In The News

Women in Sports and Events (WISE), the leading voice and resource for women in the business of sports, will host its 27th WISE Women of the Year Awards Luncheon at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City on March 15^th honoring four recipients of its WISE Women of the Year award.

The 2023 recipients are: Andrea Brimmer, Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer, Ally Financial; Jill Gregory, EVP, General Manager, Sonoma Raceway; Hillary Mandel, Executive Vice President, Head of Americas, IMG Media and Carla Williams, Director of Athletics, University of Virginia. WISE members across North America had the opportunity to nominate women for their accomplishments and significant contribution to the business of sports, and the honorees were selected by the organization’s National Board.

“Each of these women exemplifies not only what it means to be a leader, but what it means to be a way- maker, paving the way for those who will follow their example,” said Kathleen Francis, National Board chair and president of WISE. “We look forward to celebrating Andrea, Jill, Hillary and Carla at our annual luncheon and the great work they do, creating opportunities for women.”

The 2023 WISE Women of the Year honorees are:

Andrea Brimmer, Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer, Ally Financial

In her role, Brimmer is responsible for leading all aspects of integrated marketing and brand transformation at Ally, driving unprecedented growth and disruptive consumer engagement. Brimmer’s passion for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion and using her platform to create good in the world led to Ally’s ground-breaking pledge to spend equally in advertising across women’s and men’s sports. Among her many honors, Brimmer was named a winner of the 2020 Adweek Brand Genius award, is a three-time honoree on the Forbes’ list of World’s Most Influential CMOs, is the only three-time winner of the Financial Communications Society Marketer of the Year award and was named to the 2022 Adweek Most Powerful Women in Sports list. Prior to joining Ally, Brimmer spent 20 years on the agency side in Detroit, where she led the Chevrolet account. She holds several board positions at organizations including eHealth, the Ad Council and the Professional Advisory Board of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree and played varsity collegiate soccer.

Jill Gregory, Executive Vice President, General Manager, Sonoma Raceway

As only the second female leader of a NASCAR sanctioned facility when appointed in 2021, Gregory came armed with extensive leadership skills honed by her experience serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Content Officer at NASCAR and the managing executive of the company’s Charlotte-based

operations. Under her leadership, the organization bolstered its overall marketing strategy to strengthen fan engagement and cultivate new fans among younger and more diverse audiences. In 2017, Gregory established the company’s first content strategy group to elevate strategic planning and enhance collaboration within NASCAR and the industry. Before joining NASCAR, Gregory was senior vice president of motorsports marketing for Bank of America. Earlier in her career, she was director of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series marketing program for Sprint Nextel. She currently serves on the board of Speedway Children’s Charities, and is a national Trustee of Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Hillary Mandel, Executive Vice President, Head of Americas, IMG Media

As Executive Vice President for IMG Media, part of the Endeavor-owned company IMG, Mandel leads sports media sales and distribution for the Americas. During her tenure at IMG, Mandel has advised, consulted, and negotiated for IMG’s portfolio of more than 200 premier content owners, professional sports leagues, teams, college conferences, and U.S. international federations on their media rights and strategy. Among her clients are The AELTC (Wimbledon Championships), Big 10 Conference, Big 12 Conference, NWSL, The R&A (Open Championship), Milwaukee Bucks, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Roland Garros, Conmebol, PGA of America, NYC Marathon, WNBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL, and MLS and UFC. Mandel started her career at HBO in acquisitions, and went on to FOX TV affiliate KTVU, eventually moving to Golden Gate Productions which was acquired by TWI/IMG.

Carla Williams, Director of Athletics, University of Virginia

The first African-American woman to lead an athletic department at a Power Five School (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12), Williams was appointed director of athletics at the University of Virginia in 2017. Upon her arrival, she instituted The Master Plan project for UVA’s Cavalier football program and UVA Olympic Sports to address “the

immediate needs to upgrade facilities.” She has served on the executive committees of both the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators, in 2015 being named one of the top 10 senior woman administrations in the NCAA by CollegeAD.org. Prior to UVA, Williams spent 13 years in athletic administration at the University of Georgia, rising to deputy director of athletics. She played professional basketball in Spain between graduation from UGA and returning for her Masters, serving as assistant coach for the Lady Bulldogs as they advanced to consecutive Final Fours in 1995 and 1996, and the 1996 national championship game.

In conjunction with the 27^th Annual WISE Awards Luncheon, the WISE/R Symposium, a first of its kind to focus solely on the personal and professional development of women in the business of sports, will take place on March 14^th, the day prior to the luncheon, at The TimesCenter in New York City. Launched in 2014, the day-long program takes a 360-degree view of working in sports and includes sessions featuring leaders across the industry who share their stories, discuss trends, provide actionable career strategies and dispel myths surrounding sports’ biggest jobs. Additional information about the 27^th Annual WISE Awards Luncheon and the WISE/R Symposium can be found at WISEworks.org.

About WISE

WISE — Women in Sports and Events — is the leading voice and resource for women in the business of sports. Its network of established industry leaders and professional development programs provides members with the practical tools and support necessary to reach their professional goals and accelerate their careers. A registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, WISE was founded in 1993 and has its headquarters in New York City with chapters across North America. WISE Chapters: Arizona, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, DFW, Greater Orlando, Greater Raleigh, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, NYC Metro, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, SF Bay Area, South Florida, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Twin Cities, Utah, Washington DC.

For more information about WISE, please visit WISEworks.org.

Just Capital’s annual analysis ranks the largest public companies on issues the American public says in polling are the most important. Paying a fair, living wage (the No. 1 issue); creating jobs in the U.S.; workforce retention and training; ethical leadership; carbon reduction and pollution control, are among the environmental, social and governance factors that helped the nonprofit identify the 100 top-performing companies across all industries for 2023.

