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Women's Sports Career Seminar Speakers
- partial list of
speakers -
 Moderator:
Mary Lou Youngblood, Executive Vice President, Women'Sports Services
(formerly
Director of Community Relations for the WNBA Los Angeles
Sparks). A coach
at heart, Mary Lou Youngblood brings a history of competition and service
to her position as Executive Vice President of Women’Sports
Services. For the past 17 years she has been an advocate of girls and
women’s sports through her various positions and roles in athletics and
business. Her previous positions include community relations and
marketing for the
WNBA Los Angeles Sparks, sales and marketing roles with the Los Angeles
Lakers and coaching. Her event management experience includes
coordination of hundreds of girls sports clinics, leagues and camps
coupled with hundreds of athlete appearances and autograph sessions.
 Speaker:
Becky Heidesch, CEO & Founder of Women'Sports Services, (a full
service career development company, previously a full service women's
sports marketing agency) Heidesch brings a combination of sports
careers and business to
her current roles. Her diversified background includes head coaching
positions on the high school, NAIA and NCAA levels, an assistant professor
in health and physical education, director human resources, career
counselor, sports
publisher, sports marketing consultant, and event manager. A
resource in the field of women's sports, Heidesch has served as a women's
sports marketing consultant for major corporations such as, Oshman's
Sporting Goods, Hyundai Motor America, Alta Dena Dairy, and the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks.
The company currently runs and operates the online career center WomenSportsJobs.com, and
owns several support properties including WomenSportsEvents.com, and the
WomenSportsWire.com.
Call-in Speakers (partial
list):
 Marilyn
Oshman, Consultant & Board Member, Gart Sports, formerly Chairman
of the Board for Oshman's Sporting Goods, one of the nation's largest
independent sporting goods retailers. The daughter of company
founder Jake Oshman, she served as a board member for several years.
Her company recently merged with Gart Sports, where Marilyn continues to
serve in an executive capacity. A women's pioneer in the sporting
goods industry, she spearheaded a cause-marketing program in 1991 to focus
on the female consumer. In 1997 Oshman was named a finalist for “Woman
of the Year”; “Business Woman of
the Year” by the United Cerebral Palsy
Foundation;
“Sportsman of the Year” by the Recycled Baseball Items (R.B.I.)
Foundation. Oshman received the 1995 “Woman of the Year
in Sports”
award in the retail category given by SPORTSCAST magazine, Sporting
Goods Business, The New York Times, and ISMA in
recognition of a proven record of excellence in the sports industry.
 Ann
Meyers Drysdale, one
of the true pioneers of women’s basketball, is considered to be one of
the best basketball broadcasters in the country, men’s and
women’s. An NBC (WNBA) Commentator, she was inducted in the
Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and willalways be remembered as being the
first and only women to sign as a free agent with an NBA team, the
Indiana Pacers! As an athlete, she led the U.S. to a silver
medal at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as women’s basketball
made its debut and she helped establish the U.S. as a women’s basketball
powerhouse in the 70’s, by leading her team to the 1979 World
Championships and 1975 Pan American Title. Annie is a member of the Basketball
Hall of Fame (1993) and Women’s Sports Hall of Fame (1987).
She was also inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame where she was a
4-time All-American Basketball player. She often participates
as a keynote speaker at sports events and conferences around the country
and regularly participates in our women's sports career seminar
program. "Today's women have a great opportunity to be
professional athletes, physical therapists, entrepreneurs, and even sports
broadcasters -- today's women can do it all! I am proud to be a part
of this program," says Drysdale. Drysdale was married to the
great Dodger Legend the late Don Drysdale. She presides in
Huntington Beach, CA with her two sons, D.J. and Darren, and her daughter,
Drew.
Cathy Ferguson, Ed.D, Chief
Marketing Officer, American Youth Soccer Association (AYSO), 1964 Olympic
Gold Medalist. During her
career, Cathy held 5 World Records, 10 American Records, and 13 National
Titles. She was named the
All-Around Senior Woman Swimmer in the U.S., nominated for the Sullivan
Award, and became the first female recipient of the National YMCA
Achievement Award. In
addition she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame,
Helm’s Athletic Hall of Fame, California State University, Long Beach
Hall of Fame, Los Angeles Athletic Club John Wooden Hall of Fame, and
Glendale College Hall of Fame and was voted to the list of the “Top 200
Female Athletes of the Century.” Following
her Olympic years, Cathy pursued her career in education as a University
Professor. She has since held
a position as Sports Medicine Director, Resource Development Director for
Disney GOALS, and is currently the Chief Marketing Officer of the
American Youth Soccer Organization where she has assisted in more than
tripling the national sponsorship acquisition and growing the
organization to 660,000 participating youths and over 250,000 volunteers.
