Women in Sports Tech Announces 2024 WiST Fellows: Jump-starting Careers in Sports Tech
San Francisco, CA – April 9, 2024
WiST (Women in Sports Tech) is thrilled to announce our seventh year of WiST Fellows with the 2024 program cohort. This year features 19 students representing diverse academic backgrounds from across the US and abroad. Each WiST Fellow brings unique talents and perspectives to the forefront of the sports technology landscape and will gain career experience that will propel the student’s career path in the sports tech industry forward.
Each year the WiST Fellowship program welcomes a new class of Fellows, representing a wide array of academic disciplines and institutions, including students from DI, DIII, and HBCUs. This year's cohort comprises undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students from 18 universities, spanning 11 different degree programs, who will receive grants to complete summer internship experiences with 16 different WiST Partners.
“This year’s cohort personifies why we created the WiST Fellowship program in 2018 - to provide potentially life-changing experiences and a network of support for aspirational students at the onset of their professional careers. Collectively, their growth mindset, work ethic, and passion for getting into the sports tech industry fuels our own fire and gives us enormous hope and optimism for a more inclusive, innovative, and successful industry,” says Marilou McFarlane, CEO+Founder of WiST.
In a testament to the Fellowship program’s effectiveness, WiST Fellow Alumni return annually to participate in the WiST Sis program, offering invaluable “near-peer” mentorship to the incoming Fellows. Kahlia Hogg, Fulbright Scholar, Duke AI and Computer Science Master's student, former professional soccer player, and 2023 WiST Fellow who interned with IBM Sports, exemplifies the program's impact. Kahlia will return this summer as a WiST Sis, sharing her expertise and guiding the next generation of WiST Fellows.
Kahlia shares, “WiST is more than just a summer internship -- it is a professional development program that empowers you through industry experience, mentorship and networking, and career development sessions.”
“As WiST’s first corporate partner in 2018, I continue to be impressed with the impact of the organization not only on our industry, but also on our team at IBM. I’m proud that we are a founding WiST partner and am grateful to other employers who have joined in our support,” says Elizabeth O’Brien, Program Director, WW Sports & Entertainment Sponsorship Marketing, IBM.
WiST's strategic partnerships with industry leaders like IBM, GameChanger, SRAM, Oura, and Comcast Sports Tech continue to drive transformative growth opportunities for women in sports technology. Welcoming new partners such as Warner Brothers Discovery, Specialized, and FairPlay Sports Media for the 2024 program year further underscores the industry's commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion. Over 60 employers have hosted WiST Fellows over the past seven years, and of those who have graduated, 84% are working in the industry.
Madeline Demers, a Cornell undergrad majoring in Computer and Information Science who was a 2023 WiST Fellow working for Hammerhead, says, “My Fellowship experience not only equipped me with essential technical skills and a deep understanding of the sports technology realm but has also introduced me to a supportive community of other people who share a common passion for driving innovation within sports.”
By bridging academia and the sports tech industry, the WiST Fellowship program enriches host companies with unique perspectives and diverse talent. Research confirms that inclusive cultures and diverse teams drive innovation, making the WiST Fellowship not only a platform for individual growth but also a catalyst for industry-wide progress.
“I continue to be impressed with the incredible work that WiST does to open doors for women in the sports tech industry. It is widely understood that diversity is key to a thriving workplace, so having access to resources like the WiST Fellowship Program is immensely valuable as we compete to attract the very best talent in tech,” says Sameer Ahuja, President of GameChanger.
The Class of 2024 results from extensive outreach and a comprehensive selection process where candidates were evaluated on leadership potential, work ethic, and a strong growth mindset to enter the sports tech industry.
For more information, visit WomeninSportsTech.org.
Contact: info@womeninsportstech.org
Congratulations to the 2024 WiST Fellows:
Adebisi Akinyemi - University of California, Irvine - GameChanger
Agnes Mar - University of Michigan - Warner Bros. Discovery
Alyssa Choi - Stony Brook University - Stats Perform
Anjali Nuggehalli - Pomona College - U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee
Annie Allen Beard - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - GameChanger
Belinda Jayaprakash - University of Massachusetts Amherst - FairPlay Sports Media
Clare O’Dwyer - University of Virginia - Sports Reference
Dana Giordano - Columbia Business School - Comcast Sports Tech
Demia Bland - Fairfield University - Zoomph
Faith Turner - Georgetown University - GameChanger
Hannah Halvorsen- Harvard Extension School - Specialized
Isabelle Nolan - University of Michigan - Specialized
Katie Kim - University of Southern California - Oura
Lila Travers - Swarthmore College - Uplift Labs
Mary Kate McGranahan - Virginia Tech - IBM
Sara Miller - University of California, Berkeley - SwingVision
Serena Pulopot - Brown University - NBCUniversal
Zahra Cheeseman - Colorado College - Hammerhead
Check out our 2024 WiST Fellows introduction video here!
About WiST
Women in Sports Tech (WiST) is a nonprofit organization that drives transformative growth opportunities for women and employers in sports tech, from the classroom to the boardroom. WiST develops and delivers innovative programs, original content, and a global community that provides tangible value for women and employers alike.
Its flagship initiative, the WiST Fellowship program, provides internship experiences for highly motivated college, graduate, and PhD female and nonbinary students to pursue summer projects in the sports tech industry. Additional WiST programs include the WiST NETWORK career hub, the single source for diverse hiring in the sports tech industry, and WiST Presents, offering a wide array of engaging, educational original content and live events, featuring female talent at all levels working in sports tech.
WiST is supported by numerous corporations and organizations, including Australian Sports Technologies Network, Comcast NBCU, Game Changer, FairPlay Sports Media, Deckers, IBM Sports, Infinite Athlete, the NBA, Nike, Specialized, Sports Reference, SRAM, Stats Perform, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Warner Media, Zoomph and more. For more information, please visit womeninsportstech.org.
