Introducing the WiST Next Gen Ambassador Program:Empowering High School Girls through Sports Tech
WiST collaborates with SportsHi on the Next Gen Ambassador program
as an extension of the WiST Next Gen initiative
Mill Valley, CA - June 28, 2021 – Women in Sports Tech (WiST) team and corporate partners announce the launch of the WiST Next Gen Ambassador program, developed to inspire and empower high school young women by introducing them to exciting career opportunities in sports tech. Students will learn from iconic female role models including footwear designers, product developers, data scientists, startup leaders, and professional athletes, experts and executives shaping their industries.
In partnership with SportsHi, a social network connecting students with college, scholarship and career resources, the WiST Next Gen Ambassador program will ensure the inclusion of underrepresented groups and Black communities. SportsHi recently received investments from TikTok influencers Josh Richards and Griffin Johnson, and reaches more than 50 million people from their combined social media following.
“SportsHi is thrilled to be working with WiST on its Next Gen program. Over 60% of our student community is female, and we are dedicated to partnering with organizations such as WiST to provide resources to underrepresented groups in sports,” said Alexander Miles, SportsHi founder/CEO.
“Introducing sports tech as a category to SportHi’s highly engaged student community of over 30,000 is an important step for WiST,” said Marilou McFarlane, WiST founder/CEO, and former CMO of Mustard and president of STATSports North America. “We are beyond grateful for SportHi’s support as we continue our efforts to introduce young women who love sports and are interested in STEAM studies to those kicking open doors for them [MB1] in the sports tech business.”
A Google study found that encouragement and exposure are the leading factors in determining what influences young women’s decisions to pursue degrees in computer science and tech careers. The study also revealed that anyone can help increase female participation in the field, regardless of their technical abilities or background.
Students in the WiST Next Gen Ambassador program will take part in bi-monthly interactive Zoom sessions with inspiring role models and mentors such as Tiffany Kelly, founder/CEO of Curastory, Madison Savarese, COO of Jersey Sponsor, Brianna Pinto, midfielder for the NWSL’s Gotham FC; DJ Heat, sound engineer for the Washington Mystics and the Washington Wizards, Chelsea Suitos, digital commerce executive at Nike, Cheresse Thornhill, leader of the adidas S.E.E.D. design program, and many others from the global WiST network across all categories of sports tech – athlete performance, fan engagement, venue innovation, digital media, Esports and more.
WiST is also a member of the NCWIT Affinity Alliance and invites students of its Aspirations in Computing community to become WiST Next Gen Ambassadors. The program promises to enlighten and energize the many students who are not aware of the types of businesses and startups classified as ‘sports tech’.
WiST Next Gen is supported by corporate partners, private foundations and individual donors who are deeply committed to mentorship, educational opportunities, and skills training that drive economic and educational empowerment for all underserved groups, especially in Black communities across America.
“At WiST, we believe diversity and inclusion need a roadmap,” said Stephanie Howard, co-founder of WiST Next Gen, and designer/consultant for brands including Nike, New Balance, Reebok and Titleist. “This initiative will help our student ambassadors explore a variety of opportunities for their futures and show them some of the pathways to those exciting careers.”
ABOUT WiST
WiST is a nonprofit organization driving growth opportunities for women in sports tech and innovation, from interns to executive leadership roles. Its flagship initiative, the WiST Fellowship program, provides grants for highly motivated college and graduate school students to pursue summer projects in sports technology. In 2021, WiST awarded 24 Fellowships, 60% more than the number of grants in 2020, and 58% of the grantees are women of color. WiST is supported by 28 corporations and organizations – an increase of 214% since 2019 – including Comcast NBCU, AEG Worldwide, Titleist, Nike, IBM Sports, the NBA, Oracle, DICK’S Game Changer, Stats Perform, FEVO, Catapult Sports and more.
Additional WiST programs include the WiST NETWORK Career Hub, the first and only jobs platform in the sports tech industry dedicated to connecting qualified, diverse candidates with the employers eager to diversify their talent pipelines. In the last 12 months, WiST has also launched Accelerator Alliances, to advance female entrepreneurship in sports tech through partnerships including Comcast NBCUniversal Sports Tech, leAD Sports and Mass Challenge.
For more information, please visit womeninsportstech.org.
WiST Media Contact
Glenna Patton – glenna@womeninsportstech.org