She is a highly motivated person and has shared her methods for
success to many audiences. Dr.
Ferguson is the mother of three daughters, all of whom have become strong
athletic competitors, and she resides in Huntington Beach, CA with her
husband Greg Panten.
 Tina
Sloan Green is currently the President / Executive Director of the Black
Women In Sports Foundation. In addition, she is currently a
Professor in Temple University's College of Education. Ms. Green,
the first African-American head coach in the history of women's
intercollegiate lacrosse, elevated Temple's intercollegiate lacrosse
program from the club level to a national powerhouse before retiring from
coaching at the end of the 1992 season. In 18 seasons, Ms. Green
amassed a 207-62-4 career coaching record with a .758 career winning
percentage, leading the Owls to the NCAA Division I Lacrosse Championships
in 1984 and in 1988 when she led the Owls to a perfect 19-0 record for the
season. Ms. Green also served for five (5) years as Temple University's
field hockey coach, elevating that program to national prominence. In
1997, she became the first Black female to be inducted into the
National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. She is the co-author of two books, Black
Women in Sport and Modern Women's Lacrosse.
 Dr.
Susan Blackwood,
Ed.D Executive Director, San Antonio Sports
Foundation (host organization for the 2002 NCAA Women's Final Four).
A well known professional in the sports industry, her former experience
includes positions as Director
of Athletic Relations for Oshman’s Sporting Goods, Associate
Director of Athletics at the University of Texas, But, perhaps her
most memorable professional moments are those attributable to her
association with the U.S.A. Basketball Team.
As Vice President for Women, National Team Program Chair, and
Chair of the Games Committee, Blackwood has contributed her time and
talents in the development of women’s basketball.
She also has served on the NBA Coordinating Committee for the
Women’s National Team, Women’s Basketball Coaches Association
Advisory Committee, and USOC Athlete Development Committee – Site
Selection Chair.
 Marlene
Bjornsrud
is general manager of the WUSA San Jose CyberRays,
the 2001 champions of the Women’s
United Soccer Association. Bjornsrud brought more than 20 years
of experience in athletic administration to her job with the new
professional soccer team. when she was hired June 19, 2000. She came
to the WUSA after three years as assistant director of athletics
at Santa Clara University, where she was in charge of soccer, baseball,
softball, crew, tennis and golf. She also supervised the department’s marketing
and media relations offices. Previously she had been assistant
athletic director and senior women’s administrator at Grand Canyon
University in Phoenix, Ariz., where she was instrumental in adding women’s
soccer to the school’s athletic program. In addition to her
duties
at Grand Canyon, Bjornsrud served in organizing other
events, including serving on the special events committee of Super Bowl
XXX in Phoenix.
CHERYL E. WILLIAMS, Ph.D., serves as Assistant to the President on
International and Cultural Relations and as an Assistant Professor in
the School of Business and School of Communication at Concordia
University – Irvine. Additionally,
Dr. Williams is a senior organizational development and human resources
professional with a solid business orientation.
She served in human resources under
Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox Groups, including Fox
Sports, the Los Angeles Dodgers and a variety of other
properties. She has consistently demonstrated successful hands-on
management experience with domestic and international employee groups.
Prior to her going full time into academia, her corporate
experience spanning 25 years, in employee education and training,
recruitment, staffing, internal communications, employee relations, diversity
management, and community relations.
She has lived and or worked in over 30 countries covering 5
continents. Upon making the
bold decision to leave corporate America full time, she launched Communication
Works in 1997, a corporate training and development
consultancy. Among her
diversified client lists she regularly works with the Los Angeles
Dodgers.
 Michele Himmelberg, is
a veteran journalist at the Orange County Register Newspaper.
Michele was one of the few women covering professional sports in the early
1980s, with assignments that ranged from the National Football League
to the Olympics to pro and college basketball.
In 1987, she co-founded
AWSM, the Association for Women in Sports Media, a professional
networking group that has grown to over 500 members. She
has been involved in both sports and journalism for
over 20 years.
Mickey
Davis, currently
Women's Athletic Director at Long Beach City College, her
diversified background includes sports marketing and promotions, event
management,
athletic administration and coaching. Having served on the 1984 Los
Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, she has worked internationally
with sports teams and leagues,
served on national and statewide committees and as a corporate sponsor
spokesperson
for companies like Coors, USA
Softball, Louisville Slugger and more.
Partial List of
Speakers. Check back for more!
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