Report from Progress Conference 2025 - Misha Glouberman Substack

Report from Progress Conference 2025 in Berkeley 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 
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 And thoughts how to make conferences even better

 Misha Glouberman Oct 23, 2025 27 8 3 Share 

 I was in Berkeley at Lighthaven for the Progress Conference , a two-day gathering on how to accelerate progress in society. I got to take part and help out a bit. It’s a really great conference, with lots of attendees saying it’s the best conference they’ve been to. I had an amazing time and was genuinely honored at the chance to work with these guys. 

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 Subscribe A big part of what I do for a living is advise people on how to make their conferences better . I wanted to use the Progress Conference as a case study for ways to do a conference right and also to help clarify a vision of how conferences can and should be even better. (For more of my thoughts on this, see my essay Everything You Did To Make Your Conference Better Actually Made It Worse .) 

 Some of the many things the Progress Conference did well 

 Here are a few things they did that made the event great, that are lessons for other conferences.

 Have a clear goal: In my work, I see many conferences where the organizers can’t articulate goals at all. (“It’s our annual conference, and it’s been almost a year since the last one” does not count). Jason Crawford, the organizer, is laser-focused in what he wants the conference to do: He wants to gradually build up a movement, over several years, to advocate for more technological and economic progress. He’s incredibly clear about where the conference fits into the creation of this movement. That clarity of vision makes a huge difference. 

 Gather a community of people who have mutual excitement to be together: A conference is, at its root, about bringing people together. The best conferences bring together people who really want to be together . In this case: there was a simmering interest in Progress Studies (from this article , and this blog ) but as far as I know, this conference (started last year) was the first time people who shared this interest had been brought together. People here were really excited to meet. 

 Curate your attendees: A conference is, at its heart, a gathering of people. I’ve seen many conference planners put hours of thought into the venue, into who the speakers will be into the meals but not give any thought to who they want to attend. The attendees are the conference. Failing to think about who the attendees are is like throwing a party but not giving any thought to who the guests are. 
 The main way people wound up at the conference is

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