SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Turning Point USA’s Women’s Leadership Summit (WLS) kicked off on Friday in the Alamo City. More than 2,500 attendees are expected to attend the WLS over the weekend, which will focus on wellness, purpose, and faith.

Breitbart Texas observed a flurry of activity as the summit began on Friday at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter located along the famous downtown River Walk. At around noon, young women began the registration process and entered the conference area, which had been adorned with signage displaying the theme of this year’s summit, “Holistic, “Empowered”, and “Redeemed”, which form the acronym “H.E.R.”

Women of all ages from across the country will listen to keynote speakers and attend breakout sessions that the organization says will focus on offering practical guidance on health, leadership, and living with courage, clarity, and conviction.

Turning Point CEO Erika Kirk addressed attendees on Friday afternoon and heads the list of speakers at the Women’s Leadership Summit that will also include Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Riley Gaines, Allie Beth Stuckey, Savannah Chrisley, Gracie Hunt, and Savanah Hernandez, among others.

Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, fatally shot at a speaking event at Utah Valley University in September 2025, took the stage to speak to attendees shortly after 5:30 p.m. A roaring crowd greeted Kirk as she spoke to a packed auditorium at the event, paying homage to the organization her husband began fourteen years ago, saying, “Today is really special, for a multitude of reasons, but today marks fourteen years, the day that my husband decided to start Turning Point USA.”

Kirk expressed the magnitude of the decision by a young Charlie Kirk to start the organization, adding, “I am so grateful to God that he followed the calling that was on his heart rather than what the rest of the world probably would have expected an 18-year-old male to do.” Kirk spoke of her husband’s desire to use the organization to reach America’s youth to spread traditional values that he held dear.

Kirk delivered an inspiring message to the women in attendance at the crowded event, saying, “As women, we are made for obligations that are greater than ourselves; it’s in our DNA. I feel it every day; I know you guys do too. That’s why it’s nearly impossible, nearly impossible, to find satisfaction in this world when you are relentlessly focused on what you can get versus what you can contribute.

Kirk asked the attendees to focus and reflect on their virtues throughout the leadership summit, saying, “I encourage you this weekend, whenever you have a moment, take pen to paper. Don’t write it on your phone and really pray about this. Write down what your virtues are. Write them down. Maybe it’s the love of truth. Maybe it’s humility. Maybe it’s honesty, fidelity, courage. Maybe it’s self-sacrifice. But write them down, whatever they are. Invest in them, uphold that.”

The Women’s Leadership Summit will conclude on Sunday.

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.