Saatchi LA Continues Lead Role in State Department Global Sports Mentoring Program

Thanks to a forward-thinking leadership team, Saatchi LA was one of the first organizations that elected to participate when the U.S. Department of State and espnW began their Global Sports Mentoring Program in 2012, and is playing a significant role in the 2014 program.

Notably, John Lisko – Executive Communication Director, has been the executive champion of this initiative since its inception. Now in its third year, this program supports the Department of State’s Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative, advancing the rights and participation of women and girls around the world by using sports as a vehicle toward greater opportunity and inclusion. 

Saatchi LA will be hosting two international Emerging Leaders who are participating in the 2014 edition of the program, which will conclude on October 9. The Leaders assigned to Saatchi LA for 2014 are:

Salhat Abbasova (Azerbaijan)

With the support of her parents, Salhat participated in physical education classes as a young girl and fell in love with a number of team sports, including handball, volleyball, hockey, and gymnastics. Her prowess in handball eventually led to a spot on the national team for the Soviet Union. It was through this experience that Salhat came to understand the unique power of sport to transcend cultural barriers. This unifying experience on the court drove Salhat to study Sports Administration at the university, exploring deeper her fascination with the Olympic ideals and the ways Olympism is used to unite cultures and build peace among nations. 

Salhat’s education has opened many doors for her and ultimately positioned her to serve on the Organizing Committee of the Executive Board for the 2020 Summer Olympics bid in Baku. Using her experiences in sports administration and management, Salhat would like to launch her own NGO that promotes sport as a tool for peace building and empowerment. Through her NGO, Salhat wants to educate underserved populations, particularly young girls in rural areas, as she views these girls to be the linchpin in creating a healthier society.

Maqulate Onyango (Kenya)

Maqulate grew up in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Mathare, the slum area where she was raised, lacked many basic amenities like electricity, running water, security, and sanitation. Maqulate did not attend school on a formal basis until she was 13. At 13, Maqulate was approached by MYSA, the Mathare Youth Sports Association. MYSA offered Maqulate an opportunity to play in their local soccer league and to participate in community clean-up projects. 

In return, they would pay for Maqulate to attend school. Maqulate excelled in the MYSA program. In just five short years, Maqulate taught herself how to read and write at a level proficient enough to graduate from high school, earning an academic scholarship for her studies. Upon graduation, Maqulate purposefully wanted to give back to the organization that had given her so much. She began by volunteering as a coach for the young girls league. 

One day, Maqulate approached the organization about becoming a female match official. MYSA agreed, making Maqulate one of the few female football referees in all of Kenya. After several years of training and great success, Maqulate later became the first Kenyan woman to be selected as a Match Commissioner by the African Football Confederation (CAF), one of the highest honors and responsibilities performed by a football official. 

Since that time, Maqulate has used her platform to promote the training and education of other women and girls in officiating, sports training, and lifeskills development. For her hard work, Maqulate was appointed Director of the Sports and Environment Program at MYSA, and she has developed a number of programs including workshops on HIV/AIDS awareness, gender-based violence prevention, child protection, and teenage pregnancy aversion. 

She currently works with more than 500 women and children on a consistent basis, using sport as the convener to initiate important life skills discussions.

The mentors representing Saatchi LA are Gwen Conley, Group Director of Media and Joan Coraggio, Group Director of Engagement Marketing. Both Conley and Coraggio have previously served as mentors in the program. As mentors, they will support the emerging leaders to develop strategic action plans aimed at creating additional sports opportunities for underserved women and girls upon their return home. 

“It’s an honor to once again be selected to be participate as a mentor in this amazing program,” Coraggio said. “The past two years have shown us what incredible tools and networking the program provides these incredible women and what great things they do once they return to their home countries.” 

“Just knowing that, by helping one person, we have the opportunity to continue to make an impact on so many lives around the world is extremely powerful. I can’t wait to start working hand-in-hand with Maqulate,” said Conley.

As part of the program, Saatchi LA will provide the opportunity for these female leaders and entrepreneurs to develop management and business skills in the sports industry as they address a challenge facing their company or organization. 

Through this immersive experience, mentees will learn how Saatchi LA’s unique integrated sports marketing approach across media, public relations, analytics and live events provides 360-degree solutions that they could apply to their own business challenges.

In addition, Saatchi & Saatchi will provide these women with access to a myriad of sports industry partners, celebrities and leaders not otherwise accessible to them.

Past Saatchi LA mentees Aparna Popat (2012), Grace Kiraguri (2012) and Luz Amuchastegui (2013) have since returned to their homelands of India, Kenya and Argentina, respectively, and continued to make a difference. 

Popat conduct workshops and mentorship programs for disadvantaged girls in India aged 8 – 15 years, giving them opportunities to develop their confidence, improve academic performance, maximize their personal potential and strengthen the community using sports as a tool. 

Kiraguri’s program, Step Up! empowers disadvantaged girls in Kenya to develop their personal attributes, increase their potential, and strengthen their communities. Using sports instruction and physical education she has created a mentorship program that will help those girls become confident, motivated, and successful adults.

“One of the best things I was exposure to was the brainstorming sessions at Saatchi. These powerful sessions integrated staff, from top management to those at the lower levels, and created a platform for staff to speak freely,” said Kiraguri. 

“I have since introduced this concept to my small team at my business, and it’s a sure winning strategy. This is a culture that should be inculcated in almost every growing business.” 

Amuchastegui is the founder of El Desafio an NGO dedicated to the creation of an inclusive society with that fights the roots of poverty and promotes civic participation. After participating in the mentorship program, she has nearly doubled El Desafio’s youth participation and developed a mentorship program for the youth in the program.

“Being a part of the Global Sports Mentoring Program was a life-changing experience for me; it gave me more confidence and strength to keep on fighting poverty in Argentina and to help change hundreds of kids’ realities,” said Amuchastegui. “After spending three weeks at Saatchi LA, not only did I learn a lot about the world of sports marketing, but I left feeling I have a new family in Los Angeles, everyone was open to share their networks, knowledge and especially time with me.” 

All told, this year, the class of emerging leaders hails from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, Haiti, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan, Singapore, Turkey, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe. 

Through sports, women and girls learn about peaceful competition, hard work, leadership, and teamwork -- all attributes that equip them to help create stronger, more productive, and stable communities. 

This collaboration between the U.S. Department of State and espnW, facilitated by the University of Tennessee’s Center for Sport, Peace, and Society, aims to engage, inspire, and empower a new generation of women and girls through sports.