Women Veterans Conference “Making Connections” 2020

More than 150 women veterans and vendors gathered in the conference hall at the Texas Station casino on the last Saturday in February. There were lots of hugs and handshakes as attendees gathered outside the conference room, next to the vendors. That hallway was packed with women who wanted to learn more about resources and services available to them as well as chat with others and network.

Ann E Doran, the Executive Director for the VA’s Office of Patient Advocacy, opened the conference with an uplifting message. She shared her personal experiences of serving in the U.S. Navy and invited the audience to look around adding, “you are now the face of the VA,” explaining that women are the fastest growing segment of the veteran population.

March is “Women’s History Month,” but Governor Steve Sisolak issued a proclamation naming the month of March as “Women’s Military History Month in Nevada". Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske was on hand to present the proclamation on behalf of the governor.

The day included a panel discussions on a number of topics of interest to women veterans including health care, benefits, volunteerism, employment, self-care and more.

The event was covered by the Las Vegas Review Journal and will be featured on the front page of Veterans Reporter News in March. We will also have much more on the conference coming up in next month’s NDVS e-newsletter!