planning team is currently looking for claimant meeting sponsors and breakout session presenters. All meetings and sessions will be hosted virtually using the web conferencing tool Adobe Connect at no cost to presenters or attendees, allowing presentations from across the globe. These meetings and sessions will provide users with a certificate of attendance documenting continuing education credits earned. Claimant meeting sponsors and breakout session presenters will be assigned a PDS point of contact to assist before and during the event. Training on how to use the technology to present content and engage a virtual audience will be provided.
Claimant meetings provide up to 15 different organizations with the opportunity to host a one-day conference specific to their mission on April 20, 2026. Topics can range from trending issues, updates, training, etc. The meeting sponsor will be responsible for the agenda and content presented during the meeting. All content must be unclassified and releasable to the public. If your organization is interested in a claimant meeting, click or copy and paste the following request link into your browser and complete all fields provided: http://jointpds.adobeconnect.com/pds2026presenters/event/speaker_info.html. Once your proposal is submitted, the PDS team will review it and confirm whether it is approved. Proposals are due by Jan. 30, 2026.
Breakout presentations from all government, industry and academic agencies will be considered. Please note that no compensation is provided, so presenters requesting fees will not be accepted. Presenters can reach a large target audience during their virtual session, with an average attendance of more than 100 participants over the past several years. Presentations may cover anything within the following broad topics:
- Environmental protection
- General safety
- Health and safety for disaster response and recovery
- Industrial hygiene
- Occupational medicine
- Occupational safety and health
- Operational safety
- Public health
- Radiation and laser safety
- Other trending topics
If you are interested in presenting a topic, click or copy and paste the following submissions link into your browser: http://jointpds.adobeconnect.com/pds2026presenters/event/registration.html. Follow the screen prompt to submit your presentation proposal by Jan. 30, 2026. You will receive confirmation of your submission via email. There are limited speaking slots, so please submit your proposals as soon as possible. The proposals will be reviewed by the PDS planning team and leadership. If you are selected to present, you will be notified by Feb. 25, 2026. Information submitted in your proposal will be provided to registered attendees via the event website. Please ensure the information provided reflects the intent of your presentation.
The PDS has been presented online since 2013 and continues to grow both in the number of attendees and topics offered. The 2025 PDS provided continuing education certificates to more than 3,100 registrants. Attendees come from diverse backgrounds, including safety, industrial hygiene, environmental science, occupational health, public health, radiation health and occupational medicine. To register for this year’s PDS, log into the website below and complete the form:
http://jointpds.adobeconnect.com/pds2025registration/event/registration.html. If you have questions regarding this event, please contact the PDS committee at NAVSAFENVTRACEN_JOINT_PDS@navy.mil.
Key Dates and Information
- Call for speakers closes: Jan. 30, 2026
- Session approval notification: Feb. 25, 2026
- Presenter training: Recorded training will be provided.
- Claimant host training: Recorded training will be provided.
- Presenter/claimant prep QA session: March 9, 2026, at 1000 EST and March 16, 2026, at 1500 EST
- Presentation materials due: March 31, 2026
- Session setup/practice: April 13-17, 2026
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