When Kara Hess asked for a show of hands from returning attendees at the Emerging Women in Sports Leadership Summit (EWSLS) in late March, only a few signaled their return. The Durham Convention Center was packed to the brim with young women sporting business casual attire and Nike dunks, but most were newcomers to the newish summit.
Co-hosted by the Durham Sports Commission (DSC) and Women Leaders in Sports, the EWSLS gave attendees the opportunity to network within a quickly-growing industry. Hess, the deputy director of leadership development and events at Women Leaders in Sports, kicked off the six-hour summit with a warm welcome and an icebreaker before settling into the rest of the afternoon’s presentations and “PowHer” talks.
This year’s summit is its second iteration from the DSC, a relatively new nonprofit dedicated to growing collegiate, amateur, and professional sports in and around Durham. The group’s work in sports tourism has attracted numerous high-profile events such as the National Collegiate Fencing Championships and the NAIA Football National Championship. It’s also a supporter of local recreational leagues, including the Durham League, a popular adult recreational basketball league.
Although few returning attendees made it to this year’s summit, the presence of newcomers is a testament to DSC’s commitment to growing the local sports scene. Kaila’Shea Menendez, the deputy director of the DSC, recognizes the key role women are playing in making sports accessible for everyone. The Durham League, for instance, was founded by a woman, Robin Jackson, in 2016, and it has since expanded from a women’s-only league to include a men’s league, a 35+-years-old league, and a 50+-years-old league.
“We want to be cutting edge,” Menendez says. “That’s the fabric of Durham. We know that there is a need for women in leadership positions in sports. And there’s a lot of momentum right now around women in sports.”
This year’s March Madness tournament was a boon for women’s basketball. The surge in popularity, led by former University of Iowa sharpshooter Caitlin Clark, brought in a wave of new fans to the sport. Triangle-based teams were well-represented in the women’s bracket with Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and NC State all participating in the tournament. The Wolfpack women’s team climbed all the way to the Final Four alongside the men.
“We talk a lot about being a championship hub,” Menendez says. “With the universities … and the professional teams that are saturated here in this area, powerhouse college teams that are here at every level, Division One, Two, and Three—there are women who work in sports and so to be able to provide this opportunity right here in such a great area within the Triangle region is something that’s unique to Durham.”
Lindsey Harding, former Duke women’s basketball star and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft, is currently a frontrunner for the Charlotte Hornets head coaching job. She would be the first woman in the history of the NBA to hold the position.
Further down Tobacco Road, 23-year-old Erin Matson, UNC women’s field hockey player-turned-coach, became the youngest collegiate head coach to win an NCAA title. Matson took over as head coach in 2023 a year after rattling off four national championships as a player with the program.
Stories like Harding’s and Matson’s are a source of motivation for women in sports on and off the field—take it from Nina King, the vice president and athletic director at Duke University. A longtime player in the industry, King is just one of the women pioneering the move toward growing Durham’s collegiate sports scene.
“Sports has the power to inspire,” King says. “It unites us in so many different ways. We can rally behind a common goal—wanting our team to win, whatever that team is. Just watching the growth, exposure, investment, and interest around women’s sports in particular has been really exciting to watch.”
Duke Athletics works hand-in-hand with the DSC on a number of events. Both share a common goal—to expand the professional sports industry in Durham—so their mutual interest manifests itself in bids for championship-level collegiate events and establishing Duke as the perfect blend of academics and athletics.
DSC’s summit is a key component of the movement at large. With speaker sessions titled things like “Vision Fueled by Motivation” and “Best Strategies to Elevate Your Communication,” attendees heard advice from leaders who know firsthand how difficult breaking into the industry can be. Icebreakers, quick breaks for conversation, and roundtables kept the summit lively, contributing to an all-around environment of inclusion and an undeniable love of sports.
“This particular age group or range of industry leaders are at a place where either they’re stepping into the industry, and then they’re navigating to other opportunities within sports,” Menendez says. “We’re really excited about that ‘navigating transitions’ conversation—we’re also excited about the opportunity to provide [attendees] with a networking opportunity.”
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