Game Changers of the Women's Sports Museum

This episode of Game Changers features Lisa Strasman, president of NCSA College Recruiting as well as one of the first competitive female ice hockey players in Illinois. She went on to captain the women’s hockey team at Yale University and, after graduation, she played professional hockey in Switzerland. 

Lisa joined NCSA as a recruiting coach in 2004 and helped create the digital platform that continues to guide thousands of student-athletes and their parents through college athletic recruiting. During her tenure as president, NCSA has seen steady growth in the number of college commitments as well as expansion of its recruiting services to more sports. NCSA has also been consistently named one of the top digital companies in Chicago and has been recognized as one of the best places to work. 

In addition to her role as president, she is a frequent speaker and featured panelist at events including SXSW and Women in Sports and Events. She has also written articles for Fast Company, Entrepreneur and more. 

We hope you enjoy this episode! Please take 10 seconds to give us a 5 ⭐️ rating and a short written review! That will help our podcast tremendously by allowing other likeminded listeners to find us!

If you'd like to support the Women's Sports Museum, click here!

Have a game changer you'd like to hear on our podcast?

Email us at: [email protected]

You can follow The Women's Sports Museum on Instagram @womenssportsmuseum

On this exciting episode of Game Changers of the Women’s Sports Museum, we are joined by one of the most decorated ultra cyclists in the world, Amanda Coker.

In this incredible story of challenge to triumph, Amanda shares how she overcame adversity at the age of twelve in addition to a number of set backs she faced on her way to both breaking and setting multiple Guinness records.


At the time of this recording, Amanda holds 15 world ultra cycling association sanctioned records, the record for the highest annual mileage recorded in addition to the 100,000 mile record which she completed in 423 days. 

This is a story about resilience, perseverance, come backs and incredible mental fortitude. 

We hope you enjoy this episode! Please take 10 seconds to give us a 5 ⭐️ rating and a short written review! That will help our podcast tremendously by allowing other likeminded listeners to find us!

If you'd like to support the Women's Sports Museum, click here!

Have a game changer you'd like to hear on our podcast?

Email us at: [email protected]

You can follow The Women's Sports Museum on Instagram @womenssportsmuseum

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with one of the most influential women in Tampa Bay Sports, Claire Lessinger.  

Claire is the Vice President of Events for the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and President of the Tampa Chapter of WISE (Women in Sports and Events). 

In addition to being a former collegiate volleyball player for the University of Florida where she won five SEC championships (and has an award named after her), Claire went on to become the assistant volleyball coach for USF for seven years and then head coach for eight years prior to joining the Tampa Bay Sports Commission.

Join us as Claire shares insights into her exciting journey through sports and discusses past as well as upcoming events that elevate the women's sports narrative.

We hope you enjoy this episode! Please take 10 seconds to give us a 5 ⭐️ rating and a short written review! That will help our podcast tremendously by allowing other likeminded listeners to find us!

If you'd like to support the Women's Sports Museum, click here!

Have a game changer you'd like to hear on our podcast?

Email us at: [email protected]

You can follow The Women's Sports Museum on Instagram @womenssportsmuseum

In this episode, we are joined by The Coordinator of Fan and Community Engagement for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Haley Diess. 

Haley’s multifaceted roll involves wearing many hats which she frequently flips between between responsibilities with the Pirates and Bradenton Marauders.

Haley shares her enthusiasm for baseball, how she landed her dream job in addition to advice for all who aspire to work in sports. 

Tune in to learn about the Pirates key community initiatives as well the events they host around the calendar year from spring training on!

We hope you enjoy this episode! Please take 10 seconds to give us a 5 ⭐️ rating and a short written review! That will help our podcast tremendously by allowing other likeminded listeners to find us!

If you'd like to support the Women's Sports Museum, click here!

Have a game changer you'd like to hear on our podcast?

Email us at: [email protected]

You can follow The Women's Sports Museum on Instagram @womenssportsmuseum

On this episode of Game Changers of the Women’s Sports Museum, we are joined by the Event Development Institute (EDI) Director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, Jenna Grooms. 

Jenna’s role focuses on growing the EDI which is the Tampa Bay Sports Commission's in-house event and marketing division that specializes in growing new and existing events and brands nationwide.

In 2019, Jenna was named the Director of Host Committee Events for the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee, overseeing the production of the NFL’s largest fan festival, Super Bowl Experience and several high-end VIP events. Currently, Jenna is involved in several community-based programs and events, including serving as a mentor for the Positive Coaching Alliance of Tampa Bay and the Ryan Nece Foundation and the Events Committee Co-Chair for the Women in Sports and Events (WISE) Tampa Bay Chapter.

In this episode, we learn how Jenna broke into the sports and entertainment industry in addition to some exciting stories she shares from her time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as how manifesting can help you land your dream job!

To listen to the full episode, click here! 

To learn more about the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, click here.

We hope you enjoy this episode! Please take 10 seconds to give us a 5 ⭐️ rating and a short written review! That will help our podcast tremendously by allowing other likeminded listeners to find us!

If you'd like to support the Women's Sports Museum, click here!

Have a game changer you'd like to hear on our podcast?

Email us at: [email protected]

You can follow The Women's Sports Museum on Instagram @womenssportsmuseum

Have you ever wondered if and when a woman might become the first to play alongside the men in Major League Baseball? 

