Sunday, April 6
5:00 - 7:30pm

The purpose of the Marriage and Family Summit is to strengthen the love, connection, and faith of young marrieds and couples with young children by providing insights, tools, and community support that allow families to flourish.  Following a dinner and a presentation by Pat and Monica McCain, each couple will have the opportunity to attend at least two breakout sessions designed specifically for young couples and led by experts on Communication and Conflict Resolution, Building Faith in Children, Sexuality and Intimacy, and Financial Health.  Couples will discover a community of other young marrieds and leave with new insights and resources to help their families thrive.  Cost is $20/couple and includes dinner for adults and children, as well as loving child care. Scholarships are available for any who need. 

Our breakout experts are:

  • Lia Bermudez, LPC on Communication and Conflict Resolution

  • Anna Grace Coates, PhD Student, UT Austin on Sexuality and Intimacy

  • Jane Medema, LPC on Building Faith in Children

  • Amy Norris, Financial Advisor on The Power of Budgeting 

Meet our Speakers

Lia Bermudez, Licensed Professional Counselor

Breakout #1: "Keeping Conflict Productive: Stronger Communication for a Stronger Marriage." 

Lia is a licensed professional counselor who enjoys working with individuals and couples. Lia has a passion for Jesus and introducing Biblical compassion and truth into the clinical counseling world. Lia is Level 2 trained in the Gottman Method for Couples Therapy. She opened her own private counseling practice at the beginning of this year after spending 4.5 years at a group practice. Lia has been in the Austin area since 2010 and has been married to her husband Jonathan for 19 years. They have two daughters, Holly and Hannah."

Anna Grace Coates, Ph D Student, University of Texas Austin

Breakout #2: Intimacy and Sexuality for Young Married Couples

Anna Grace is a clinical psychology doctoral student at the University of Texas, Austin, researching sexual wellbeing in religious and forensic settings. She holds a MSc in forensic psychology from the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. Anna Grace is married to the love of her life, Logan Coates, and they live with two cats, Alia and Pig. In her spare time, she can be found learning Bevo facts or running

Jane Medema, Elementary School Counselor and LPC-A

Breakout #3: Nurturing Faith: Building Strong Foundations for Every Child 

Jane is an Elementary School Counselor in Georgetown, Texas, with a Master’s in Counseling and Licensed Professional Counselor-A certification, supervised by Amy Rodriguez, MA, LPC-Supervisor. With 14 years of experience as a special education teacher in middle and high schools, she is passionate about supporting students' emotional growth and well-being.

Outside of work, Jane enjoys spending time with her husband Ryan of almost 17 years, and their four children: Cameron (15), Blair (12), Adelynn (8), and Cason (6), who are all active in the First United Methodist Church-Round Rock student and children ministry programs.