‘Dance Moms’ star Christi Lukasiak keynote speaker at All For Her event
鈥淒ance Moms鈥� star Christi Lukasiak will be the keynote speaker at this year鈥檚 All For Her event at the Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center in Washington.
All for Her: Inspire, Educate, and Motivate is an annual one-day event designed to focus on women鈥檚 health, wellness, well-being, inspiration, and empowerment.
Mark Marietta | For the 缅北禁地
Self-care and a little pampering are among the offerings at the annual All For Her event.
A vendor hands an All For Her guest a cup of coffee at the event.
As a mother of two daughters, Christi Lukasiak, one of the original dance moms on Lifetime鈥檚 hit reality series, 鈥淒ance Moms,鈥� and an entrepreneur, cares deeply about women鈥檚 health, wellness, inspiration, and empowerment.
So the Mars resident was delighted when she was invited to serve as keynote speaker for the eighth annual All for Her: Educate, Motivate, and Inspire event.
The free, one-day event is designed to focus on women鈥檚 health and is scheduled for Oct. 19 at the Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center.
鈥淚 was very flattered, very humbled,鈥� said Lukasiak. 鈥淭he biggest takeaway I hope people who attend come away with is that I want people to realize you don鈥檛 have to be as hard on yourself as you are based on what others鈥� expectations of you are. I talk a lot about self-care and self-love, and why it鈥檚 important to put yourself first and strip away those expectations that others have for you because they鈥檙e harmful. We shouldn鈥檛 judge ourselves based on other people鈥檚 opinions.鈥�
Best known as a reality television star whose quotable one-liners and self-described 鈥渟mart mouth鈥� made her a 鈥淒ance Moms鈥� fan favorite (she and her daughter, Chloe, were regulars from seasons one through four and returned in season seven), Lukasiak also is a motivational speaker, podcaster, and social media influencer.
She recently launched a program called Adulting 101 that helps young adults transition from childhood to adulthood.
Lukasiak also is a member of YourMomCares, an organization for mothers of celebrities 鈥� founded by the moms of Jonah Hill, Adam Levine and Alicia Keys to remove the stigma surrounding children鈥檚 mental health by funding innovative and impactful solutions to the mental wellness challenges facing today鈥檚 kids.
Lukasiak hosts two podcasts: Back to the Barre, where she and Dance Moms friend Kelly Hyland recap episodes of the show and share behind-the-scenes stories, and Christi鈥檚 Couch, where she candidly shares her experiences, gives advice about growing up, discusses what she鈥檚 learned from mistakes she鈥檚 made, and encourages women to become the best version of themselves.
Her most important role, though, is mom to Chloe, 22, a senior at Pepperdine University, and Clara, 14, a freshman at Mars High School.
Her goal is to empower her daughters and the next generation of women.
鈥淚 tell my girls to chase their dreams actively, it鈥檚 OK to change your mind, it鈥檚 OK to pivot. If it doesn鈥檛 work out, that鈥檚 OK, it wasn鈥檛 what you were meant to be doing, but go after your dreams,鈥� said Lukasiak.
She encourages women to set goals, regardless of their age.
鈥淚 think you definitely need to have goals for yourself, no matter how old you are, from 5 to 95. I always encourage women that when opportunities present themselves, take them. Life sometimes takes you down unexpected paths for a reason, and I will be the first to jump,鈥� said Lukasiak, a 鈥淧ittsburgh girl鈥� who graduated from Gateway High School and Gannon University. 鈥淚鈥檓 a little bit of a chicken when it comes to daredevil activities like heights or jumping out of planes, but I鈥檓 fearless when it comes to living. I don鈥檛 want to look back and have any regrets about something I didn鈥檛 try to do.鈥�
And in a society where ambitious women too often are viewed as selfish, pushy and unlikeable, Lukasiak said ambition is not a bad thing.
鈥淚 think that word, 鈥榓mbitious鈥� is frowned upon when you鈥檙e a woman, but I don鈥檛 feel there鈥檚 anything wrong with wanting to be ambitious and have a big life, whatever your version of that might be,鈥� she said.
All for Her is sponsored by Washington Health System and the Observer-Reporter. This year鈥檚 speaker sponsor is 84 Lumber Co.
More than 50 vendors, nonprofits and local businesses will participate in this year鈥檚 event. All For Her also will include a sale show for Dress for Success Pittsburgh featuring their items along with fashions from local boutiques.
All For Her has partnered with Dress for Success since its inception because of its support for the nonprofit鈥檚 mission.
Organizers call All For Her a special event.
鈥淚t is a space for women to feel heard, supported, and open to discuss topics that are important to them,鈥� said Carole DeAngelo, Director of Advertising and Events for the Observer-Reporter.
Stephanie Wagoner, manager of marketing and community relations at WHS, said the health system is pleased that All For Her gives women an opportunity to spend some time focusing on themselves 鈥� from spa treatments to inspirational speakers.
鈥淢ost women tend to be the family caretakers, the daily schedule jugglers, kid carpool drivers, working women, home chefs, and so much more. We often think of ourselves last during these busy daily schedules,鈥� said Wagoner. 鈥淏ut All for Her is more than just an event. Our goal is to empower and educate women of all ages, and we hope that when you leave the event, you feel we鈥檝e made some sort of positive impact on your life.鈥