The annual event — which draws more than 1,500 Southern California women — will include evening programs in North County on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and as well as an all-day conference on Friday in Valley Center. Among the diverse mix of speakers is abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart, TV stars Suzanne Somers and Kim Coles, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Sharp Health CEO Melissa Hayden-Cook, Palomar College Dean Wilma Owens and authors Piper Kerman and Kimberly Dozier.

This year’s conference is titled “Inspire, Empower, Connect,” and conference organizer Debra Rosen said Kavanaugh is a perfect embodiment of the theme.

“Kristen is an amazing woman,” said Rosen, who is president and CEO of the San Diego North Chamber of Commerce, which hosts and produces Women's Week. “She is an articulate and passionateindividual who rose through the ranks of the military to become a captain and then walked away for something that she believed so strongly in. This takes guts and a strong belief in yourself to do, and she has now carried a message that is relevant to many.”

Raised the daughter of an Army National Guardsman in Ironton, Ohio, Kavanaugh said she always liked the military. And when she first talked to her dad about attending Annapolis, “his eyes lit up.” In her freshman year at the Academy she decided to become a Marine.

“I liked how they held themselves to a higher standard. There was something about their drive and determination resonated with me,” she said.

In her sophomore year, she realized she was gay but her drive to be