Each year, the Special Olympics North America (SONA) All‑Staff Conference brings together staff, athletes, and partners from across the US, Canada, and the Caribbean for a powerful mix of learning, collaboration, and inclusion. This year marked the 25th anniversary of SONA with the inspiring theme “Voices of Victory”, celebrating the many voices that uplift the inclusion movement.

This year, Special Olympics Colorado staff had the opportunity to attend the conference and dive into workshops, network with peers, and explore fresh ideas to amplify our program back home.

Conference sessions included information about IT and tech, athlete and Unified leadership, marketing, local programs, Unified Champion Schools and so much more. Additionally, captivating general sessions featured incredible speakers including:

• Dr. Jerome Adams, former U.S. Surgeon General
• Dr. Roberta Kraus, President of the Center of Sports Psychology
• Loretta Claiborn, Special Olympics International Chief Inspiration Officer
• Dr. Nicole LaVoi, Director, Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport

A highlight of the conference was the first‑ever SONA Women’s 3×3 Unified Basketball Tournament. This fast-paced, inclusive tournament featured 9 Unified teams and celebrated women’s leadership in sport.

Special Olympics Colorado coach and athlete leader, Nela Polan, was very excited to attend the SONA Conference for the first time. She said she was grateful for the experience to be learning valuable skills and lessons alongside the Special Olympics Colorado staff.

On the first day of sessions, Nela had the opportunity to speak during the Coach Education Workshop and Roundtable, where she shared her experience being both a coach and an athlete. “I enjoyed it,” said Nela. “I was giving my opinion and everyone was learning from me.” Additionally, she plans to share with her fellow Colorado coaches what she learned and teaching other athletes how they can also become coaches. One thing in particular that she plans to share is respecting everyone, treating them properly and just having fun.

Nela’s favorite session during the week was “Women in Special Olympics: Strategies and Approaches.” She said she learned a lot about women’s sports and getting more women involved in Special Olympics. “They should have more events for girls, more opportunities,” Nela explained. “I’m a woman and I believe in women’s rights, and I think women have every right as men do.” Once she’s home, she looks forward to speaking to one of her head coaches about more activities for women in their region and creating more opportunities.

This was also the first SONA Conference for Katy Mittel, Special Olympics Colorado’s Denver Regional Manager. A highlight for her was meeting other people from different chapters, especially those in a similar role as her. “This was the first time I had the opportunity to meet face to face with people that I have communicated digitally with, but it’s always easier to communicate and share ideas in person,” said Katy.

Katy especially enjoyed a session about the Motor Activity Training Program (MATP). “It was great to learn how to develop MATP as a program and implement it within Special Olympics Colorado,” explained Katy. “It’s part of our strategic plan and it’s something that our athletes will really benefit from.” In addition to MATP, Katy attended sessions about local program structuring and the impact of family engagement and advocacy.

After the Conference, Katy is coming back to Colorado feeling confident about where Special Olympics Colorado stands. “It was great to see that Colorado is doing so well compared to other states. Especially in the areas of Unified Champion Schools and Regional Services collaboration, and developing programming for all ages, since the average age of local programs and teams in Special Olympics is 20+,” she said. “But there’s always room for improvement. It was nice to get ideas from other chapters and learn about what is making them successful and seeing what we can bring back to Colorado.”

Cory Chandler, Denver Region Unified Schools Manager, also enjoyed networking and meeting people from other programs. “I really enjoyed networking and seeing people that I haven’t seen for a while that I might have run into USA Games,” said Cory. “It was great seeing how they’re doing things and learning new things from them.”

One session that was very useful for Cory was about professional and college sports and engaging them more within Special Olympics. He said that we’re really involved with the professional sports teams in Colorado and he would like to see a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with those teams. This would further the partnership between Special Olympics Colorado and many of the professional sports teams. “They’re already doing part of it,” said Cory. “We might as well have them sign a piece of paper.”

Cory feels that having professional sports teams sign an MOU would really show how important Special Olympics Colorado is to not only that team, but the state as well. “I want to start with the Nuggets and then move on to the Avalanche and then the Broncos,” explained Cory. “I think it would be something really cool.”

Overall, 2025 SONA Conference was an unforgettable blend of education, empowerment, and inclusion. Special Olympics Colorado staff returned home with new and exciting ideas that will improve the Special Olympics Colorado experience and further our mission!