Friday, October 17, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – The second annual Women in Sports Career Seminar, organized and hosted by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 24 and will include admission to the NBA game that evening between the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards (while tickets are available).

Designed for college and high school females interested in pursuing sports-related careers, the seminar will take place in the Georgia Pacific Room at Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

The event is expected to feature panelists from a broad cross-section of occupational paths, including coaching, administration, marketing, media relations, NCAA compliance, sports medicine, ticket sales, fund-raising, officiating, event operations, and facility management. Attendees will have an opportunity to interact with -- and seek career advice from -- a slate of experienced sports professionals in a round-table format.

The GNAC’s inaugural Women in Sports Career Seminar was held last May at the Washington Convention and Trade Center in Seattle. The event attracted students from Alaska to California and featured 22 panelists representing professional, collegiate and high school sports organizations.

“We had a very positive response to our first seminar, and learned from attendees that this is an extremely valuable and worthwhile endeavor,” said GNAC assistant commissioner Bridget Tetteh, the event coordinator. “Our goal is to provide a comprehensive learning, networking and sharing opportunity for young women who are interested in or tracking toward careers in the sports industry. At the same time, we want to develop the seminar into one of the signature, recurring events on the GNAC calendar.”

The seminar is scheduled to begin in the afternoon. Registration starts at $30 and includes a ticket to the Portland Trail Blazers’ game that evening at 7 p.m. vs. the Washington Wizards. The game will be in the Moda Center, which is located adjacent to the seminar site.

“We are fortunate to be partnering with the Portland Trail Blazers on this year’s event,” said Tetteh. “We believe our arrangement with the lone NBA franchise in the Pacific Northwest will allow us to broaden our reach to females in the region who are seriously considering sports-related careers and would benefit from a unique educational and networking session such as this. The combination of a wide-ranging seminar plus an NBA game in one of the league’s top venues holds tremendous value for prospective participants, and we encourage those interested to make their reservations as soon as possible, as space will be limited.”

Seminar Panelists: