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Note: This story appeared in the Winter 2021 February edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here. 


Transformational

Champions for women share impactful moments that have made a difference and led to career success.

by Ali Paquette – Middlebury College, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

Most women can point to several experiences, both small and large, where they have either been silenced because of their gender or supported.

Supporting women in sports can take many different forms.

I sent a prompt to a group of extraordinary women in our field, as well as to some men who are champions in lifting women in our profession. I asked each of them to talk about a transformational moment that was essential to their growth, or to someone else’s to show how we can all help women succeed in our industry. These are their stories.

From Student to Director
Lisa Champagne, Assistant Director for Media Relations at the NESCAC

Lisa Champagne was the Assistant Sports Information Director at the University of Vermont when student Amie Canfield inquired about her position. Canfield had spent four years as the manager of the women’s hockey team and wanted to learn more about Champagne’s role within the department. She quickly became a part of the student staff and the 1A contact for women’s hockey.

“Amie was eager, knew the game of hockey and already had a relationship with the players and coaches,” said Champagne. “When I was on the road with women’s basketball, she had to handle all of the women’s hockey games from start to finish. I would often call to check in from whenever I was, but there really was no need to. Amie had things covered.”

Canfield went on to become an assistant and eventually a director.

“Seeing more and more women enter the profession has been encouraging,” said Champagne. “I wish I had more women to look up to when I started my career in 1994.”
 

• • •

Mentor and Friend
Amie Canfield, Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications at Vassar College

When Canfield landed her first full-time position in the field at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) her boss, Kevin Beattie, became a lifelong mentor and friend.

Throughout Canfield’s time at RPI, Beattie was always there to push her to be the best that she could be, while also exuding kindness. It was his goal to ensure that Canfield built a strong foundation so that she could one day run her own office.

“Kevin was the person I needed at that point in my career,” said Canfield. “He guided me to be better, to want more and to care about the work I do and who I do it for.”

When Canfield had enough experience for the next chapter in her career, Beattie pushed her to leave. He knew that she was ready and that it was her time to be a leader.

“Kevin is beyond thoughtful. When I left, tears were shed by both of us,” said Canfield. “When he gave his speech, he did a top-10 list of the reasons why I was going to be missed and they were all based on songs from the time I’d been there, which was about seven years.”

In 2015 when Canfield earned the CoSIDA Rising Star Award, both Beattie and Champagne were by her side to celebrate her success.

• • •

Full Circle
Lauren Neilan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and Marketing at Assumption University

When Lauren Neilan was a senior at Assumption, she wanted to combine her love for athletics and her passion for marketing. She approached Sports Information Director Ken Johnson Jr. and asked if he had any internship opportunities. He offered her an internship, and she fell in love with the profession after a year in the position. As her senior year ended, Johnson suggested Neilan look for a graduate assistant position, and she was hired at Anna Maria College. After just a year in the profession, she was offered the full-time sports information director position there.

“I am forever grateful to the Anna Maria athletic department for putting their faith in me to take the reins with such little experience under my belt,” Neilan said. “Looking back, I was handed a lot of responsibility in a very short amount of time. Other people had confidence in me to succeed, and that lifted me to where I am today, back at Assumption where it all started.”
 

• • •

Experience as Much as Possible
Rachel Moore, Assistant Athletic Director/Director of Athletic Communications at Central Methodist University

During Rachel Moore’s job interview at Central Methodist University, she met a student-athlete who was interested in athletic communications. Remembering this, when Moore started in her new role, she knew she wanted the student to work in her office.

“My challenge to her when she started out was to experience as many different parts of the sports information world as possible,” said Moore.

Moore’s student has gained valuable experience as a broadcast camera operator, so much so that she can run a broadcast by herself.

“As a manager, this is what you want your employees to do,” said Moore. “You want them to become self-sufficient and have the confidence to take charge of situations.”

The duo has only spent one semester working together, but Moore sees a lot of promise in the undergraduate student.
 

