GREATER ORLANDO SPORTS COMMISSION ANNOUNCES LOCAL AWARD WINNERS FOR 2022 CELEBRATING WOMEN IN SPORTS LUNCHEON PRESENTED BY ORLANDO HEALTH JEWETT ORTHOPEDIC INSTITUTE

Jennifer Rizzotti, President of the Connecticut Sun WNBA team, will speak at luncheon that honors local women for their distinguished service within the Greater Orlando sports community

ORLANDO, Fla. (August 30, 2022) – The Greater Orlando Sports Commission (GO Sports) has announced five award winners that will be honored during the 2022 Celebrating Women in Sports luncheon presented by Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute. The 4th annual luncheon will be hosted at Addition Financial Arena on Tuesday, September 27 at Noon.

The luncheon will recognize the honorees in three categories: Sharon Line Clary (AdventHealth), Katie Stocz Miller (Orlando Magic & WISE Greater Orlando), and Amy Wise (2022 Special Olympics USA Games) will receive the Women in Sports Leadership Award, while Ali Anderson (Orlando Magic) will receive the Rising Star Award and Jessica West (Orlando City SC, Orlando Pride & Exploria Stadium) will receive the WISE Women of Inspiration Award. Honorees were voted on by multiple panels made up of GO Sports and WISE Greater Orlando Board Members. A complete list of past Celebrating Women in Sports award winners is provided below.

“On behalf of our Chairman Faron Kelley and our entire Board of Directors, we are so thankful that Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute has invested yet again in celebrating women within our sports ecosystem. We are so pleased to honor Sharon, Katie, Amy, Ali and Jessica for their passion, leadership and dedication to Greater Orlando’s sports community,” said Jason Siegel, President & CEO of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission. “We are thrilled to welcome Jennifer Rizzotti as the featured speaker for this year’s luncheon. With our community hosting NCAA March Madness tournament games at Amway Center in 2023, it will be wonderful to have one of the legends of the sport join us in September.”

In addition to Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute returning as the presenting sponsor, Florida Blue has signed on as the sponsor of the 2022 featured speaker. This year’s award sponsors are Holland & Knight, LPGA, Orlando Magic, SouthState Bank and WISE Greater Orlando. The current roster of event sponsors includes the City of Orlando, First Class Cleaners, Orlando Business Journal, 2022 Special Olympics USA Games, and Universal Orlando Resort.

The Women in Sports Leadership Award recognizes leaders who have helped make the sports industry in Greater Orlando the success it is today. It is an honor reserved for those who have given their time, energy and passion to improving the industry and taking it in new directions.

Sharon Line Clary is the Vice President, Strategic Marketing & Communications for AdventHealth. A pioneer whose 30+ year career has spanned collegiate and professional sports as well as local and international events, Sharon has an extensive partnership and alliance portfolio. She has worked with the Orlando Magic and DeVos Properties for more than 26 years, leading strategy, negotiations, community engagement, marketing activations and more. Sharon also spearheaded the longstanding and diverse relationship between AdventHealth and Walt Disney World Parks & Resorts, including the first-of-its-kind AdventHealth World of Wellness. Sharon is on the board of directors for the Greater Orlando Sports Commission, WISE Greater Orlando, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Junior Golf Association of Florida, YMCA Metro Orlando, Mennello Museum of American Art, and the Orlando Museum of Art.

Katie Stocz Miller is the Senior Vice President of Premium & Client Services, Fan Experience & Operations for the Orlando Magic, and President of WISE Greater Orlando. Katie is in her 16th season with the Orlando Magic, where she has grown her career from sales executive to senior vice president of premium and client services, fan experience and operations. She is responsible for leading the Magic’s premium and client services teams and customer service initiatives, while implementing short and long-term retention strategies that increase fan affinity, maximize revenue and continue to strengthen the Orlando Magic brand.  As founding president for WISE Greater Orlando, she is responsible for leading the board of directors and committee chairs and has guided the organization as it built out business operations including financials, legal, programming content and sponsorships.

