YOUR AD HERE »

Breckenridge local to launch women’s leadership conference

The Roar founder Brittany Speer is bringing her new women’s leadership conference to Breckenridge on Aug. 4.
Sawyer D’Argonne / sdargonne@summitdaily.com

FRISCO — A local woman is launching a new conference in Breckenridge next month, hoping to celebrate and connect female leaders in the Summit County community and to highlight their abilities to make an impact in the workplace.

The conference, called The Roar, will focus on developing emotional intelligence among participants through a keynote address from a local life coach and exercises designed to improve leadership abilities.

Brittany Speer, Breckenridge resident and founder of the conference, said she became drawn to the idea because of a lack of anything similar in the area.



“I couldn’t find any conferences or organizations that met my needs, so I made my own,” Speer said. “I was looking for some sort of outlet for women like myself, women in leadership, that put an emphasis on emotional intelligence in the workplace. I saw a need, and the more I spread the word, the more that need was validated. The support so far has been really amazing.”

Speer, who also works as a manager at Breckenridge Grand Vacations, said that throughout her business career, she’s seen plenty of female-specific conferences — she noted topics like “how to be more assertive” or “how to get what you want” in the workplace — but always in a way she felt created a sense of inferiority to their male counterparts.



Instead, Speer said she’s interested in creating an experience that would emphasize the natural strengths of female leadership.

“I feel there aren’t a lot of resources for women out there, especially in leadership,” Speer said. “It seemed to me the conferences that are out there are highlighting the idea that women are less than. It was all about how women can feel equal in the workplace.

“What I wanted to celebrate is our strength. And what that strength is, to really generalize here, emotional intelligence. I want to celebrate women in leadership, and highlight the positives and natural abilities rather than trying to just make comparisons to the male gender. And that’s a whole different level of emotional intelligence — recognizing that the genders are different, and there are reasons to be proud of that and find value in both genders.”

The conference will key in on that idea, beginning with a presentation by local facilitator Claudine Norden, of Ascent Life Planning out of Frisco. Norden — who runs one-on-one and larger corporate leadership events — will lead the group through a workshop on emotional intelligence, consisting of group activities and active reflexive exercises.

According to Norden, the concept of emotional intelligence is composed of five main skills: stress management, self-perception, self-expression, decision-making and interpersonal skills. The idea is to help women better hone these skills on a personal level so they can bring them back into the community.

“I’m hoping to make personal impacts,” Norden said. “Once we have that personal impact and self-awareness, we can make a bigger impact on the community around us. … I’m honored to be a part of it. I believe what we’re bringing to the community will inspire our young women in leadership.”

Speer also will head exercises later in the day, including a guided meditation and training in communication and self-perception. There will be a happy hour and farewell address at the end of the day.

The Roar will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 4 at Carter Park in Breckenridge. Registration is open at TheDailyRoar.org or at the event, though there are only 45 available spots.

Speer said she’s hoping the conference can become an annual event and help to create a community among participants.

“This community attracts the best of the best, and people are always looking to take things to the next level,” Speer said. “I just want to provide that resource. … These are skills you can take with you.”


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.