A Skateboarder Spreads Freedom and Self-Expression

Nancy Chavez comes from a family of service – her father was a policeman, and her mother a schoolteacher. Unfortunately, Nancy lost her father when she was young and that loss sent Nancy into a state of depression. After her father’s death, she searched for meaning and a way to bring joy and happiness to her life again. She found that joy in sport.

Nancy began skateboarding when she was 11. She loved the way the board made her feel – strong, empowered, confident, and healthy. While skateboarding is very popular in Peru, Nancy was the only female skater in her neighborhood. She gathered her girlfriends and encouraged them to try it also. Together they formed their first tournament, which allowed them to meet girls from other cities who liked to skate. That was the beginning of PeruSkateGirl.

What started as a handful of girls on boards is now a fully operational non-profit with over 800 female skaters participating in clinics, tournaments, and weekly activities. “PeruSkateGirl has been quite a journey and I am very happy about our progress. I didn’t create it for the numbers. I created it so other girls could experience happiness like I did. Girls today have so much free time and in that free time, bad decisions are made, like drugs, pregnancy, and gangs. PeruSkateGirl is a place where girls can feel good about themselves and learn to achieve things in life, to be healthy and productive individuals.”

Nancy funds PeruSkateGirl through her own work as a freelance journalist and photographer. Nancy also maintains the extensive social media sites and works in local communities to attract and retain young girls in the program. She also arranges speaking seminars to promote anti-drug use and to counsel young girls battling depression.

Through this program, Nancy hopes to expand her efforts with PeruSkateGirl. She would like to learn new media strategies to improve her branding and marketing efforts. She would also like to increase donations from sponsors so that more girls can have a board and learn to skate. Nancy wants to develop a “Train the Trainer” program so that PeruSkateGirl can expand to other cities throughout the country and help more girls in need. We believe the LPGA is the organization to help Nancy achieve her dreams.

Under the tutelage of Heather and Mindy, we know Nancy will receive the knowledge and foundation she needs to be successful in both areas of her work: communications and event management. As the Director of Media Relations, Heather will be instrumental in helping Nancy promote her brand through various social media sites and public relations pieces. With her hands in event management, tour operations, and logistics, Mindy will be able to help Nancy with the logistics of organizing her skateboarding tournaments and increasing overall participation. Together, we believe this is a dynamite mentoring team for Nancy and will help her spread the positive messages of PeruSkateGirl throughout the country.