Military spouses work non-stop, supporting their service members, working, and caring for children. In the exhaustion from the non-stop demands of being a spouse, parent, employee, sibling, neighbor, friend, and citizen, often military spouses neglect themselves. USO Colorado recognizes their need for rest and rejuvenation.
USO Colorado’s National Spouses Day Summit provides an opportunity for military spouses to breathe, grow and to be refreshed, learning skills to help them bloom where they grow. Our day will be filled to the brim with a wonderful facilitator, Cathan Kabrelian, and guest speaker, Stacey Stegman, lunch, and plenty of fun activities. Spouses will be able to chat with old friends and make some new ones. We are excited to connect, engage and create the space for fun, growth, and restoration.
Please plan to spend the day with us and focus on you!
Summit Facilitator: Cathan Kabrelian
The ability to bloom where we grow begins with an acceptance of where we are, an acceptance of who we are. It begins with a desire for more harmony, understanding, and compassion in our lives, a deeper connection with ourselves and others. Since we cannot give what we don’t have, whether that’s love, compassion, or support, we begin the journey with knowing ourselves, with offering ourselves empathy and compassion, with filling our own cup and then sharing the overflow.
It took Cathan Kabrelian many years to cultivate more harmony, understanding, and compassion in her life. It began decades ago when she became fascinated by the idea that humans could affect their physical, mental, and emotional experiences by training their attention. On and off for years, she tried sitting still, attempting to block out all the inevitable thoughts that crowded her mind. Then she came upon scientific research showing the effectiveness of a mindfulness practice, found teachers offering guidance, and joined a community of people practicing. She finally understood what mindfulness was all about, and it wasn't about pushing away thoughts or tamping down emotions.
In the meantime, Cathan was also introduced to Marshall Rosenburg’s work with non-violent communication, also known as compassionate communication. This needs-awareness lens changed the color of every bloom in her garden of growth, every relationship, every situation. Learning how to translate thoughts, beliefs, judgments, and stories into feelings and needs created a path toward true self-acceptance and stimulated a profound desire to show up in the world with more compassion.
Cathan now has secular mindfulness teaching certifications for both adults (CMT - 200, Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness) and children (CMI - 350, Mindful Schools). She is trained in Compassionate Communication (NVC) and trauma-sensitive teaching. She is a facilitator and mentor for the Compassion Course Online and is dedicated to helping people connect more deeply with themselves and others through mindfulness and needs-awareness.
Keynote Speaker: Stacey Stegman
Stacey Stegman is the senior vice president of communications, marketing and customer service for the world’s 3rd busiest airport – Denver International Airport (DEN). She has spent the past 25 years of her career focused on providing the best service to the public. Stegman guides the airport’s customer experience efforts as well as media relations, marketing, brand, social media, website, communications, public art and events on a local, national and international level.
Stegman joined DEN in December 2012 after serving nearly 17 years with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), where she became the agency’s public relations director in late 2001. Prior to her career at CDOT, she worked in radio promotions and as an on-air talent.
Stegman is a military daughter, a military mom and a military spouse. Her father was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot who lost his life in the Vietnam war. Her son served in the U.S. Marines. Her husband just retired after serving 32 years in the Colorado Air National Guard. His last deployment was to the Middle East in 2018.