Profile: Kathy Francis
Ready to be inspired? Kathy Francis, national board chair and president of Women In Sports and Events (WISE), is about to knock your athletic socks off!
Kathy is making her impact in the C-Suites of some of the most respected organizations in the world. WISE is the leading voice and resource for women in the business of sports. Over the course of her eleven year tenure with the organization, she has elevated WISE’s prominence and impact. Under her leadership, women across the sports and entertainment industry have access to best-in-class national events and programming in addition to community networking and growth. Across the 25+ national chapters of WISE, professional women access a range of resources and tools—from networking events to mentoring programs, scholarships and more—to hone their skills and ultimately become leaders in the sports industry.
How did she actualize into this position of clarity and impact, you ask? One clear driver is her deep connection to sports and her astute observations as she navigated her path. She played tennis, softball and baseball in public parks from 1969 through 1975, and came through the corporate sports industry in the early 1990s. As she advanced in her career, looking around the table she noted that not only were there very few women in the industry, but that the women who were there were not in senior roles. Kathy has been a trailblazer in the mission to change this. Indeed, over the course of her career, she has held very senior roles across the industry, including with the United States Tennis Association, Major League Baseball and the Meadowlands Sports & Entertainment Complex. A New Orleans native, Kathy founded and leads Oasis Sports Ventures, a marketing and development company specializing in providing quality amateur sports programs and national competitions for youth, young adults and families. As if it wasn’t already clear that Kathy is an absolute baller - she has been recognized as a Sports Business Journal Top 40 Under 40 and Top 25 Female Sports Executive, a WISE Woman of the Year, and one of Sports Illustrated’s 100 Most Influential Black Women in Sports.
Kathy has been leading the charge to remove unnecessary obstacles to women having a seat at the table across the industry. She was one of the 60 women who was invited to a breakfast at Mickey Mantle's restaurant that marked the inception of WISE. Now, with the organization under her leadership, she’s urging women at the top to support and empower other women. She is using her own voice (and leveraging her remarkable experience) to do just that.
Take away: if you look around the table and don’t see yourself at the table - be the best at what you do, and gain the seat!
