Introducing WiST Next Gen: A Mission-Expanding Initiative to Provide Enriching, Educational Content for Teenage Girls Nationwide
WiST Next Gen launches with an extension of the WiST Presents webinar series:
“WiST Presents: Discover SportsTech!”
Mill Valley, CA, October 29, 2020 – Women in Sports Tech, Inc. (WiST) announces the creation of a new initiative – WiST Next Gen – to introduce middle and high school young women ages 11-18 to a wide array and variety of career options in the sports tech industry. WiST Next Gen launches with a new webinar series, WiST Presents: Discover Sports Tech!, to be distributed to over 20,000 young women across the U.S. The series aims to not only inspire young women to continue their educations in STEAM classes, but also to encourage their continued participation in sports. Extending WiST’s reach below college age purposefully expands the non-profit’s impact with underrepresented groups and Black communities across America.
As reported by the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT), research shows that young women who are familiar with career choices have positive associations with tech professions, while young women who are unfamiliar with the wide range of choices tend to have negative associations, believing a career in tech to be out of their reach.
“When I initially conceived the idea of WiST Next Gen, I never imagined that I would have the chance to impact so many girls and underrepresented youth with the amazing WiST family and Next Gen team,” said high school student athlete Shivi Srikanth, co-founder of WiST Next Gen, president of North Reading Youth for Anti Racism, and founder of We Engineer Innovation (WEinnov8). “I’m still in awe of the prospect of growing Next Gen nationally, and introducing the intersection of athletics and tech to other students like me.”
WiST Next Gen will introduce events and other experiences in 2021 based on feedback from students and additional concepts being developed by the WiST Next Gen team.
“WiST Next Gen is a natural extension of our WiST mission to support and advance women and underrepresented groups in our industry and build the pipeline of diverse talent for sports tech roles that will grow exponentially over time,” said Marilou McFarlane, founder of Women in Sports Tech, an accomplished sports tech leader, now principal of SportsTechWorks where she is CMO of the AI platform Mustard, and a former college student-athlete at UNC.
“I’m certain there are many girls just like I was, where my favorite things were sports and math and I literally had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, nor a role model with similar passions I could emulate. Direct exposure to the exciting array of career opportunities in the sports tech industry when I was a teenager would have been life-changing.”
The first guest panelists for WiST Next Gen’s webinar series include Kendall Tyson, VP of the Seattle Kraken and WiST board member; Jarvis Sam, VP of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Nike and WiST board member; and entrepreneur Tiffany Kelly, formerly of ESPN and now founder and CEO of Curastory, a digital marketplace for NCAA and pro athletes to create and monetize their content.
WiST is a new member of the NCWIT Affinity Alliance, and is pleased to offer for the first time the WiST Next Gen content which is specifically focused on the intersection of sports and technology as a category for consideration by students in its Aspirations in Computing community of over 20,000 high school, college and early career women. Many students have no idea what types of businesses and startups are incorporated under the tech sub-group “sports tech,” so this content promises to enlighten and energize.
WiST Next Gen content will also be shared to students and teachers by Citizen Schools. “As a former Citizen Schools volunteer, I learned how important career mentors are for middle school students in underserved communities. I couldn’t be happier that Citizen Schools is both an inspiration and an ally in sharing our video series of role models with their students,” said Stephanie Howard, co-founder of WiST Next Gen, board member of WiST, and founder of HOW AND WHY studio, providing innovation strategy and design consulting to leading brands such as New Balance, Titleist, Timberland, The North Face, Vans, and a former design director at Nike.
Together with these strategic partners, WiST Next Gen will also be supported by corporate partners and private foundations and donors who are also 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.
ABOUT WiST
Women in Sports Tech is a non-profit organization driving growth opportunities for women at all stages of their careers throughout the sports tech industry, from interns to executive leadership roles. WiST’s flagship initiative, the WiST Fellowship program, provides grants for college and graduate school students to pursue summer internships in sports technology businesses and startups. In 2020, WiST awarded 15 Fellows $5,000 grants, nearly quadrupling the number of grants over 2019. Additional WiST programs include original content via the WiST Presents: How I Got Into Sports Tech webinar series, the Sports Tech Leadership Series, and the WiST Career Hub to help connect highly qualified candidates with employers in the industry. Corporate support for WiST includes Nike, IBM Sports, the NBA, Spartan Race, Catapult Sports, Panzura, FEVO, HOKA/Deckers, Zoomph and numerous private donors and foundations. WiST has provided an array of diverse panelists for learning experiences at Hashtag Sports, CES, SXSW, the Stanford GSB Sports Innovation Conference, and more. For more information, please visit womeninsportstech.org.
MEDIA CONTACT
Women in Sports Tech (WiST)
Glenna Patton – Marketing/Communications