Amy Wise was the Chief Development and Marketing Officer for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games and will soon be stepping into the role of Vice President of Marketing, Global, for Special Olympics International. Under her leadership, the USA Games raised $43 million for Special Olympics programs, including $30 million for the USA Games, $3 million for Special Olympics Florida and $10 million for other Special Olympics state programs across the United States. The USA Games marketing and public relations partners reached more than $12 billion in earned media through successful events, media partnerships and marketing of Games athletes and celebrity ambassadors. Amy was also instrumental in the most successful nationwide promotion in the history of Special Olympics, the Jersey Mike’s Month of Giving which included Games athletes in a nationwide, multimillion dollar media buy by Jersey Mike’s that raised $20 million for the 2022 USA Games.

The Rising Star Award recognizes a young female professional in the sports industry who has demonstrated strong leadership, initiative, and exceptional contributions early in their career. The award is intended to support and encourage the next generation of female sports industry leaders who will take sport to new heights.

Ali Anderson is the Director of Business Strategy for the Orlando Magic. Over the past 24-months, Ali has established herself as a leader in the sports business data & analytics and mobile strategy communities. During the 2021-22 NBA season, Ali helped lead the Orlando Magic to their highest grossing single game ticket revenue season of all-time. She also worked to modernize the Magic’s Fast Break Pass flexible ticketing product, creating a new month-to-month subscription product that helped grow and diversify the Magic’s fan base while generating significant new revenue growth and attendance levels. In March 2021, she received the Innovator in Analytics Award on behalf of the Orlando Magic, from the University of South Florida’s Sport & Entertainment Analytics Conference. Ali is a board member at the National Entrepreneur Center in Orlando, and volunteers with Code Orlando (part of Aaron Gordon’s Gordon Family Foundation) and Tech Sassy Girlz (coding and careers in data analytics).

WISE (Women in Sports + Events) is dedicated to recognizing women who achieve a standard of excellence in sports business, lead by example and support other women. The WISE Women of Inspiration Award, determined and awarded by local WISE chapters, honor women in chapter markets who exemplify the spirit of the WISE mission and are making a positive impact on the business of sports while serving as positive role models and mentors for other women.

Jessica West is the Vice President of Facilities and Operations for Orlando City SC, Orlando Pride & Exploria Stadium. In the past 24 months, she has restructured the Facilities and Operations teams while transforming Exploria Stadium from a soccer-specific venue into a multi-sport entertainment venue. Under her leadership, Exploria Stadium has hosted events such as the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games Opening Ceremony, The Cure Bowl, USMNT’s FIFA World Cup Qualifier, concerts, and more. Jessica is a passionate member of the Orlando community and regularly seeks to develop the next generation of leaders by mentoring students from the UCF Sport Management Program and Rosen College of Hospitality Management. She is an active member of WISE Greater Orlando, International Association of Venue Managers, and Florida Venue Managers Association, where she works closely with other venue managers throughout the region.

Jennifer Rizzotti, president of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and assistant coach to the USA Basketball Women’s National Team, is the featured speaker for the 2022 luncheon. Inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, Rizzotti is well-known in basketball circles around the world. She first vaulted into the national spotlight as the starting point guard for the UCONN Huskies’ first national championship team in 1995 with an undefeated 35-0 record. She went on to become a two-time WNBA Champion before pivoting to coach at the college level. As president of the Connecticut Sun, Rizzotti is responsible for the business operations and marketing strategies for the WNBA team.

Registration and networking will begin at 11:30am and the luncheon will begin promptly at Noon. Table Sponsorships are $2,000. To purchase a table for the event or to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Michael Kalinich at Michael@greaterorlandosports.com. Individual tickets are $100 and may be purchased at GreaterOrlandoSports.com/Celebrating-Women-in-Sports.

 

Celebrating Women in Sports History – Featured Speakers and Award Winners

2021

Featured Speaker – Brandi Chastain, 2-time FIFA World Cup Champion, 2-time Olympic gold medalist

Women in Sports Leadership Award

Rising Star Award

2019

Featured Speaker – Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer

Women in Sports Leadership Award

Rising Star Award

2018

Featured Speaker – Jessica Mendoza, Olympic gold medalist and ESPN MLB analyst

Women in Sports Leadership Award

 

ABOUT THE GREATER ORLANDO SPORTS COMMISSION

GO Sports is a private, non-profit organization established to attract and manage sports-related events, conferences and activities that drive positive economic development in the City of Orlando, Lake County, Orange County, Osceola County, and Seminole County. Founded in 1992-93, the organization has hosted or co-hosted more than 1,550 events in the Greater Orlando area with a total economic impact exceeding $2.1 billion in spending within the community. For more information, please visit GreaterOrlandoSports.com.