espnW: Women + Sports Summit Returns for 6th Year
By Jay Jay Nesheim, ESPN.com
August 25, 2015
Conference takes place October 14-16 and will feature Women’s World Cup champions Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd, NBA Players’ Association president Michele Roberts and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank
espnW will again bring together sports industry leaders and top female athletes for the sixth annual The espnW: Women + Sports Summit presented by Toyota from October 14-16, at the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, Calif. The two-day conference will include work sessions, presentations and activities geared towards advancing the agenda of women in sports and focused around the theme “Vision, Action, Impact.”
Fresh off their FIFA Women’s World Cup championship, U.S. Women’s National Team members Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd will participate in the 2015 Summit on Friday, Oct. 16. Wambach, the world’s leading goal scorer, male or female, will offer her thoughts and recollections of the USWNT’s championship run and her ideas on how women can capitalize on the team’s success going forward. Lloyd and her trainer James Galanis, whom she credits for helping her reach top competitive form, will discuss peak performance and training methods. Dawn Scott, the USWNT’s strength and conditioning coach will also be a part of the program.
Under Armour CEO and founder Kevin Plank will kick off the Summit on October 14, and Michele Roberts, the first woman to serve as president of the NBA Players’ Association, will deliver the keynote address that evening. Other prominent athletes and influencers who will be featured at this year’s Summit include former college football player Katie Hnida, who was the first woman to play and score in an NCAA Division I football game; women’s Olympic hockey player Hilary Knight; WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings; and youth football phenom Sam Gordon.
“We are thrilled with the programming for this year’s Summit, as it reflects what has truly been a banner year for women in sports,” said Laura Gentile, vice president, espnW. “espnW will shine the spotlight on these tremendous athletes and their accomplishments, highlight powerful voices in sports and continue to generate ideas and dialogue for the advancement of women in sports.”
Joining this year’s Summit will be espnW’s Kate Fagan, Julie Foudy, Jane McManus and Sarah Spain, as well as NBA Countdown host Sage Steele and His & Hers hosts Jemele Hill and Michael Smith, along with key ESPN senior executives Christine Driessen, John Kosner and Rob King. Among the Summit panels will be: Women + Social Change, Women in Leadership: The Female Advantage and The Business of Empowerment.
ESPN is a leader in the coverage of women’s sports. The success of previous espnW Summits demonstrates the enormous interest in developing ideas that will fuel further growth. The 2015 Summit will again offer participants the opportunity to participate in a variety of sports activities throughout the conference, as well as network with experienced executives during “Office Hours.”
Additional participants and details will be announced closer to the Summit. For more information about The espnW: Women + Sports Summit and to see the complete agenda visit www.espnWsummit.com or follow on Twitter with @espnW and #espnWsummit.