Well what if we told you, that day has already happened…

Allow us to introduce you to our next wonderful guest, Bob Kendrick.  

Bob is the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and host of the award winning Serius XM podcast Black Diamonds.   

In this episode, Bob shares the illustrious history of The Negro Leagues, the great story of how the NLBM came about and a variety of partnerships and brand initiatives that have been keeping the Negro Leagues at the forefront of Baseball and American history.  

Together, we dive into the stories of the first female ball players to ever play professional baseball; Toni Stone, Connie Morgan and Mammie Peanut Johnson in addition to the first female ball club owner, Effa Manley. 

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is the world's only museum, dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African-American baseball and its impact on the social advancement of America. 

To learn more about the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, visit www.nlbm.com

We hope you enjoy this episode! Please take 10 seconds to give us a 5 ⭐️ rating and a short written review! That will help our podcast tremendously by allowing other likeminded listeners to find us!

If you'd like to support the Women's Sports Museum, click here!

Have a game changer you'd like to hear on our podcast?

Email us at: [email protected]

You can follow The Women's Sports Museum on Instagram @womenssportsmuseum

We hope you enjoy this episode! Please take 10 seconds to give us a 5 ⭐️ rating and a short written review! That will help our podcast tremendously by allowing other likeminded listeners to find us!

If you'd like to support the Women's Sports Museum, click here!

Have a game changer you'd like to hear on our podcast?

Email us at: [email protected]

You can follow The Women's Sports Museum on Instagram @womenssportsmuseum

Elizabeth is the President of Legends of the Ball Inc, and played for the Chicago Hustle in the Women's Basketball League (WBL)  .  In her first year, she led the league in steals and was nicknamed “the bandit.”

In this podcast episode, Liz shares how the incredible coaches who shaped her, not only enabled her to play at the elite level she did but inspired her to pay it forward as a coach herself and as president of Legends of the Ball Inc. 

Legends of the Ball Inc is a non profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting and elevating the history of the WBL and those who paved the way for the WNBA.  

In addition to being a former coach at the collegiate level for Northern Illinois, North Western, Dartmouth, DePaul, Texas A&M (to name a few), Liz is a TedX speaker and both an inductee and board member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. 

Some of the wonderful topics we cover in the episode include: 

-The introduction of the women’s basketball and transitioning from a men’s basketball to a smaller ball.

-The importance for female athletes to learn the history of their own sport and who paved the way for the athletes we see today. 

-The impact the players of the WBL had and still have on each generation that follows in their footsteps.

We hope you enjoy this episode! Please take 10 seconds to give us a 5 ⭐️ rating and a short written review! That will help our podcast tremendously by allowing other likeminded listeners to find us!

If you'd like to support the Women's Sports Museum, click here!

Have a game changer you'd like to hear on our podcast?

Email us at: [email protected]

You can follow The Women's Sports Museum on Instagram @womenssportsmuseum

On this episode of Game Changers, we are joined by the founder and COO of WomenX, Mary Ciampa and Tiffany Bullock.  

WomenX is a women-led education platform focused on supporting women in becoming leaders in the classroom and beyond. 

They offer an array of curated programs focused on exploring salient topics and disciplines from the women’s lens that include the HerGovernment, HerWealth, HerScience, HerMind, HerRights, HerBrand courses and more. 

WomenX. encourages women and men alike to learn about and honor the lives, legacies, and contributions of those women who have come before as a first step towards advocating for a more equitable future.

With a focus on empowering female athletes and women in sport, Tiffany and Mary take us through their HerSport Fellowship and Demand IX campaign as well as the impact their programs have had on students of all backgrounds. 

To receive a 10% discount on one of the WomenX programs, mention Women's Sports Museum at check out! 

You can follow WomenX on Instagram @womenxcommunity 

We hope you enjoy this episode! Please take 10 seconds to give us a 5 ⭐️ rating and a short written review! That will help our podcast tremendously by allowing other likeminded listeners to find us!

If you'd like to support the Women's Sports Museum, click here!

Have a game changer you'd like to hear on our podcast?

Email us at: [email protected]

You can follow The Women's Sports Museum on Instagram @womenssportsmuseum

Lauren Shehadi is one of the prominent female faces of MLB Network where she cohosts baseball's, daily morning show, MLB Central.

She’s been a sports anchor, and reporter who’s worked for CBS Sports, CBS Sports College Network, she’s covered the 2018 Olympics as a host through NBC & Vox Media’s  podcast, The Podium and she also covers March Madness. 

In the MLB postseason, you can find her on the sidelines shining in front of the camera, reporting and interviewing players and coaches during the most exciting weeks of baseball!

In this episode Lauren shares all about her journey that led her to MLB Network, the extensive preparation that keeps her on top of her game, the importance of work ethic as well as her genuine love of America’s national pastime.

Lauren’s encouraging philosophy on women supporting one another is sure to encourage any aspiring sportscaster to pursue their dreams in the broadcasting industry.

You can follow Lauren Shehadi on Twitter and Instagram @LaurenShehadi

We hope you enjoy this episode! Please take 10 seconds to give us a 5 ⭐️ rating and a short written review! That will help our podcast tremendously by allowing other likeminded listeners to find us!

If you'd like to support the Women's Sports Museum, click here!

Have a game changer you'd like to hear on our podcast?

Email us at: [email protected]

You can follow The Women's Sports Museum on Instagram @womenssportsmuseum