We are excited to announce our keynote speakers for the 2026 ACA National Conference in San Diego. Prepare to be inspired and reenergized by their powerful insights and groundbreaking perspectives that will empower us to harness the true impact of camp.
Tuesday, February 17
Lauren Ridloff
Keynote Speaker
Lauren, a former camper, won the title of Miss Deaf America and was a kindergarten teacher in Manhattan for a decade before leaving that job to take care of her two young children. In 2016, she was hired as the American Sign Language tutor for the director of the Broadway revival of Children of a Lesser God and was later chosen as the lead, receiving multiple rave reviews and a Tony nomination. She soon became a series regular on the long running series, The Walking Dead, and the first deaf superhero in Marvel's worldwide hit, Eternals. Lauren received a 2020 BAFTA Breakthrough award recognizing the most promising stars of film and television.
Wednesday, February 18
Angus Fletcher
Keynote Speaker
Angus Fletcher is a professor of story science at Ohio State's Project Narrative. His research into cultivating emotional resilience, creativity, and character building has been endorsed by the National Council of Teachers of English and praised by experts like Malcolm Gladwell, Brené Brown, and Martin Seligman. He is the author of Wonderworks (Simon and Schuster, 2021), Storythinking (Columbia University Press, 2023), and Primal Intelligence (Penguin Random House, 2025).
