About Us

National Marriage Week seeks to work with, connect, and unite:


  • Church Leaders
  • Content Leaders
  • Community Leaders
  • Policy and Research Leaders....
  • and Couples.


National Marriage Week is the brainchild of Richard Kane who started it in the UK in 1996.


Marriage Week was then adopted in the U.S. in 2002 by Brent Barlow and Diane Sollee of Smart Marriages. In 2009, a group led by Chuck Stetson and Sheila Weber of the Let's Strengthen Marriage Campaign, working with dozens of organizations in the U.S. and many leaders in the marriage movement, developed the National Marriage Week USA site.


In 2022, Marriage Initiative was asked to serve and take over the leadership of National Marriage Week.


As we move forward, we recognize and remember the purpose of National Marriage Week, which is to bring people and organizations together, with the focus of celebrating marriage intentionally each year from Feb 7th to the 14th. Even though each year's launch and focus rises during that one key week; our messaging and our desire to strengthen and enrich marriages, will be all year long.


Families flourish when mom and dad have a strong, healthy marriage. A strong marriage makes for a strong family. And a strong family makes a strong community. Together, as a collaborative effort with government entities, churches, organizations, and individuals - we can prioritize the priceless value of marriage, and help our nation (and more importantly, our families) flourish.


National Marriage Week has now spread to at least 16 countries. Visit http://www.marriage-weekinternational.com to learn more.


Join us.


Together, we are better.


Our Team

Arlene Pellicane

Spokesperson

Arlene Pellicane is a top marriage and parenting author and speaker. She has appeared on several media outlets like the Today Show, Wall Street Journal, Focus on the Family, Fox & Friends, TLC’s Home Made Simple, FamilyLife Today, and The 700 Club. She’s also the host of the Happy Home podcast and has written for Proverbs 31 Ministries and Girlfriends in God.


Before becoming a speaker and author, Arlene served as a features reporter for The 700 Club and associate director for Turning Point with David Jeremiah. She and her husband James have been married 24 years, and have three children, Ethan, Noelle and Lucy.

Josette Chavez

Ministry Engagement Coordinator

Josette is Co-Founder of Real Life Marriage Ministry out of San Antonio, Texas; which holds a monthly marriage small group. She is a Certified Mental Health Coach, and actively serves with Celebrate Recovery. She and her husband Luis have been married for 15 years and have four children.

Carl Caton

Managing Director

Carl Caton is the Founder and President of the Marriage Initiative out of San Antonio, Texas. He is a board member of NARME (National Association of Relationship & Marriage Educators) and part of the Marriage Collective.

Dionna Sanchez

Director of Communications

Dionna Sanchez has served Marriage Initiative out of San Antonio, Texas in social media, branding, languaging, reputation management, and communications for 10 years. She holds a monthly mastermind group on social media tips and strategies, as well as consults with many cities who are starting marriage initiatives. Dionna also ran an online ministry for moms for 17 years, and has a background in freelance writing/blogging.

Eliseo Sanchez

Director of Operations

Eliseo has worked cumulatively for 22 years in the technology field before he joined the Marriage Initiative team in 2021. With his addition, he brings a strong sense of operations and processes to the organization.

Chuck Stetson

Co-Founder and Current Advisor

Chuck is one of the Founders of National Marriage Week USA. In 2009 Chuck Stetson helped launch the Let's Strengthen Marriage Campaign, working with dozens of organizations in the U.S. and many leaders in the marriage movement. He has led the Bible Literacy Project since 1999 and in 2017, the Stetson Family Office started Healthcare Impact Foundation, a 501(c)(3), to bring capital and management expertise to life science companies at all stages and to build and maintain an efficient life science eco-system.


Chuck has appeared on FOX News, CBS Sunday Morning and The Today Show. His work at Essentials in Education has been featured in numerous Associated Press articles, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek and TIME Magazine.

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