SheIS Launches SheIS Challenge

SheIS and Major Sports Leagues Aim to Create A Community of 1 Million Fans of Women's Sports In 2019 through New SheIS Challenge

WNBA, USTA, WWE, NWSL, NWHL, and many more… Joining SheIS to Take Action and Help Grow Grassroots Girls Programs

New York, NY (January 7, 2019)--SheIS, the women’s sports nonprofit comprised of a historic Collective of distinguished leagues, athletes, and business leaders from across the sports world, is challenging the public to help their mission to grow awareness and support of women sports by launching their “SheIS Challenge.” For every public sign-up SheIS receives on their website between now and the end of the Women’s World Cup (July 7, 2019), SheIS will work with a series of brand partners and foundations to donate one dollar, up to $1 million, to support grassroots programs that support women and girls in sport.

Professional Leagues and organizations including WNBA, US Tennis Association, WWE, Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the World Surf League, National Women’s Hockey League, National Pro Fastpitch, Women’s Pro Lacrosse League, the World Boxing Council, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and Western Women’s Canadian Football League are all taking action with SheIS to create a community of 1 million fans of Women’s Sports in 2019.  Star Athletes such as Alex Morgan, Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Natalie Spooner, and Natasha Cloud, are also encouraging their fans to join the challenge.

SheIS Founder, Brenda Andress said, “2018 can be defined as the year when women’s voices were heard loud and clear; it’s our hope that in 2019 we can continue that positive momentum by shining a spotlight on a number of incredibly talented and deserving female athletes, teams and leagues. We want to encourage a growth in women’s sports at all levels and it starts with every person who signs up and takes our Challenge.”

The SheIS Collective continues to grow since its launch last spring, and now includes more than 40 Athlete Ambassadors, 11 professional sports leagues, and more than 20 distinguished leaders.

The new SheIS Challenge is anchored by a Hero Video featuring top women athletes including Alex Morgan, Ronda Rousey, Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Elena Delle Donne, and many more. The video, which is meant to inspire and ignite action, will be shared across all Collective members’ social and digital channels, shown during streamed broadcasts of games, as well as in stadium at games, and will live on the SheIS website.

The public can join the SheIS Challenge by signing up at SheISsport.com, posting to social media channels using #SheISChallenge when they attend or watch women’s sporting events, and inviting friends, family, and colleagues to do the same throughout 2019. SheIS will also work with its Collective member leagues to create promotional activity and experiential opportunities at in-season games beginning in January at major women’s sporting events such as the CWHL All-Star Game in Toronto (January 19-20, 2019), and the NWHL All-Star Game in Nashville, TN (February 8-9, 2019). The public can learn more and sign up to attend at www.SheISsport.com/events.

For more information go to SheISsport.com or follow them on Twitter and Instagram @teamsheis and on Facebook @sheissports.

About SheIS:

Founded in 2017 and launched to the public on May 1, 2018, SheIS was established with a mission to use the power of women’s sports to create a future of, by, and for strong women. It focuses on the positive attributes of sport to acknowledge and elevate women and celebrates those who are collective powerhouses and unwavering cheerleaders for their fellow athletes at all skill levels. The SheIS Collective includes leaders from every major sport and represents the first time in history that all these sports leagues and organizations have stood together in support of one cause. For a complete list of Athletes, Leaders and Sports Leagues which comprise the SheIS Collective, visit SheISsport.com or follow them on Twitter and Instagram @teamsheis and on Facebook @sheissports.

CSM LeadDog for SheIS:

Alison Hendrie, ahendrie@leaddogmarketing.com

Gina Salese, gsalese@leaddogmarketing.com

Meet Our New Executive Director

Accomplished Sports Nonprofit Professional Joins SheIS as New Executive Director

Jillian Svensson appointed as Executive Director; SheIS Co-founder Caiti Donovan to step into full-time CMO role.

New York, NY (OCT 24, 2018) ||| SheIS today announced that its board of directors has appointed Jillian Svensson as its new Executive Director, effective November 1, 2018.

Svensson leaves a position as the VP of Development for You Can Play, where she has been for the past four years. Prior to that, she held roles at the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.

In her new role, Svensson will focus on growing partnership and fundraising efforts, as well as overseeing the strategic operations and overall growth of SheIS, which launched to the public in May of this year.

With this new hire, current Executive Director, Caiti Donovan, who co-founded the organization almost a year ago with former Canadian Women’s Hockey League Commissioner, Brenda Andress, will step into a full-time position as Chief Marketing Officer. In the newly-created role, Donovan will continue to oversee the strategy surrounding all marketing efforts and general growth of the organization.

