Dream Big! Leadership Conference Pairs Female Student Athletes from Urban Communities with Accomplished Women Athletes

Professional, collegiate and high school athletes, police officers,
sports, STEM and business leaders, non-profit leaders, coaches, college
athletic directors and educators among those sharing insights with
Greater Boston, Brockton and Lawrence area middle and high school female
student athletes.

NEEDHAM, MA, June 6, 2023 – If you need proof that
participation in sports plays an important role in empowering girls and
young women to succeed, look no further than the 8th Annual Dream Big!
Leadership Conference.

Presented by Dream Big! at the University of Massachusetts Boston, more
than 200 female student athletes and coaches from 13 Greater Boston,
Brockton and Lawrence public schools and sports programs heard true-life
accounts from former professional, collegiate and high school female
athletes about how their involvement in sports – and the mentors and
friends they found through those efforts – laid the foundation for
phenomenal success in the class room, in their careers and in life.

Emphasizing the equally crucial ‘off-the-field’ benefits, the conference
speakers shared insights about how their participation in athletics paved
the way for careers as police officers, sports professionals, STEM and business leaders,
non-profit leaders, coaches, college athletic directors and educators.
Importantly, the women answered questions and provided advice to the
students about the wide range of sports, educational and career
opportunities that are available to them in today’s society and what they
could do themselves to make their own dreams come true.

Conference presenters included:

Rachel Adomat: Program Officer, The Frederick A. Deluca
Foundation; Sports: Volleyball & Track

Chanté Bonds: Professional Football Player, The Boston
Renegades and Teacher, Boston Day & Evening Academy; Sports: Football &
Basketball

Annissa Essaibi George: CEO & President, The Big Sister
Association of Greater Boston; Sports: Softball, Cheerleading

Sayawni Lassiter-Garner: Financial Representative,
Northwestern Mutual; Sports: Basketball

Erin McDermott: Director of Athletics, Harvard
University; Sports: Basketball, Field Hockey & Track & Field

Jade Moore: Police Officer, Boston Police Department;
Sports: Basketball, Track & Volleyball

Tanya Potcova: CEO & Co-Founder, Captiva Bio; Sports:
Basketball, Volleyball, Softball

Rebekah Splaine Salwasser: Executive Director, The Red
Sox Foundation and Executive V.P. of Social Impact, Boston Red Sox;
Sports: Soccer, Basketball & Lacrosse

Barbara Stevens: Head Women’s Basketball Coach -
(Retired), Bentley University and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
Inductee; Sports: Basketball

Student athletes in attendance represented: Arlington
Middle School in Lawrence, Beyond Soccer Lawrence; Brighton High School;
Conservatory Lab Charter School; Charlestown High School; Dearborn STEM
Academy; East Boston High School; Edison K-8; Eliot K-8; New Heights
Charter School Brockton; New Mission High School; Roosevelt K-8; Tech
Boston Academy.