CHSAA Hosts Its Second Annual Women in Leadership Conference
AURORA – The Colorado High School Activities Association hosted its second-annual Women in Leadership Conference on Wednesday, at the Evergreen Lake House, in Evergreen.
“This day is an absolute highlight of our year,” said CHSAA Associate Commissioner Bethany Brookens, who helped organize the event. “Celebrating women and our unique strengths as leaders creates a special community that we can celebrate with all year long.”
“To be surrounded by amazing women who constantly thrive to positively impact their communities is so inspiring,” added CHSAA Assistant Commissioner Jenn Roberts-Uhlig, another one of the event’s organizers. “I’m honored to be part of this effort of bringing strong women together to share ideas on how to continue to break down barriers and continue to make their mark.”
The day started with breakfast and a guided meditation, led by Luci Kosloski — the head coach of Cherry Creek’s Dance Team — to help center the attendees and forge new connections amongst the group. The attendees then got seated at their tables and opened up the next section of the day with a series of ice-breaker questions that helped launch the meaningful conversations at hand, like mental health and how to find a balance between work and home, how to deal with intimidation in the workplace, and how to break into a male dominated world.
Following the ice-breaker section, the first panel, moderated by Vista PEAK’s Activities Director, Desiree Chase, was focused on fostering good mental health and a healthy work-life balance. The panel featured Melynda Brown, the Athletic Director at Mullen; Dana Pappas, the Director of Officiating Services at the National Federation of State High School Associations; Dawn Roberts, Assistant to the Executive Director at JeffCo Schools; Meghan Sanders, the Principal at Rampart; and former Colorado State Senator Nancy Todd.
Principal Sanders discussed how valuable it was for her to have role models in educational administration who demonstrated that it was acceptable to take time to themselves and invest time and energy into their home life, along with making that same investment into their careers.
“If it’s Tuesday night and I’m with my kids, and something happens at school, we can fix it later. It will be ok,” Principal Sanders said. “There are 1,300 kids at Rampart and I’ve got all of their families as a community, plus 500 staff members… so, a lot of people depend on me. But, at the same time, we have a collective understanding that I’m human and that we can fix whatever happens, even if I’m not available right that moment. You need to take care of your people and be present with your family.”
The first panel led right into the second panel of the day, which focused on handling intimidation in the workplace, and was moderated by Natalie Burton, the girls volleyball head coach at Fossil Ridge. Panelists Nici Akey, a volleyball official; Delia Febres Butler, a track and field and spirit official; Jessika Caldwell, the girls basketball head coach at Valor Christian; LaVern Huston, the girls volleyball head coach at Windsor and boys volleyball head coach at Severance; and Christine Jones, the Assistant Principal at Cherokee Trail, all discussed their experiences facing intimidation, or being intimidating themselves, and offered strategies on how to traverse those obstacles.
“I think one big takeaway about dealing with intimidation in the workplace, that I’d like to share with the room, is surrounding yourself with positive affirmation,” Akey said. “Having those people who can uplift you, and see your talents even when you don’t see them yourself, and will remind you, in those moments, that you still have those qualities and that you’re plenty capable. I feel lucky to be surrounded by those people. Leaning on their support in those high-pressure moments and moments of intimidation, to move past those feelings, has been very powerful. Not only because of what it has given me, but because it allowed us to connect and empower each other.”
Once the second panel wrapped up the attendees were given a brief break to stretch their legs, enjoy the beautiful lake house, and, most importantly, network and create new relationships with leaders from all across Colorado.
Everyone then got to enjoy a healthy laugh, following the conclusion of the networking period, courtesy of keynote speaker and professional stand-up comedian, Karyn Ruth White.
“I heard someone here, today, talk about, ‘I’m worried I’m going to disappoint someone today. I hope I don’t disappoint them,'” Ruth White recalled. “The next time you’re wondering who you have to prove yourself to, I hope you’re looking in a mirror, because that’s the only person you have to prove anything to.”
The group then broke for lunch, which was catered by Hippie Chicks and featured further opportunities to network and explore the lake house’s surrounding campus.
Once fully recharged and well fed, the attendees returned to their tables for the final panel of the day. The discussion focused on the hurdles faced when trying to break into a male-dominated world and was hosted by Erika James-Bouwmeester, the Dean of Students at Boulder High School. Panelists Joannie Green-Turner, a lobbyist and former legislator in Colorado; Nadine Ihde-Johnston, a wrestling official; Marcia Neville, a CHSAA Hall-of-Famer and Colorado media icon; and Sandy Searcy, a Director of Sports at the NFHS, all lent their expertise to discuss how their fellow attendess could further break into professional realms often occupied by men.
“Much how you athletic directors are walking into rooms filled with men and trying to find your voice, I had to do the same thing within my own sports department, as a member of the media,” Neville reflected. “At first it was hard and uncomfortable, but fortunately, I could show my confidence and knowledge with discussing sports, and prove that I belonged in that world. I would just advise to lean into that preparation and preparedness and let that feed your self-confidence.”
With the conclusion of third panel, the event transitioned into a reflection period, where the panelists and attendees shared some of their biggest takeaways and lessons learned from the event.
With another amazing Women in Leadership Conference in the books, the CHSAA would also like to thank the Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports organization for its help sponsoring the event.
