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Olympians Johnson, Muhammad, Hucles, Moses, Mosley Head Laureus Youth Summit

Edwin Moses_Laura F_BFM_Michael JohnsonLaureus USA gathered sports industry leaders, nonprofit executives, athletes and youth in Los Angeles for the Laureus Youth Leadership Summit presented by ESPN and The Allstate Foundation. The Summit was hosted by nonprofit Laureus USA to explore how sport can be a powerful tool for developing leadership skills, and featured speakers including Four-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Johnson, Olympic legend and Laureus USA Board Chairman Edwin Moses, Olympic Gold Medalist and Laureus USA CEO Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, Olympic Gold Medalist Angela Hucles and Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, among others. Also in attendance were Olympic rower Anita DeFrantz and Olympic volleyball star and model Kimberly Glass.

The Summit championed youth voices ‪by providing a platform for them to connect with leaders and professional athletes and share insights on how to best design youth-serving programs. In turn, leaders had a chance to share best practices on leadership with youth. Laureus invited more than a dozen youth from the Sport for Good programs that it funds in Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta and New York City. Additional youth are from LA-area programs focused on developing young leaders through sport.

“There is a critical lack of diversity among leaders of today and we believe sport can help bridge this gap by empowering people from all backgrounds to develop the knowledge and confidence they need to emerge as leaders,” said Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, CEO of Laureus USA and Olympic Gold Medalist in Track and Field.  “Nearly 75% of youth in Laureus-supported programs show increased leadership skills, including the abilities to organize, plan and make decisions and we are proud to help inspire the leaders of tomorrow.”

Laureus LogoThe two-day conference (July 8 & 9) is a unique opportunity for youth, athletes and cross-sector executives to learn from one another.The goal of the Laureus Youth Leadership Summit is to empower youth to represent views of their peers, and identify how youth-serving programs can better integrate leadership development into their curriculums.

Among the highlights of Day One were:

  • Opening Keynote: Michael Johnson– Defining Youth Leadership through Sport
  • Panel discussion – Why Youth Leadership through Sport?
  • “Mini TED Talks” – Successful Youth Leadership Platforms in Sport
  • Laureus Youth Council – Including Youth in Programming Development and Growth
  • Athletes Leading the Way –Angles Hucles, Ibtihaj Muhammad and Edwin Moses Advice to Young Leaders

Day Two featured workshops to help futher develop youth’s leadership skills while also provding a platform for collecting and incorporating feedback into future Laureus USA programs.

Presented by ESPN and the Allstate Foundation, the Laureus Youth Leadership Summit coincided with the Sports Humanitarian Awards on July 8 which honored athletes, teams, nonprofits and corporations using sport to make a positive impact on society.

The Laureus Youth Leadership Summit was held at The Conga Room at LA Live. Many LA professional teams came together to sponsor and support this event: the LA Dodgers Foundation, LAFC, LA Lakers, Anahiem Ducks, LA Clippers, LA Rams and LA Kings  Additional sponsors included Nickelodeon, the NFL and MUFG Union Bank which also invited incoming and graduate students from their student-run bank branches in Los Angeles.

About Jerry Milani

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Jerry Milani is a writer and public relations executive living in Bloomfield, N.J. He has worked in P.R. for more than 30 years in college and conference sports media relations, two agencies and for the International Fight League, a team-based mixed martial arts league, and as a freelance professional. His PR clients have included Wizard World and FAN EXPO, which produce pop culture and celebrity conventions across North America, USA Wrestling, the National Lacrosse League, Strat-O-Matic Media, the Pacific Life Open and Pilot Pen Tennis tournaments and dozens of others. Milani is also the director of athletic communications for Caldwell University. He is a proud graduate of North Rockland High School and Fordham University and when not attending a Yankees, Rams or Cougars game can be reached at Jerry (at) JerryMilani (dot) com.

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