IMPACT

IMPACT

Increase and Motivate Positive Awareness in Children and Teachers

For 18 years, Junior League of The Woodlands has proudly supported educators through our IMPACT (Increase and Motivate Positive Awareness in Children and Teachers) conference. This signature event empowers, inspires, and celebrates the incredible work of teachers in North Harris and Montgomery County.

Damon West is our 2026 Keynote Speaker!

We’re thrilled to announce that renowned speaker and author of The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change, Damon West, will keynote this year’s event! Damon emphasizes the need for us all to become servant leaders in our lives and how we each have the power to change any situation within us.

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What is IMPACT 2026? 

IMPACT 2026 is a FREE conference for educators and community members who want to support and celebrate the teaching profession. Attendees can also earn valuable CEU credits at no cost.

Why We Host IMPACT?

Junior League of The Woodlands is committed to building stronger communities by supporting the educators who shape the future. IMPACT 2026 is our way of expressing gratitude for your hard work and dedication, while equipping you with tools to thrive both personally and professionally.

2026 Event Details:

Date: February 21, 2026

Time: Time: 12 PM to 2 PM | Doors open 11 AM

Location: Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion- Event Center

Cost: FREE (CEU credits included)

Who Should Attend? 

This event is designed for educators in all forms of education, as well as community members who want to support and celebrate the teaching profession.

Let Junior League of The Woodlands celebrate and support your dedication to shaping the future. We can’t wait to see you at IMPACT 2026!

IMPACT Grants

Are you an educator passionate about fostering out-of-the-box thinking and dedicated to closing the achievement gap in your classroom? The IMPACT Grant is designed just for you! This grant aims to recognize and support educators who go above and beyond to implement creative programs that address the unique needs of their students and contribute to narrowing the achievement gap.

Applications for 2026 open on January 9, 2026, and close on February 27, 2026. 

LINK TO APPLICATION

 

Q&A Sessions

The IMPACT Committee will provide two (2) online information sessions to address any questions regarding the application or proposed projects. To sign up for an information session, please follow this link: Info Session 2 

Questions outside of the information sessions may be directed to IMPACT@JLTW.org

Please also refer to our Frequently Asked Questions document which may provide you with the information needed for completing your application.

Previous IMPACT Grant Winners:

2025:

  • Caitlyn Petmecky/Galatas Elementary
  • Catherine Knauff/Klein Cain High School
  • Charlene Ingle/Grand Oaks High School
  • Douglas Gillory/Klein Cain High School
  • Dyann Wilson/Brabham Middle School
  • Erica Sopon/Travis Intermediate
  • Hanna Hollek/Hoifus Intermediate
  • Jennifer Malloy/York Junior High
  • Julie St. George/Collins Intermediate
  • Kathleen Kozak/Grangerland Intermediate
  • Katy Gates/Canyon Pointe Elementary
  • Leslie Hardee/Benignus Elementary
  • Lori Marsh/Conroe High School
  • Madeleine Kozbari/Sally K Ride Elementary
  • Natalie Clayton/Creekside Elementary
  • Paula Larkin/Creekside Elementary
  • Paxton Mooney/Collins Intermediate
  • Sarah Arias/Ford Elementary
  • Susan Norski/Sally K. Ride Elementary
  • Teddie Ann Brune/Mitchell Intermediate
  • Thea Persinger/Magnolia High School
  • Tracey Hall/Benignus Elementary
  • Tracy Horne/Hailey Elementary
  • Travia Blackshear/Moorehead Junior High

2024:

  • Christy Capps/Magnolia West High School
  • Jonathan Clark/The Woodlands College Park High School
  • Kellye Robinson/Powell Elementary
  • Kerrie Roesler/Trinity Klein Lutheran School
  • Lauren Baker/Gordon-Reed Elementary
  • Nicole Palm/Deretchin Elementary
  • Rebecca McNair/Maybelline Carpenter Center
  • Sheila Siddall/San Jacinto Elementary

2023:

  • Aldine ISD – Worsham Elementary
  • Conroe ISD – Reaves Elementary 
  • Klein ISD – Klein High School 
  • Magnolia ISD – Magnolia West High School
  • Montgomery ISD – Madeley Ranch Elementary
  • New Caney ISD – Keefer Crossing
  • Spendora ISD – Splendora High School
  • Spring ISD – Gloria Marshall Elementary
  • Tomball ISD – Canyon Pointe Elementary
  • Willis – ISD – Willis High School
  • Private School – Interfaith Child Development Center

 

Districts with the highest number of attendees were awarded an additional $500.

  • FIRST PLACE – Cy-Fair ISD 
  • SECOND PLACE – Willis ISD

Past Impact Speakers

Junior League of The Woodlands is proud to have hosted thousands of teachers providing tens of thousands of free CEU credits for educators in North Harris and Montgomery County.

2025 IMPACT - Gerry Brooks

Gerry Brooks is a veteran educator in Lexington, Kentucky. His educational experience includes six years in the classroom, two years as an intervention specialist, and 12 years as an administrator.

He is a passionate public speaker whose focus is on encouraging and helping teachers improve their instructional abilities. He also has a desire to help administrators successfully lead their staff.

An encouraging speaker, he has spoken to educational groups all around the nation. His focus is on encouraging teachers to improve their instruction through personal climate and culture strategies. He desires to help administrators focus on how to lead all staff in a positive and constructive manner.

His following on social media has developed through humorous videos that focus on real-world educational experiences.  He is currently followed on these social media sites by over 500,000 people.

2024 IMPACT - Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York

Sarah, Duchess of York, is a bestselling author, philanthropist and public speaker. 

