About Our Leadership Summit
The Military Spouse Leadership Summit is a one-day, in-person training and networking event designed to equip Spouse Club leaders with the tools, strategies, and connections needed to thrive in their roles. Through a mix of expert-led plenary sessions, interactive workshops, and peer roundtables, the Summit empowers leaders to build stronger, more resilient communities across the military spouse network. This event serves as a unique opportunity to foster collaboration, inspire innovation, and invest in the future of military spouse organizations.
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Keynote Speaker: Melissa Sayers “Using AI in your Volunteer Role. Giving Leaders the Tools to Work Smarter Not Harder!”
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Fireside Chat with Corie Weathers, LPC and Dr. Julie Taufa’asau. “Connecting with Military Spouses of All Generations”
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Breakout sessions for practical applications of both presentations
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Panel Discussion: “The Future of Military Spouse Clubs”
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4 Different Workshops: (Select your top 2 choices at registration)
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“Cracking the Code: 2025 Trends in Volunteer Recruitment"
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“Creating Amazing Events”
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“Emotional Intelligence”
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“Relational Leadership”
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10 Roundtable Discussions, each with a different topic, open rotation between topics
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Continental Breakfast and Lunch provided
Bring your whole board for a great day of training and team building! Only $30 per person.
Catholic University of America is a stop on the Metro Red Line.
Parking is available at the Campus Parking Garage at 3600 John McCormack Road, NE. for $10 for the day.
Event held in the Przybyla Student Center, 3rd Floor Great Room
Summit Speakers
FIRESIDE CHAT
“Connecting with Military Spouses of All Generations”
Corie Weathers, LPC
Corie Weathers is a Clinical Advisor on Military Morale and Leadership with over two decades of experience supporting military families and leadership teams. A licensed professional counselor by trade and author, she was recognized as one of the Mighty25 Influencers of 2024 for her extensive work with organizations, service members, families, and military academia. Her book, Military Culture Shift, is shaping dialogue in the highest levels of military leadership and policy for how to reconstitute the force after twenty years of global conflict.
She has traveled internationally to visit troops and has taught service families across the globe building bridges between generations, increasing communication, and reducing conflict. As an advocate, Corie has testified in front of the Texas House of Representatives, educated policy leaders and advisors on mental health and readiness for the force, and contributed to the passing of a Congressional Bill for licensure portability. Corie’s ability to blend clinical insights with strategic leadership solutions makes her a trusted voice in advising military leaders and government officials on fostering resilience and adaptability within military communities. Learn more at www.corieweathers.com
Summit Workshops
Relational Leadership
Every leader brings something different to the table—and that’s the point. But what happens when your way of leading doesn’t match what your team needs? In this session, we’ll explore how curiosity helps you better understand your own leadership preferences—and how to flex when your team needs something different. You’ll get a quick strengths-inspired snapshot of your own leadership style using Gallup’s leadership domains and learn how to spot—and support—the styles of others. Whether you’re leading volunteers, committees, or an entire club, you’ll walk away with practical, people-first questions to guide your leadership, reduce friction, and help everyone feel seen, valued, and motivated to contribute. We’ll explore: - Why advising too soon can shut people down—and what to ask instead - How your strengths shape your natural leadership preferences - How to spot what others need to feel supported, trusted, and empowered - Simple tools and questions to build trust and energize your team Let’s trade assumptions for curiosity—and lead in a way that connects.
Emotional Intelligence
Did you know that emotional intelligence (EQ) is the number one predictor of job performance and leadership potential and the higher the emotional intelligence score, the higher the salary? Luckily, emotional intelligence, unlike our IQ, is something that we ALL can improve! In this workshop, participants will learn more about what emotional intelligence is, why it is so important to us as leaders, and how we can cultivate our EQ through understanding and practice.
Club Events that WOW!
Building Community through Exciting Events with Kara Hileman - Kara will be sharing her step by step process to plan any program, save you time, and simplify the process! She will also share tips and tricks she has learned through the years, theme ideas and everyone gets a favor! Because it's not a party without a favor.
Cracking the Code: 2025 Trends in Volunteer Recruitment
The importance of Volunteer Recruitment has never been clearer: it’s all in finding the people to serve as volunteers. And the payoff has never been clearer: volunteers can help support and achieve the mission and goals of the organization. Let’s crack the code! We will look at 2025 Volunteer Management trends, challenges and tools to help prioritize and prepare for the volunteer recruitment needs ahead. We will work to identify some challenges and opportunities within the current recruitment landscape as well as explore the latest strategies for attracting, engaging, and retaining volunteers into the future. We will give some extra time to look at how our leadership can impact volunteer recruitment. Let’s gain fresh perspectives, actionable solutions, and renewed inspiration to build a stronger network of Military Spouse Clubs. The workshop will be led by Susan Sanow, CVA, Senior Manager, Volunteer Management Education at Volunteer Fairfax, Fairfax, VA.
Summit Sponsors