• • •

Making Meaningful Connections
John Painter, Director of Athletic Communications at Colgate College

At Colgate, there are not a lot of opportunities for daily media interactions, so John Painter has supported many women on his staff in seeking and earning roles with the NCAA media and coordination teams at various championships so that they could expand their skills in social media, television production, media relations and game management.

“Nina Lindberg, Kat Castner and Chelsea Vielhauer all made terrific impressions on the NCAA staff, made good connections with other schools, and find themselves continuing to soar up the ladder of athletic communications success,” said Painter.

“Mark Bedics at the NCAA now has Jenna Jorgensen from our staff helping with the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, so the cycle continues,” said Painter. “It truly is a joy to watch.”
     

• • •

A New Skill
Jalisa Fulwood, Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations at Rhodes College

As a sport and recreation major, Jalisa Fulwood had to complete a practicum and internship in order to graduate. What began as an internship in the sports information office quickly became more.

One day, Jalisa had finished all of the athletic communications work, but still needed to fulfill a few more hours. Clayton Metz, the director of video content, asked Jalisa if she wanted to help him with a project. She had no experience in video editing, but she wanted to learn. Metz spent the afternoon teaching Fulwood the basics of Adobe Premiere, how to work a camera, the importance of music, angles, the power of bounce boards, and the complexities to shooting each sport. She even got to help with a lip dub video that afternoon.

The following year, Fulwood requested to be Metz’s intern and he accepted.

“He saw my potential when I sometimes questioned if it was there,” said Fulwood.

Under Metz’s direction, Fulwood found her passion for video, and he helped her build a solid foundation in those areas.

“That internship was pivotal for me because it introduced me to an avenue that I didn’t even know existed,” said Fulwood. “Today, I can’t watch games on television without thinking of how many cameras are being used to get those angles. Video editing is still my strongest attribute, and Adobe Creative Cloud is my best and worst friend.”
 

• • •

Laying the Foundation and Building the House
Candace Johnson, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at Ohio State

As an undergraduate at Guilford College, Candace Johnson spent her first few days on campus looking for a work study position. After seeing a posting in the sports information office, she interviewed with Dave Walters. Johnson knew nothing about sports information, but she liked sports. Walters hired her.

“If it wasn’t for Dave, I can say without a doubt that I would not be in this field,” said Johnson. “He spent four years helping me cultivate my passion for athletic communications, helped me realize this is what I wanted to do and showed me how it was done.”

After graduation, Johnson set out to find a job in the profession, where word of mouth led her to Coppin State, where she worked with Rob Knox, now a CoSIDA Past President.

During her time with the Eagles, Knox taught Johnson to see past the statistics of the job and focus on the human-interest side of the profession. Working with Knox allowed her to dramatically enhance her writing skills.

“When I think about my career, both Dave and Rob were patient, kind and always willing to teach me,” said Johnson. “They also let me figure things out on my own, sometimes on the fly and make mistakes. But no matter what, they had my back. I like to say that Dave laid the foundation and Rob helped me build the house.”
 

• • •

Taking a Chance
Morgan Sheehan, Associate Athletic Communications Director at UNC Pembroke

Early on in her career, Morgan Sheehan had a difficult decision to make. She was in the middle of the final interview for a full-time job in collegiate athletics when Todd Anderson, associate director of athletic communications and strategic initiatives at UNC Pembroke approached her about an interim position as the assistant director of athletic communications. Sheehan wasn’t sure what to do.

“Do I take the guaranteed full-time position, or do I take the interim gig at a place I loved,” said Sheehan.

Anderson knew that Sheehan did not have much experience in the field, but he knew that she was a hard worker who loved sports, and she was someone he could count on. Sheehan decided to stay at UNCP and work with Anderson.

“Todd guided me and made sure I would be successful,” said Sheehan. “Without him taking a chance on me, I never would have realized how much I love this career.”

Six months after her start date, Sheehan was hired full time.