For over 30 years, The Duchess has been committed to children’s and wellness causes with a focus on education. She has traveled the globe to witness the projects firsthand and has personally raised significant donations for causes that share her passion for change.   In 1993, she founded Children in Crisis to provide education to forgotten children around the world, and the charity has educated over 1.4 million children. 

 Recently, the Duchess launched her own international non-profit, Sarah’s Trust (www.sarahstrust.com).    In its first project, at the start of the pandemic, The Duchess mobilized an ongoing national response to benefit over 150,000 NHS, care homes, hospice, and emergency services staff. 

At the same time, the Duchess launched a new daily YouTube show, ‘ Storytime with Fergie and Friends’, reading a series of different children’s books, sometimes with guests, to help keep children entertained during lockdown.   To date, there have been 20 million views, and these stories have been distributed to children’s hospitals throughout the UK and US, accompanied by messages personally recorded by The Duchess. For this series, The Duchess has recently been given the ‘Special Recognition of Services to Storytelling‘ award by the Montessori Group.

The Duchess has published over 70 books, including two autobiographies and other titles dealing with health, empowerment, history, art, as well as novels and children’s stories. Her debut historical novel, Her Heart for a Compass, was published globally on August 3rd by Harper Collins and was a Sunday Times bestseller. Her second historical novel ‘A Most Intriguing Lady‘ was published by Harper Collins to critical acclaim in the US and UK in March and is again a Sunday Times Bestseller (no. 5).  

Other books include Demon’s Land – recently awarded the prestigious’ Literary Titan’ – the first in a series of three young adult books co-written with Michelle Worthington. 

A twenty-two book series for young readers has been signed with Serenity Press in Australia and New Zealand, including The Enchanted Oak Tree, Genie Gems and Arthur Fantastic, Charlie, Blue, and Larry Lamp Post (awarded the Triton Gold Award 2022), What’s Under Your Hat, Granny; A Gift of Kindness, the first two books in the Puddle Boots Series – Puddle Boots and Puddle Boots Christmas, and Budgie the Little Helicopter Rescues Kubbie the Koala.   Three books from the original Helping Hands series have been re-released. Other previous children’s books include the series of Budgie the Little Helicopter, adapted into a highly successful animated series on US primetime Fox, and the children’s book Tea for Ruby, published by Simon and Schuster, which had its debut at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Other books include What I Know Now: Lessons Learnt The Hard Way and a five-book children’s series about the adventures of Little Red. The Duchess retraced Queen Victoria’s travels abroad to co-write Travels with Queen Victoria and Osborne House.

The Duchess is a regular speaker and panelist at book festivals and global forums focusing on subjects including women in business, women and wellness, human rights, and the need to help more children in the world’s most underprivileged places into education. She has received numerous awards for her philanthropic work, including The Order of the Smile, an international award given by children to adults distinguished by their love and care for children.

The Duchess is Co-Founder of the Montessori Group Education for the Future Fund and Chair of the International Montessori Ambassadors Group. She is a Global Ambassador to the Kindness Research Foundation and an Ambassador for the Puglia area of Italy. She is a passionate supporter of The Teenage Cancer Trust, opening nearly all of their 28 units nationwide over the past 30 years.   She supports the work of Teen Cancer America; and Patronages include Julia’s House Children’s Hospice, Kirkwood Hospice, Ruddi’s Retreat, The Children’s Air Ambulance, The Children’s Literacy Charity, The International Dyslexia Association, Mullany Fund, and the Indian Head Injury Fund. She champions Key to Freedom, a business structure initiative set up to support the Women’s Interlink Foundation (WIF) by giving vulnerable young women a platform to sell their products. WIF works across West Bengal, India, helping these women develop skills to earn an income.

The Duchess is mother to Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie of York and is a grandmother of three.    She is lovingly referred to as “Super Gran” for her passionate dedication to the hearts of children all over the world.  She lives in Windsor with five Norfolk terriers and two corgis.

2023 IMPACT - Laura Wilkinson

Bio: Laura is a three-time Olympian, Olympic gold medalist, World Champion, and five-time Hall of Fame inductee. After nine years of retirement, she returned to the sport she loves and, at 43 years old, qualified for the finals of the 2021 Olympic Trials. Her passion for pacing challenges head-on and overcoming every obstacle that stands in her way will motivate an audience to rise and discover their greatness. She is an author and podcast host. 

 

Residing in The Woodlands, Laura owns a coaching business teaching athletes the mindset of a champion.

2022 IMPACT - Jenna Bush Hager

Jenna Hager is the cohost of the fourth hour of the Today Show with Hoda Kotb and the founder of the Today book club, Read with Jenna.

 

She is the co-author of the #1 New York Times best seller Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope, which she wrote after traveling to Latin America in 2006 as an intern with UNICEF. Ana’s Story is based on the life of a 17-year-old single mother with HIV who struggles to shield her child from the life she had of abuse and neglect. Jenna remains involved with UNICEF and is currently chairing its Next Generation initiative to reduce childhood deaths worldwide.

 

Jenna is also the co-author of two #1 New York Times bestselling children’s books that she wrote with her mother, Laura—Our Great Big Backyard and Read All About It—as well as the #1 New York Times bestsellers Sisters First, written with her sister, Barbara, in both adult and children’s editions. Jenna’s most recent book, Everything Beautiful in Time, shares moving, funny stories about her beloved grandparents and the wisdom they passed on that has shaped her life.

 

Jenna holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. She is the daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. In 2008, she married Henry Hager. Jenna and Henry are the proud parents of their three children, Margaret Laura “Mila,” Poppy Louise Hager, and Henry Harold “Hal” Hager.