Local leader Amy Travis gives her passion a purpose by hosting a leadership conference for women next month.

“Change of Heart” slated for Feb. 2 and 3 will focus on empowering women to embrace traditional, Biblical truth and apply it to themselves, their families and the world. The conference features local speakers on a variety of topics representing five different Western Pennsylvania churches.

“My passion is leadership development because leading ourselves and others require us to take action. Learning requires more than just the intake of information; it requires us to apply what we've learned,” said Travis.

Travis, a pastor since 1994, has been involved in ministry for 30 years, most recently leading FUSION since 2014.

FUSION is a group of women who teach each other how to face daily challenges of being single, married, with or without children, while keeping an eye on the bigger picture of becoming world changers.

“The concept for FUSION came from the idea of fusing Biblical truth with present reality. As I studied psychology, I became fascinated with the fact that nearly every credible study backed by empirical research aligned with Biblical truth,” she said.

“Fusing the Kingdom of God with our day-to-day lives is not an easy proposition,” she said.

While many churches address the topic of leadership, Travis believes that it is important to take it a step further.

“Traditional Bible studies hold some value, but often lack a call to action. Our FUSION leadership studies empower women to become better bosses, employees, wives and mothers by teaching skills and tactics to put our faith into action,” she said.

The Change of Heart conference is open to women 16 and older.

Topics will be presented in a progressive flow. Separate breakout sessions will be featured.

The first session speaks to the need for leading ourselves first.

Session two will explore how to collaborate with others.

“Research tells us that there is a rising demand for soft skills in the workforce. There is no shortage of information in our time, thus our greatest limitation is how we apply and communicate that information,” Travis said.

Session three is titled “Herding Cats” and discusses how women can increase their influence, and session four will address leading in the wake of tragedy.

Travis' mother and daughter will also be presenting at the conference.

Connie Geier of Butler, Travis' mother, will be leading the breakout session “Leading the Full Life.”

Suddenly widowed and recently relocated, Geier speaks from her experience of both loss and restoration.

“I am hoping to lead women into discovering the full life and what it looks like to them, what is holding them back and what steps they can take to move forward,” Geier said.

Topics include daily gratitude and how it changes perspective.

“We will discuss positive spiritual traits that are within our control and how they impact us and the life we lead,” Geier said.

Travis' daughter, Valerie Donnelly of Brighton Heights, leads from the millennial perspective.

“Millennials can tend to feel that whatever it is they believe and whatever feels right is what's true and that's not the case! I hope to give some direction on what it means to be a young woman serving the Lord in 2018,” said Donnelly whose breakout session is entitled “Lead Where You Are.”

“Leading by example is one of the most impacting things you can do, regardless of age. My session is not only aimed at young adults. I think it's important for all women to know how effective we can be as leaders at every age of our lives,” said Donnelly.

Other speakers include: Kate Gordon — “Leading in the Workplace”, Tammy Summers — “Leading through Tragedy” and Linda Wilson — “Leading through the Rebuilding”.

“Our expectation is that women will come to learn new ways to handle old problems — such as too little time for important things, and the inability to say no to everyone who asks. We hope that they will walk away feeling empowered to take control of their lives and lead themselves first,” said Travis.

WHO: FUSION Leadership GroupWHAT: Change of Heart — Women’s Leadership ConferenceWHEN: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 2 and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 3WHERE: Hilton Garden Inn, 2000 Garden View Lane, Cranberry TownshipTICKETS: Register on line at https://amyltrav88.wixsite.com/ Discounts through Sunday