SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. —
The Team Scott Women’s History Committee hosted a Changemaker Summit at the Scott Event Center March 20 featuring women who have successfully advocated for change, to include Dr. Ronda Sauget, retired Col. Laurel “Buff” Burkel, retired SMSgt. Esmerelda Aharon, MSgt. Jenna Rodgers and Lt. Col. Jodi DeDecker-Bubar.
After opening comments by Col. John Poole, 375th Air Mobility Wing commander, the summit started with a video showing the legacy of women in the Air Force, followed by a Leader Advocate Panel. The Q&A panel was moderated by Installation SAPR Program Manager Pamela Dorsey and featured Sauget, Burkel, Aharon and Rodgers.
One program discussed was Air Mobility Command’s Reach Athena initiative, which is a group focused on effecting change in Air Force policy focused on women and families, of which Rodgers is the enlisted lead. “It is based on family and female-centric things that are going on, whether there’s barriers there, or issues that are there, and we work through that to try to help make it better on a volunteer basis,” Rodgers said. “It starts with your story, and that’s how we get there.”
After the Q&A, the summit featured four workshops, starting with Knowing Your Why, facilitated by DeDecker-Bubar, which focused on overcoming imposter syndrome to advocate for positive change. The second workshop, facilitated by Burkel, was called Powerful Presence, and was about thinking more about the words and body language used to have a more powerful presence and facilitate connections with others. Diverse Lens was the third workshop, facilitated by Aharon, and explored the importance of building diverse teams that can encourage collaboration between various different perspectives. The summit ended with Become a Changemaker, facilitated by Rogers. The final workshop focused on the methods to affect higher policy changes by using the proper tools and resources to route suggestions.
The Women’s History Month Panel said they worked to show different perspectives when it comes to enacting positive change for women and everyone in the Air Force.