““We are incredibly excited to welcome Jillian onto the SheIS team,” ”

— Brenda Andress - Co-Founder SheIS

“The depth and breadth of her experience in both the sports and nonprofit worlds will be instrumental in the next phases of growth for SheIS. We are at a critical point as we look forward to 2019, and we are confident that Jillian’s leadership and experience will help us to deliver against the exciting and lofty goals we have put in place.”

Svensson said, “I believe in the power of women and know firsthand how transformational sport can be for those who participate at all levels. I am thrilled to be joining SheIS at a time when the conversation around women, their role in society, and their role in sports is reaching a peak point. I am looking forward to finding new ways to lead that conversation in the North American sports world and beyond.”

About SheIS:

Founded in 2017 and launched to the public on May 1, 2018, SheIS was established with a mission to use the power of women’s sports to create a future of, by, and for strong women. It focuses on the positive attributes of sport to acknowledge and elevate women, and celebrates those who are collective powerhouses and unwavering cheerleaders for their fellow athletes at all skill levels. The SheIS Collective includes leaders from every major sport, and represents the first time in history that all of these sports leagues and organizations have stood together in support of one cause. To learn more, visit www.sheissport.com or follow the team on social media @teamsheis.

USTA Partners with SheIS

SheIS and the USTA Partner to Support Women in Sports

In 1973, the US Open became the first of the Grand Slams to offer women equal prize money with their male counterparts, the only one of the four majors to do so in the 20th century.

Continuing its commitment to gender equality, the US Open has now asked some of the biggest names in women's tennis to come together in support of “SheIS,” a new initiative which aims to increase awareness of women in sports, defined by a daring mission statement: “She Is. We Are. Embrace All.”

The USTA is banding together with women’s sports leagues, including the WNBA, National Pro Fastpitch and Canadian Women's Hockey, to harness the power of women’s sport to create a future of, by, and for strong women. The USTA "Embrace All" campaign is defined by the statement: "The only thing that separates us from each other is the net."

“We are extremely excited to partner with the USTA as we embrace all in the growth of women’s sports," said Brenda Andress, founder of SheIS and commissioner of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). "Growth opportunities within sports for girls and women everywhere lie within ourselves. Our amazing group of leagues, organizations, athletes and business leaders that are part of the SheIS collective are demonstrating firsthand how much we can accomplish when we stand together.”

Throughout the two weeks of the US Open, a slew of stars will stand united as one voice on the importance of female athletes supporting each other. A social media-centric campaign will see a total of six videos released across the US Open channels, featuring current and former tennis stars, including Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens, Angelique Kerber, Maria Sharapova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, CoCo Vandeweghe, Caroline Wozniacki, Karolina Pliskova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Lindsay Davenport, Mary Carillo and Tracy Austin.

View the #SheISUSTEmbraceAll athlete video

Andy Murray will also join the conversation on sports equality, representing fathers with daughters.

“Billie Jean King's courage and the empowering voices of Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova have created a pathway to inspire many US Open players to achieve their dreams on and off the court,” said Stacey Allaster, USTA Chief Executive of Professional Tennis. “I’m pleased that the USTA, alongside SheIS, is leading the conversation on the importance of women in sports, supporting each other in a collaborative and meaningful way.”

The joint campaign seeks to demonstrate that we all deserve to experience the incredible and lifelong benefits of playing sports. SheIS x USTA represents a progressive step in showing the sports world and its fans that women’s sports are worth watching and supporting.

"When we stand together – across different sports, male and female, at all levels – we have the ability to instill change and make sports a more aspirational and viable career for women. Little girls need to see role models that look like them, regardless of whether or not they become elite athletes," added Caiti Donovan, Executive Director of SheIS.

"Hashtags like the #FutureIsFemale, #WomenInBusiness and #GirlBoss have been defining a cultural conversation in 2018," said Qianna Smith-Bruneteau, Director of Social Media and Strategy at the USTA. "These short but empowering tags have a combined Instagram usage of over 30 million posts and served as creative inspiration for the campaign."

Be part of the dialogue using hashtag #SheISUSTAEmbraceAll and tagging @usta, @usopen & @teamsheis.

Four Additional Leagues Join SheIS

SheIS Welcomes Four New Organizations To Its Leadership Group

Global Initiative to Raise Awareness for the Positive Power of Women Sports Strengthens Its Collective Partnerships

New York, NY ( JULY 26, 2018) |||  SheIS announces today that the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the World Boxing Council, the World Surf League, and the Western Women’s Canadian Football League will join its Collective of sports organizations.

