WNBA, Vis Expand Mentorship Initiative Looking To Keep Girls In Sports

The WNBA, Voice in Sport (VIS), and the WNBA Changemakers are expanding their partnership in a renewed effort to keep girls in sports and open leadership pathways beyond the court, the league is announcing today. The initiative, which mentored 50,000 young women in 2024, aims to double its impact, reaching 100,000 participants in the second year.

“The WNBA Changemakers are really committed to empowering women and underrepresented groups through the power of sport, and the VIS partnership allows us to bring these words to life,” WNBA Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison told Forbes. “We saw the results of year one, and we knew that we had to continue to do it in year two to make it bigger and better.”

“The partnership with the WNBA and the WNBA Changemakers is an absolute powerhouse and something that I’m incredibly proud of,” said Stefanie Strack, founder and CEO of VIS. “Ultimately, when you have two organizations coming together with brands that really care about making a difference, we can make a huge impact for a problem that has existed for decades.”

The second year of the program introduces and expands VIS mentor roster, increasing from 12 to 16 WNBA players to ensure representation from every team, such as the newcomer Golden State Valkyries. Some of the new mentors include Las Vegas Aces’ Jewell Loyd and Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray.

Mentors cover an array of topics that can aid kids into becoming confident adults and set them up for success. In the inaugural year of the partnership, Phoenix Mercury’s Satou Sabally shared her testimonial of dealing with body image issues growing up, New York Liberty’s Isabelle Harrison gave tips on how to find your own style, and Chicago Sky’s Ariel Atkins talked about building community through sports.

“There was an incredible amount of interest from the players across the entire league really, to give back to girls and women in sport by becoming a VIS mentor on the platform,” Strack shared with Forbes on the process to become a mentor. “So the 16 VIS mentors are a diverse and powerful group of dedicated athletes who really have a passion for mentoring, and they want to get involved and get back into their communities. And the number one thing that we hear from all of these mentors is that ‘I wish I would have had this when I was playing sports’.”

In order to reach their goal of impacting 100,000 girls in 2025, the WNBA and VIS are leaning on technology integrations as well as WNBA Changemakers offline activations. A highlight is the launch of VIS’ new app that will facilitate access to mentorship sessions.

“This year the girls will have direct access in their pockets to have the mentoring sessions with the professional athlete mentors and access the educational content. And that’s really going to be a game changer,” celebrated Strack.

Another key addition is the ‘Build Your Career in Sport’ Leadership Series, gives young girls the opportunity to hear directly from top women executives, including some from Fortune 500 companies like Nike and Google, both part of the WNBA Changemakers roster. The series highlights the connection between sports and career success, noting that 94% of C-suite executives played sports, with 52% competing at the collegiate level.

The partnership will also bring the second annual WNBA Changemaker Day, set to take place at the AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025 in Indianapolis. This event will further integrate the WNBA Changemakers’ influence into both the game and the community.