Written by In the third episode of the second season of the Culture in Sports podcasts, Wes and Mike talk to World ParaVolley Sports Director Lori Okimura.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Okimura grew up loving sports and has spent her professional career in a variety of areas in volleyball and coaching. In 2019 she was appointed an Executive Board Member to the Board of Directors of Angel City Sports which provides sporting opportunities to people with physical differences and impairments. Today, Lori serves as Sports Director for World ParaVolley, the international federation for sitting and beach para-volley. Lori was appointed by World ParaVolley as an international technical official for sitting volleyball for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games and is certified as a technical delegate for sitting and beach para-volleyball events.
Sadly, Lori was no stranger to discrimination and harassment in sport, having suffered ageism, gender inequity and racial injustice, Lori is a passionate supporter of others. She now is an advocate for athlete safety and guidance and champions adaptive sport and ensuring accessibility to everyone who is interested in sport. Lori also was instrumental in guiding young athletes to negotiate contracts, set up internships, and become proficient in marketing and fundraising.
Lori was fortunate in the positivity around her when she suffered an injury as a teenager, and this support was instrumental in shaping her future career in sports. She was able to identify alternate ways to continue pursuing a career in sports off the playing field. Teamwork, communication, and cooperation are all core values learned playing sports and these qualities have given a good start in her professional career in sports business.
Lori has a wonderfully refreshing perspective on the use of sports to provide opportunities to learn and grow in ways that are not just contingent on excelling and winning at the game in hand. Described as visionary, Lori’s focus is the encouragement of physical activity and demonstrating leadership to strengthen the adaptive sports movement.