EMPOWER
Virtual Summit
Topic #1
The 4 Money Stories Every Young Person Is Living
with Kyle Blackwell | Author, Founder of Purpose Path
Topic #2
Preparing Female Student-Athletes for Life Beyond Sports
with Tori Barker | CEO & Visibility Expert
Topic 3
When Your Daughter Says, “No One Likes Me”: The 4-step Response to Empowerment
with Sheri Gazitt | Teen & Parent Coach
Topic #4
Becoming Who You're Meant to Be Instilling Confidence, Purpose, and Resilience in Youth
with Gene Jochen | Author, Speaker, CoachÂ
Meet Your Host
Kyle Blackwell
Helping parents and mentors raise young people who are wise with money and grounded in who they are.
Tori Barker
Creating conversations, resources, and opportunities that support women through every stage of their journey.
Sheri Gazitt
Making complex social dynamics feel understandable and giving families practical ways to build confidence, connection, and healthier friendships.
Gene Jochen
His unique "one step forward" framework with parents, coaches, and youth leaders
Kyle Blackwell
The 4 Money Stories Every Young Person Is Living
(and How to Change the Ending)
Kyle Blackwell reveals how young people’s money habits are often shaped by hidden stories long before they understand the consequences. Drawing from nearly two decades as a CFP® professional, he introduces four common money mindsets and shows adults how to recognize them early. In this practical, faith-rooted presentation, parents, coaches, educators, and youth leaders will learn how to start meaningful conversations that can reshape financial choices before those patterns follow young people into adulthood.
Kyle Blackwell helps young adults build a healthy relationship with money before life gets expensive.
He is the founder of Purpose Path, a faith-based financial formation platform built on one idea, that who you are has to come before what you earn. He is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, a husband, and a father, and his interest in money started early, with a curiosity about how businesses grow and how ordinary people can take part.
He started his career by knocking on doors, introducing himself one conversation at a time. He learned that most people don't need complexity. They need clarity and someone willing to listen. After more than a decade in the industry, he launched his own advisory practice, which was later acquired. His work has been noted by Forbes and InvestmentNews, but the real measure has always been the trust people placed in him.
Kyle noticed a gap. We hand young people diplomas, car keys, and loan paperwork, and somewhere in there we forget to give them a way to think about money that's bigger than fear or hustle. They weren't failing for lack of talent or effort. They were making their first financial decisions with no framework to guide them. Purpose Path grew out of that gap. Through Purpose in Every Paycheck and the Purpose Playbook course, he equips young adults with confidence and direction, and gives the parents, pastors, and educators who lead them a way to have these conversations without building anything from scratch.
Kyle lives in Clemson, South Carolina, with his wife and their two children. You can find him at KyleBlackwell.com.
Much of what he believes about stewardship has been shaped by the ordinary moments of family life, the conversations and questions that quietly clarify what truly matters.
Tori Barker
Preparing Female Student-Athletes for Life Beyond Sports
Tori Barker explores the question every female student-athlete eventually faces: What happens when the game ends? Drawing from her experience as a Division I softball player and founder of Beyond Her Game, she helps parents, coaches, and mentors prepare young women for life beyond sports. This powerful presentation offers practical ways to build confidence beyond performance, strengthen identity beyond athletics, and help student-athletes step into their next chapter with purpose and possibility.
Tori Barker is the founder of Beyond Her Game, a mission-driven platform dedicated to helping female athletes build confidence, leadership, identity, and success beyond sports.
As a former Division I athlete, she understands firsthand the challenges athletes face when navigating life beyond competition and is passionate about creating conversations, resources, and opportunities that support women through every stage of their journey.
In addition to her work with Beyond Her Game, Tori is the founder of Creative Marketing, a visibility and brand strategy consulting firm where she helps entrepreneurs, organizations, and thought leaders strengthen their presence, amplify their message, and build meaningful connections with their audiences. With more than 20 years of experience in marketing, branding, and business strategy, she is known for helping clients move beyond simply showing up to becoming recognized, respected, and remembered.
Through her work as a speaker, podcast host, strategist, and entrepreneur, Tori is committed to helping individuals step into greater confidence, clarity, and impact, whether on the field, in business, or in life.
Sheri Gazitt
When Your Daughter Says, “No One Likes Me”: The 4-step Response to Empowerment
Coach Sheri Gazitt helps parents respond more effectively when their daughters face girl drama, exclusion, and friendship pain. She reveals the four common ways adults react—and why even loving, well-meant responses can leave girls feeling unheard. Through her simple L.O.V.E. framework, parents will learn how to listen, validate emotions, and empower their daughters with the confidence and skills to navigate difficult friendships without rushing in to fix everything for them.
Sheri Gazitt is an international friendship expert, speaker, author, and founder of Teen Wise. With more than 30 years of experience and a background in counseling psychology, she has helped thousands of girls navigate friendship challenges, social anxiety, peer conflict, and the emotional ups and downs of growing up.
Sheri is the author of Girl Drama Decoded, a practical guide that helps families better understand the hidden dynamics behind friendship struggles and social stress. Through Teen Wise, she works directly with teen girls in private coaching, helping them build confidence, strengthen communication skills, and create healthier relationships.
She also supports mothers through the Mom Wise Collective, giving them practical tools to guide their daughters without overreacting, withdrawing, or trying to solve every problem for them. Sheri is known for making complicated social situations feel clear, manageable, and less overwhelming.
Through her speaking, coaching, and writing, Sheri helps parents and teens replace confusion with understanding and fear with confidence.Â
Her work equips families to build stronger connections, respond to friendship challenges with greater wisdom, and help girls develop the resilience and self-trust needed to thrive.
Gene Jochen
Becoming Who You're Meant to Be Instilling Confidence, Purpose, and Resilience in Youth
Gene Jochen shows how the mindset behind endurance sports can help young people build confidence, resilience, and lasting motivation. Drawing from his book, *One Step Forward*, he equips parents, teachers, and coaches with practical ways to help youth embrace discomfort, move beyond limiting beliefs, and recover from setbacks. This energizing presentation offers simple strategies for developing consistency, character, leadership, and the courage to keep moving forward—one step at a time.
Gene Jochen is an elite endurance athlete, author, and professional speaker who has spent more than two decades testing the boundaries of human potential.
Once navigating a high-stress lifestyle, Gene underwent a profound personal reinvention that completely reshaped his mind and body. Today, he is an 11-time Ironman triathlon finisher, a Six Star Finisher of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, and has crossed the finish line of over 100 marathons.
In early 2026, Gene published his acclaimed book, One Step Forward: 100 Life Lessons from 100 Marathons - Becoming Who You're Meant to Be, which distills the grit, community, and mental toughness of long-distance racing into 100 practical life lessons for overcoming adversity and becoming who you are truly meant to be. As an entrepreneur, business leader, and coach, he is a firm believer that sustainable peak performance—whether on the racecourse or in daily life—always begins by investing in the human being first.
At the Empower Summit 2026, he is excited to share his unique "one step forward" framework with parents, coaches, and youth leaders, equipping them with the mindset tools needed to cultivate unwavering resilience, optimism, and discipline in the next generation.