The Just 100 methodology evaluates Russell 1000 companies across 20 core issues, five stakeholder groups, and 245 underlying data points. According to Just Capital, on average, companies that make the Just 100 list create more jobs, pay higher wages, provide more career development opportunities and workforce benefits, emit less carbon dioxide, and have higher profit margins and return on equity than their Russell 1000 peers.

JUST 100 RANKINGS FOR 2023

The Task Force is conducting several listening sessions to help them identify best practices for government, child-serving systems, businesses, not for profits, and philanthropy to mitigate, adapt and respond to climate change as it relates to young children. It will also develop policy framework for implementation at all levels of government.  Click the link below to see more about the presenters.

https://www.capita.org/events/2022/1/9/early-years-climate-action-task-force-listening-session-four

Local students will soon get the chance to be automatically admitted into Sonoma State University thanks to a newly minted agreement between university leaders and the Petaluma City Schools district.

The deal was put to paper during the school district’s Tuesday board meeting, as Superintendent Matthew Harris and SSU President Dr. Mike Lee signed an agreement to enact a “Promise” program – an initiative to guarantee students in Petaluma schools direct admission to the California State University as long as they meet certain requirements like a minimum grade point average upon graduation.

According to administrators, students will be able to begin the qualification process as early as junior high.

“Not only is this great for those students who choose to attend Sonoma State, it also raises the bar as far as what we will expect from students upon entering in 9th grade, and will help us develop a more university prep mindset,” Harris told the Argus-Courier.

Harris said the program is the first of its kind between the Rohnert Park university and any school district. While he did not give a specific start date – Tuesday’s signed agreement was described as an MOU, or memorandum of understanding – he said the program is intended to begin in “the near future.”

Dr. Lee called the program “transformational” as well as “visionary and exciting.”

“This agreement could significantly increase the number of students from Petaluma going to a university,” Lee said in a statement. “But just as important, it would ensure that as Sonoma State increases in enrollment, these students would be secured a spot at Sonoma State University.”

Lee noted that Sonoma State saw a decline in enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that since then local students have made up a larger proportion of the first-year student population.

However, “We are beginning to see an increase in applications, deposits, and enrollments as the pandemic ends and students think again about their college choices,” Lee said. “There is no doubt that our new Strategic Enrollment Management Plan will help us return to our maximum enrollment capacity of 9,000-10,000 enrolled students, but local Petaluma City Schools students will have access to guaranteed admissions” regardless of SSU’s enrollment numbers.

The university lists 20 degree programs eligible for students participating in the Promise Program – from anthropology to art history to English to physics – meaning eligible Petaluma students will be guaranteed a spot in those majors.

Amie Carter, Sonoma County superintendent-elect, also attended the district’s board meeting Tuesday, which reached full capacity in attendance. Carter praised the partnership between the district and university.

“What a great model for our students,” Carter said. “I am so proud of my own children’s Petaluma City Schools’ high school diploma, and this promise agreement is just something really special for Petaluma.”

https://www.petaluma360.com/article/news/petaluma-schools-sonoma-state-sign-promise/

https://www.marinij.com/2022/12/05/college-of-marin-starts-work-on-82-5m-library-project/The College of Marin is gearing up for its latest major construction project: the $82.5 million library building at its campus in Kentfield.

The 78,000-square-foot, three-story building will rise along College Avenue just south of the academic center at the corner of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

The building, called the Learning Resources Center, will include a new library, event spaces, offices, classrooms and a pantry and health services. A space for faculty professional development programs is also planned.

The project is the latest in college’s multiyear revitalization efforts on its Kentfield and Novato campuses made possible by voter-approved Measure B bond funds.

“The new LRC is intuitive, functional and beautiful, with a balance of owned and shared spaces,” said Nicole Cruz, the college’s communications director.

“It engages and welcomes in Marin County’s broader community,” she said. “It is a place that provokes joy, inspiration and new connections.”

Cruz added that one of the goals of the new Learning Resources Center is to create a feeling of home for each student by incorporating a natural and comfortable design.

“They are connected to the surrounding nature and this place,” Cruz said. “Each student truly belongs.”

The college held an online forum last week to update the community on the project. It was led by Isidro Farias, the college’s capital projects director, and Beth Rhodes, project communications manager.

According to Rhodes, the work at the site includes installing underground piping, water lines, valves and fiber connections. That work is expected to be done by the end of this year, she said.

The next phase, which is grading, soil mixing and foundation work, will begin in March, Rhodes said. Building construction is anticipated to start by July and last until the fall of 2025.

“We understand we cannot completely mitigate the impacts for all folks,” Rhodes said of the construction work. “We will be address impacts such as noise, vibration, truck deliveries, workers shouting and machines running.”

Farias said every effort will be made to schedule construction activities around community routines, such as avoiding truck deliveries during the student commute times for Kent Middle School, which is across College Avenue from the project.

A “sound blanket” will be placed on the south side of the campus academic center so that construction noise will be muffled for classes and other activities inside the center, Farias said.

Donna Reeve, a neighbor of the campus for the last 45 years, asked whether there would be a plan to address a traffic “backup” at the college parking lot entrance between about 8:30 and 10 a.m. as students and staff arrive for school.

Farias said efforts would be made to avoid worsening the normal “bumper to bumper” backlog in the mornings.

“We would only close a lane in the parking lot during deliveries,” he said.

According to Rhodes, the college is seeking to maintain close partnerships with the community to make sure all work is done safely and with the least disruption.

“Safety is really critical in such a compact area,” she said.

Outreach, including additional public forums, will be organized to update the community as the work progresses, Farias said.

More information is at measurebcom.org/lrc-3/.