MCEC Austin GTS Highlights Innovation, Mental Health, and Connection; Maj. Gen. Larry Broadwell and Microsoft’s Brent Colburn Headline

AUSTIN, TX — October 8, 2025 — The Military Child Education Coalition® (MCEC®) hosted its Austin Global Training Summit on September 26 at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, bringing together educators, student leaders, and military partners from across the nation for a day of insight, innovation, and inspiration.

The Opening General Session set the tone with a student-led conversation featuring Major General Larry R. Broadwell, Deputy Commander​, Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber)​, exploring technology, leadership, and the next generation of service. Broadwell encouraged students to embrace innovation while prioritizing purpose and connection: “Isolation is the kryptonite to our future; connection is our superpower.”

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath followed with remarks on the state’s commitment to more than 230,000 military-connected students and the importance of Purple Star campuses: “We owe every student — regardless of where they come from — the moral duty to equip them to pursue the American dream.”

Four Distinguished Lecture Sessions offered practical, research-based strategies to strengthen academic and emotional supports for military-connected youth (CCMR and career readiness; Connect 4 Growth relationship-building model; Resilient Youth Program from Home Base), and MIC3 Compact casework). The day also featured a Master Class on building school–family–installation partnerships, and a two-hour Forum on School Mental Health with national experts Gregory Leskin, PhD, Sharon Hoover, PhD, Dan Dunham, and Sue Lopez, M.Ed.

The closing session announced the Heroic Hearts Scholarship with Columbia Southern University, with the first recipient to be revealed during Month of the Military Child in April. The session also featured a fireside chat between Mary Bier and Brent Colburn, Corporate Vice President for Global Public Affairs at Microsoft, exploring the future of AI and education. “AI will transform how we work and learn,” Colburn said, “but curiosity, communication, and adaptability will always matter most.”

The summit concluded with Bier’s call to action: “Keep connecting, keep creating, and keep building brighter futures for our military-connected kids.”

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By the Numbers — Austin

222 participants: 104 professional attendees, 118 S2S® students and advisors, representing 29 schools from 23 states

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About the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) Established in 1998, the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) is a nonprofit organization that solely exists to help the military-connected child and youth thrive. MCEC supports all military-connected children by educating, advocating, and collaborating to resolve education challenges associated with the military lifestyle and works to ensure they are college, work, and life-ready. Visit MilitaryChild.org to learn more.

Media Contact:
Karen Kirk
Director of Marketing and Brand Creative
Military Child Education Coalition
Karen.Kirk@MilitaryChild.org