Global Sports Mentoring Program

An Israeli Chairwoman Promotes Inclusion through Football

Daphna Goldschmidt is the chairperson of Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem Football Club. The first woman in Israel to serve as chairperson of a professional sports club, she is a pioneer in the movement for creating management and other sports leadership opportunities for women in her country.

Born in Jerusalem to a family steeped in the city’s soccer culture, Daphna was a founding member of Hapoel Katamon, the first fan-owned club in Israel, in 2007. Her work at the club focuses in two key areas: developing programs that promote peace and shared living between people of diverse communities, and creating programs that foster gender equality through sports.

In addition to serving as chairwoman, Daphna has played a key role in launching the club’s media department and its girl’s and women’s program. It’s girl’s and women’s program is the only such program being offered in Jerusalem and currently has more than 80 participants. The club’s under-14 team has finished second in the Israeli Championship for two consecutive seasons, and Daphna is confident that if she can continue growing the program the club will be able to launch a senior women’s team by 2019.

Daphna is also involved in one of Hapoel Katamon’s other key initiatives, its Neighborhood Leagues, which bring together individuals from underserved areas of Jerusalem—secular and religious Jews, Muslims, and Christians—for sports activities. This league includes weekly practices, tutoring sessions for participants, and a monthly tournament focusing on fair play and sportsmanship.

By participating in the GSMP, Daphna learned from American women in sports leadership about the ways she can overcome obstacles faced by women in Israel to sustainably grow women’s soccer. She has also discovered tools and resources for community outreach.

Daphna earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Haifa. Outside of work, she enjoys yoga, pilates, studying history, and key lime pie. She and her husband, Ron, have a rescue dog named Jes.

Val Ackerman, New York City, NY

Commissioner, Big East Conference

Val Ackerman was named the fifth Commissioner of the BIG EAST Conference on June 26, 2013. She previously spent eight years as an attorney and executive at the National Basketball Association, was the founding President of the Women’s National Basketball Association, and is a past President of USA Basketball, which oversees the U.S. men’s and women’s Olympic basketball program. She also served for two terms as the U.S. representative to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

She has had a long and accomplished career in the sports industry and is one of the few executives in sports who has held leadership positions in both men’s and women’s sports at the collegiate, professional, national team and international levels. A recent highlight to her many accomplishments in the sports business, Val was inducted as a contributor into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of its 2021 class. Val was previously inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and currently serves on that organization’s Board of Directors.

Val is a 1981 graduate of the University of Virginia, where she graduated with high honors with a B.A. in political and social thought and was a three-time captain and Academic All-American on the women’s basketball team. She received her law degree from UCLA in 1985.

Ann Wells Crandall, New York City, NY

Chief Marketing Officer, Big East Conference

Ann Wells Crandall oversees all marketing and sales initiatives for the Big East, including brand development, advertising and promotion, strategic communications, corporate sales and sponsorship, licensing and digital strategies. Before joining the Big East, she was senior vice president of business development for PAC-12 Enterprises and spent 12 years at New York Road Runners (NYRR), including as its Executive Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships. In 2011, Ann was selected by Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal as one of its inaugural "Game Changers: Women in Business."

“It's incumbent on women to provide other women the support and guidance they need as they build their careers. Mentor relationships are a key component of personal development, especially in today's ever changing media landscape."

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An Israeli Chairwoman Promotes Inclusion through Football

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