It also announces a number of new additions to it’s list of Athlete Ambassadors. The women’s sports initiative, which launched in May, made history by being the first organization to bring together leagues, organizations, athletes, and business leaders from across the men’s and women’s sports world in support of one cause - to grow the awareness and support of women sports.

In a time when every industry is taking a hard look at how women are being treated in the workplace, SheIS and the Collective was formed to create new opportunities for increasing the viewership and attendance of women’s sports at all levels.

The new additions to this group join an already strong base of North American sports organizations and individuals, including the WNBA, US Tennis Association, WWE, Canada Basketball, National Women’s Pro Fastpitch League, National Women’s Hockey League, Women’s Pro Lacrosse League, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, Canada Rugby, and Canada Baseball. All of the supporters are pledging to empower all female athletes, professional and amateur, and encourage growth in fan attendance and viewership.

SheIS Founder, Brenda Andress said, “We are extremely excited to welcome our newest leaders to sit among the SheIS Collective, further cross-pollinating our efforts and embracing the power within our leagues and with their amazing athletes. By strengthening this group, we are showing the sports world that we are ready to up our game and showing everyone that we can have a positive impact on women’s sports.”

Founded in 2017, SheIS fills a noticeable gap in the sports industry, where female athletes may feel marginalized and underrepresented, with a powerful vision to use positivity, respect and support to empower women who choose a career in sports. With the goal of increasing viewership and attendance of women's sports in North America, as well as participation at the amatuer level, SheIS encourages a cross-pollination of women’s sports, while challenging fans to attend games and use social media to champion women in sports.

“We are pleased to partner with the members of SheIS and look forward to working alongside these organizations to elevate the support and visibility for all women’s sports,” said NWSL Managing Director Amanda Duffy. “Led by our world-class athletes, NWSL strives to inspire current and future generations to be active in sports, and leaders in life. By participating in this initiative, we join the strength of these indomitable leaders working in women’s professional sports to amplify awareness of opportunities at all levels.”

Along with welcoming the new leagues into the organization, SheIS also welcomes a number of new Athlete Ambassadors, including the NWSL athletes such as Alex Morgan, Kailen Sheridan, and Michelle Betos, and the World Boxing Council Champions Christy Martin, Heather Hardy and Jelena Mrdjenovich, amongst many others. The full list can be found on the SheIS website.

WSL CEO Sophie Goldschmidt said, “WSL is honored to support SheIS as we all look to celebrate all women in sport. Surfing is incredibly lucky to have many iconic, value-led athletes drawn from across the world, from Stephanie Gilmore, chasing an incredible 7th World title, to 16 year old rookie Caroline Marks, Big Wave Surfer Paige Alms to Bethany Hamilton, and many more. Just this May at our inaugural Founder’s Cup, we saw co-ed teams, often led by women, compete and win in front of sellout crowds. Our women surfers are an inspiration to many.”

The initiative garnered national and international coverage at launch, and continues to gain momentum with the announcement of these new partnerships. Together, they will support the growth of the SheIS Challenge in 2018, which encourages the general public to join league leadership, athletes, and prominent business leaders in and outside of the sports industry, in watching or attending women’s sporting events across North America. By posting to social media channels using #SheISChallenge, and challenging friends, family, and colleagues to go watch or attend women’s sporting events throughout the year, the Collective hopes to build awareness and resources for women’s sports. The sports leagues will also begin hosting SheIS events and running co-branded promotions to help facilitate further opportunities for people to engage with women’s sports.

In addition to the SheIS Challenge, the initiative continues to focus on driving funding into amateur sports participation through the SheIS Fund. This fund aims to help build the talent pipeline of future professional athletes includes a partnership with Fast & Female, an established North American nonprofit organization founded by Olympic Gold Medalist, Chandra Crawford.

About SheIS

Founded in 2017 and launched to the public on May 1, 2018, SheIS was established with a mission to use the power of women’s sports to create a future of, by, and for strong women. It focuses on the positive attributes of sport to acknowledge and elevate women, and celebrates those who are collective powerhouses and unwavering cheerleaders for their fellow athletes at all skill levels.

The SheIS Collective includes leaders from every major sport, and represents the first time in history that all of these sports leagues and organizations have stood together in support of one cause.

To learn more, visit www.sheissport.com or follow the team on social media @teamsheis.