PVA Hosts 8th Women Veterans Empowerment Retreat

The Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) has succeeded in hosting its eighth annual ‘Women Veterans Empowerment Retreat’ program, designed for empowering women veterans living with spinal cord injury and diseases such as MS and ALS.

The three-day program was held in Orlando, Florida from September 26^th-28^th brought together more than 40 women veterans from different parts of the continental U.S. The program also included award-winning social impact filmmaker Ariana Vargas and retired NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence’s participation adding leadership and resilience perspectives to the retreat.

Key Highlights:

• 40+ women veterans joined PVA's three-day empowerment and leadership retreat
• Women veterans gained leadership, advocacy and storytelling opportunities
• PVA launched its Women Veterans Leadership Alliance for year-round support

Keynote and interactive story-telling session facilitated by Ariana became one of the important elements of the retreat, who earlier joined a PVA-led discussion on disability inclusion at South by Southwest.

"Every single woman here has a story of survival, resilience, and hope," said Ariana. "It was deeply inspirational to not only be a part of PVA's Women Veterans Empowerment Retreat but to watch these women discover the power of shared storytelling and become authors of their own stories. I look forward to continuing to work with PVA and make sure their voices continue to reach far beyond this event."

The three-day program also comprised of collaborative sessions, advocacy and women’s leadership development sessions, besides other team building exercises for women veterans with disabilities. Makeovers and head shots from L'Oréal USA were also provided to participants and their care-givers as part of the branding aspect of the event.

U.S. Air Force Veteran, PVA National Senior Vice President, and Retreat co-founder Tammy Jones said, "PVA's Women Veterans Empowerment Retreat isn't a weekend at the spa." 

"Each session is thoughtfully designed to provide women veterans with a platform to strengthen their confidence, connect with their community, find their voice, and learn how to use it effectively. And thanks to the roll out of our Women Veterans Leadership Alliance, we can now empower these amazing women to not only be catalysts for positive change in their own communities, but around the world," she added.

This was followed by an induction of the newly founded PVA Women Veterans Leadership Alliance, creating a specialized platform for building leadership among women veterans. Wendy spoke about her professional experience, including four flights on the space shuttle and numerous other NASA assignments.

This comes right after the launch of the One-Of-One campaign by PVA, which aims at raising awareness about the organization’s efforts in helping veterans with SCI/D, as well as the rights of people with disabilities in general.

Amy Patterson, PVA member and U.S. Marine Corps veteran added on, "I was a trained leader in the military, and that will always be a part of who I am. The Women Veterans Empowerment Retreat was the first place that I could see myself again in that role again after my military service. Thanks to the Women Veterans Leadership Alliance, myself – and other women veterans with spinal cord injuries and diseases – have access to the skills and resources to continue that role year-round."