It’s almost time for #WIDA2025

By Hannah Haynes

We’re mere weeks away from the 2025 WIDA Annual Conference! This year’s gathering of passionate educators, leaders and innovators will be in-person in Seattle, Washington, from October 28-30, 2025, with an exciting virtual day on October 27, 2025.

We’re gathering under the theme of “Igniting innovation for multilingual learners” to emphasize the importance of innovative strategies and tools to enhance the learning experiences of your students.

This conference is by teachers, for teachers.

#WIDA2025 Keynote

We’re thrilled to announce our keynote speaker for this year’s conference: the brilliant Viet Thanh Nguyen! A Pulitzer Prize-winning author, university professor and powerful voice for the immigrant and refugee experience, Viet brings a depth of insight and humanity that will resonate deeply with educators of multilingual learners.

He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Sympathizer. Beyond his fiction, Viet’s nonfiction work — like Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War — challenges us to rethink memory, identity and belonging across cultures.

Viet’s journey from a Vietnamese refugee resettled in Pennsylvania and California to a celebrated professor and literary force at the University of Southern California is a powerful testament to the transformative power of education, language and perseverance. His work and life reflect the issues that multilingual learners and their teachers navigate every day: cultural adaptation, linguistic identity, displacement and resilience. His keynote promises to challenge, inspire and affirm the critical work of educators who are shaping the next generation.

Virtual attendees will get a recording of the in-person keynote.

#WIDA2025 Virtual Track

Just like last year, we have a specially curated virtual track for the WIDA Annual Conference, including a special virtual keynote from Javier Zamora.

Javier is a memoirist and poet and brings a personal and timely perspective to the conversation of newcomers and the power of language. His best-selling memoir Solito recounts his journey from El Salvador to the United States as a nine-year-old child traveling alone — guided by strangers and the hope of reuniting with his parents. His voice is one that speaks directly to educators of multilingual learners. Javier helps us understand how language can be both a lifeline and bridge across cultures, and how educators can play a vital role in that journey.

Learn more about our virtual speaker by visiting Javier Zamora’s website.

Closing Keynote at #WIDA2025

The conference will wrap with a closing keynote from 2024 National Teacher of the Year Missy Testerman! Missy was a first and second grade teacher for three decades before taking advantage of the state’s Grow Your Own initiative and adding an ESL endorsement three years ago. She then worked as the ESL specialist and ESL program director at Rogersville City School, a PreK–8 district in East Tennessee, where she also coordinated the system’s summer programs and served on the district leadership team.

Closing out the conference with inspiration from Missy will be a real treat.

Catch #WIDA2025 On-Demand

Interested in catching the virtual track on your own schedule? A recording-only option is available so you can participate in your own place, at your own pace. Recording-only participants will receive access to recorded virtual sessions and both the virtual and in-person keynotes on November 17, 2025.

Recording-only access is available for purchase until November 10, 2025.

#WIDA2025: Get Social!

Share your favorite conference quotes, moments and photos on social media! Use the hashtag #WIDA2025. Follow WIDA on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and X before and during the conference to stay connected to the #WIDA2025 buzz and excitement.