“Three years later, deciding to stay at UNCP was the best decision I have made,” said Sheehan. “I cannot thank Todd enough for all that he teaches me on a daily basis.”
 

• • •

Mentoring the Next Generation
Kiaira Cooper, Former Assistant Communications Director at Kansas

Kiaira Cooper recently posted an entry-level position in a group chat for Black women in sports. A young woman responded directly to Cooper, inquiring about the position, and attached her cover letter and resume. Cooper was not a part of the hiring process and could have easily just passed the materials on, but she didn’t.

Cooper connected with the woman and spent weeks helping her improve her application materials. With each round of edits and suggestions, Cooper took the time to explain everything on Zoom.

“This is something I never thought I would be qualified to do since I am still young in the industry,” said Cooper. “I quickly realized how important it is to pass on the things I have learned so that other women, especially women of color, can succeed in the sports industry.”
 

• • •

When One Door Closes
Shawn Medeiros, Sports Information Director at Endicott College

In the Sports Information department at Endicott College, supporting women in sports is part of their mission. Former Sports Information Director Rob Palardy instilled this in his staff, and current Director Shawn Medeiros is intentional in hiring graduate assistants and work study students who are women.

When Medeiros learned the department would have funding for two semester-long internships in 2018, it was no surprise that two women were in line for the positions.

“We were all really excited to have both Noreen Mulledy and Kristen Habbel as interns,” said Medeiros. “We felt that their skill sets were at the levels of assistants, not interns, and that we were lucky to have both of them.”

Just a week before officially offering both positions, one position was cut. Medeiros and his staff were left with a tough decision, knowing that one woman would be heartbroken.

Although the department ultimately settled on Mulledy, they made it their mission to help Habbel secure a spot elsewhere. Medeiros and his colleagues called and emailed several schools in the area on behalf of Habbel.

Habbel was offered a position at Bryant.

“Supporting women in sports has to be intentional,” said Medeiros. “Rob held this close to his heart when I arrived at Endicott and it’s something we talk about regularly within our athletics department.”
 

• • •

Ignoring the Noise
Vicky Chun, Thomas A. Beckett Director of Athletics at Yale University / Former athletic communications director

In 2007, Vicky Chun was the associate athletic director at Colgate and Ann-Marie Guglieri was hired as the assistant athletic director of compliance. Guglieri excelled in her responsibilities and volunteered for every leadership opportunity she could. She hoped to eventually transition out of compliance and become an athletic director.

Five years later, when Chun was promoted to athletic director, she wanted Guglieri to be her number two, the senior associate athletic director.

“I did receive pushback, not only from those who thought that it was an enormous leap up the organizational chain, but also by those who worried about the perception of two women running an NCAA Division I FCS athletics department,” said Chun. “Even Ann-Marie was skeptical because she would be overseeing areas that were not immediately in her zone of excellence. We ignored the noise and the athletics department went on to great success.”

The duo now works together at Yale, where the director’s office of four is all women.
 

• • •

When I think about my time in athletic communications, there are many people who have supported me. Yet, my journey began with a yes or no question.

I was midway through my master’s degree and I had to find an internship as part of my program. I approached Erin Quinn, director of athletics at Middlebury College, about fulfilling my credits under his mentorship.

Middlebury does not hire a lot of interns in the department, and I knew that asking Quinn for this opportunity meant more work for him, but he immediately said yes and followed with, “Someone had to take a chance on me once.”

From that point on, Quinn made it his mission to ensure I got as much experience in as many areas of athletics and administration as possible. It was because of that one yes that I stumbled upon athletic communications and found a career that I am passionate about. I am grateful that I was able gain experience under his mentorship for two years and return full-time in 2020 after a year and a half at another college.

Lisa Champagne said she wished she had more women to look up to when she began her career in 1994. I feel grateful that in 2021 I have many women like Champagne who have shown me what is possible for women working in sports.

To all of the men and women who have helped support women working in athletics, thank you. Giving back moves all of us forward.
   

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