Sports Leader of the Year – Culture in Sports

Culture In Sports Leader of the Year

The Culture in Sports Leader of the year is awarded to the most outstanding leaders that continuously show how leadership and culture can positively impact organizational success, team and athlete performance, and the short and long term mental, physical, and emotional health of athletes

Please submit your nomination by August 31, 2024

Culture In Sports

2023 SPORTS LEADER OF THE YEAR recipient

2023 SPORTS LEADER OF THE YEAR Nominees

Asante Sefa-Boakye

CEO & Founder of Black Star Polo

Asante is focused on creating access to opportunities, growing water polo in Ghana, and providing free swim & splash ball lessons for children of Somalian refugee families in San Diego, CA.

Chris Snyder

Sr. Vice President of Operations, i9 Sports

Chris ensures that every child has a fun, engaging, and quality experience in sport and consistently seeks opportunities to make additional impact on athletes, families, and communities.

Jason Olive

Director of Los Angeles Volleyball Club

Jason believes that kids deserve a place to play, access to information, respect, accountability, learningmindfulness, and must take care of themselves and their teammates with kindness and care.

Ben Gucciardi

Founder of Soccer Without Borders

Ben uses soccer as a vehicle for positive change, providing underserved youth with a toolkit to overcome obstacles to growth, inclusion, and personal success. These programs continue to grow in the US, Uganda, and Nicaragua

2022 SPORTS LEADER OF THE YEAR recipient

2022 SPORTS LEADER OF THE YEAR Nominees

Odessa Jenkins

Founder & CEO of the Women's National Football Conference

Odessa Jenkins is the Founder and CEO of the Women's National Football Conference (WNFC) and President of Emtrain, an HR Tech Platform designed to train inclusion and respect in the workplace.

Odessa is also the Founder of multiple non-profits (Got Her Back, Elite Women's Football Alliance of Dallas).

Jenkins is easily one of the most motivating and positive individuals on a local or national level. Her ability to influence and inspire her players to come together as one cohesive unit is both a strong reflection of her cultural vision for her team but also the type of person she is on and off the field.

Dr. Jennifer Welter

Sports Psychology & Motivational Speaker

Coach Jen Welter is best known as the first female to coach in the NFL as an assistant LBs Coach with The Arizona Cardinals.

In 2018 Coach Jen focused on the importance of being a female role model in sports. She founded Grrrridiron Girls flag football camps for girls & took the story digital by partnering with Toya to develop A series of Minecraft Worlds titled “Coach Jen.”

Welter's message has been widely acclaimed and well received on worldwide platforms that speak to audiences from global enterprising companies, top performing schools, brand nonprofits, and professional sports teams.

Bob Costello

Sports Leader of the Year Finalist

Coach Costello is one of the best coaches in the history of coaching that prioritizes positive reinforcement with his players,

Costello emphasizes his strong core values of hard work, respect, and dedication day in and day out. He is the perfect depiction of a mentor in and away from sport, his innate leadership ability, strong and consistent communication style with his players is why he is a strong finalist for The 2022 Culture in Sports Leader of the Year