For a little over a year, Laura Dixon has served as the Head of External Relations for the Spurs Sports & Entertainment. She has also worked as the Executive Director of Community Responsibility for the Silver & Black Give

Back,

and led the Corporate Social Responsibility division for the past seven years. Throughout her career, Laura has been able to contribute and work in various sectors in the sports industry. She managed the corporate social responsibility efforts of the San Antonio Spurs, Austin Spurs, Rampage and San Antonio FC.

Another program she is involved in is the Power of the Global Sports Mentoring Program. The Global Sports Mentoring Program is a funded program by the U.S. Department of State’s Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative. The program targets women in the sports industry who are leaders in their own country. One aspect of the program is the network it creates with women all over the world. The program is about women leaders sharing ideas and innovations to incorporate change in sports around the world. As a mentor for the program, Laura will be speaking at this year’s SXSW conference in the panel called “The Power of the Global Sports Mentoring Program.”

In this panel, along with other panelists, Laura says the discussion will be directed to the audience who will attend the panel. She indicates that they might touch on why the U.S. State Department invests in programs such as the Global Sports Mentoring Program as well as why the Sports Diplomacy Division was created in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. They also may go over the history and growth of the program. But most importantly, the panel will talk about the importance of the program and why it is essential at this time.

It’s been six years in the making and 99 women around the world have participated. And if you can imagine this network of women around the world who have this support system, it’s pretty incredible to think how powerful that can be. – Laura

For anyone interested in attending this panel, Laura says that it will be great for people who want to connect with individuals in the State Department, people working with global sports leaders and sports federations from grassroots to elite levels. To learn more about Laura and this upcoming panel, check the video below. Other panelists include Cari Champion, Sarah Hillyer and Matt McMahon.

Sunday, March 11

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

JW Marriott – Salon A-B/110 E 2nd St

Find out more: The Power of the Global Sports Mentoring Program

Featured image: SXSW