Women Changing the Game
From left: Stephanie Prince (ESPN West Palm/Good Karma Brands VP), Keli Ferguson (ESPN West Palm/WPTV/FOX 29), Ana Hernandez-Ochoa (Capital One Orange Bowl COO), Kristen Shaver (Director of Events, ESPN Events), Brooke McKernan (Financial Advisor, Northwestern Mutual), Grace Kurian (SR Dir of Information Technology, Florida Power & Light) and Verdenia Baker (Palm Beach County Administrator)
Step aside powder puff.
Women are changing the game of football and juggling the game of life better than ever.
Just days before collegiate football bowl games kick off across America, a group of top female executives from ESPN, the Capital One Orange Bowl and South Florida business industries gathered in Boca Raton to inspire and empower women in the community.
Five influential community leaders tackled topics ranging from the upcoming RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl between Western Kentucky and Appalachian State to how women are changing the game, climbing the corporate ladder and managing the often challenging work/life balance.
The City of Boca Raton will certainly come alive come Boca Bowl game Saturday and a Women Changing the Game kick-off event at Sklar Furnishings November 30th was a great start. It was a night of career reflection combined with energy and excitement for the future.
Keli Ferguson (ESPN West Palm/WPTV/FOX 29), Brooke McKernan (Northwestern Mutual), Verdenia Baker (Palm Beach County Administrator), Kristen Shaver (Director of ESPN Events), Ana Hernandez-Ochoa (Capital One Orange Bow COOl) and Grace Kurian (Florida Power & Light)
“My 18-year-old self was in a rush. I have learned over the years to enjoy the moments,” says Capital One Orange Bowl Chief Operating Officer Ana Hernandez-Ochoa.
“I have been my biggest hurdle. The guilt. When I’m with my children, I often wonder when I can get back to work and when I’m away at work, I wonder what I am missing at home,” says Kristen Shaver, Director of ESPN Events. “It’s okay if everybody is having a wrestling match between moving forward for yourself in your career and being there for your family,” adds Shaver.
Shaver talked candidly about the struggle many women in the workplace face when trying to juggle it all but says there has never been a better time than now to find balance.
“The good news is there has never been a better time to be wrestling with that balance than right now. During the pandemic, people started appreciating work/life balance and how people manage families and manage themselves. Also, diversity and inclusion, there’s never been a better time to push forward,” says Shaver.
When it comes to pushing forward, fellow panelists including Florida Power & Light’s Grace Kurian, Northwestern Mutual’s Brooke McKernan and Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker all agreed that speaking up for oneself, not being afraid to ask for help and maintaining confidence and commitment are all vital to success.
“They say if you want something done, ask the busiest person you know,” says McKernan.
No one knows busy like these executives who join the many women now conquering the historically male-dominated sports industry.
“Now you’re seeing Sam Ponder leading the College GameDay roundtable and no one questions that. They respect her. You’re seeing more female sports reporters and anchors on SportsCenter and it’s becoming the norm,” says ESPN West Palm and Good Karma Brands Vice President Stephanie Prince.
Prince welcomed the dozens of attendees to the Women Changing the Game event and explained how important the Boca Raton Bowl is to the South Florida community.
“We vied against major cities - major markets. Palm Beach County and Boca Raton joined forces, went out and said we have the facilities, we have the stadium, we have the hotels, we have the infrastructure to house this event,” “It’s on ESPN. Boca and Palm Beach County are going to be in the spotlight. It is the first kickoff of the bowl game day so it's really exciting for our community to show off what we have to offer, all of the amazing facilities that we have and the fandom that we have as a sports town because we really are a great sports town,” adds Prince.
The eighth annual Boca Raton Bowl will be played at 11am on December 18 at FAU Stadium on the campus of Florida Atlantic University. For tickets and information about the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl, go to https://roofclaimbocaratonbowl.com
Michele Bellisari (Sooo Boca), Jon Kaye (KCOM-PR, Kaye Communications), and Paige Kornblue, Today's Paige