senior brand and partnership strategist
Passion to Legacy
If you haven’t yet, be sure to tune in to episode 8 for part 1 of my interview with Kelly Baird.
Kelly is a Senior Brand and Partnership Strategist. She completed a three year global stint in Cape Town, South Africa, with Grassroot Soccer; a youth empowerment and HIV prevention organization using the power of sports for change. While there, she developed and executed private and public partnerships.
Charitable involvement
in this episode,
we dive into Kelly’s charitable humanitarian spirit. She discusses her experiences in South Africa with the Grassroot program, as well as her involvement with the program, Football Rising. Kelly gives insight into the benefits and challenges that can come from charitable involvement.
Working in another country
Kelly did a 3 year stint in Cape Town, South Africa, with the Grassroot organization. She was brought in to manage the programs across the five South African sites. She dives into the many differences of working in another country versus state-side.
“Sometimes I felt people in Africa, who tended to have less, seemed way more happy and content in life than back in the US.”
Non-proft organization
The organization
Grassroot Soccer is an adolescent health organization that leverages the power of soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilize at-risk youth in developing countries to overcome their greatest health challenges, live healthier, more productive lives, and be agents for change in their communities.
“This is where I really fell in love with the power of collaboration and we can do more together. It's not always efficient, but how can we bring that back to the US? Corporate brands want to do good in the social space and using the power of sport can be just as easily applied here when coming up with partnerships in different countries.”
The Football Rising Organization
eye opening experiences
Another program that Kelly is involved with is the fairly new organization, Football Rising. She explains how eye-opening it was to learn how many females in other countries never get the opportunity to play a sport.
“It’s really about bringing soccer and the structure of soccer to new new lands and focusing on empowering women, not just in sport but also the rest of their life.”
Football rising
Football Rising is a new movement accelerating football opportunity and excellence for girls and women everywhere. It is non-hierarchical and equity-driven program that embraces difference and girl-centered approaches. Experts in overcoming daily hurdles to deliver football for girls and women in ways that also develop their education and leadership.
Listen here for Part 1 of my interview with Kelly!
RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
To become involved, visit grassrootsoccer.org and footballrising.org.
Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn.
CONNECT WITH ME ON:
LinkedIn - Emma Vertolli
Twitter - emm_vert
Instagram - @itsemmavert
TikTok - @itsemmavert_
Clubhouse - @itsemmavert
MORE ABOUT THE PASSION TO LEGACY PODCAST:
Passion To Legacy allows listeners to get a true behind-the-scenes look at the various careers inside the sports industry; even as detailed as the day-to-day duties and operations. Learn what it takes to land your dream role. Gain clarity on what your future career could be. Take action and kick start your humanitarian spirit.
Emma Vertolli is a marketing strategist whose career has centered around growing and nurturing communities. Early on in her professional career she felt stagnant, unfulfilled, and in search for more. She dove into sports business courses, books, & networking. To her surprise, she learned that if you want to break into the sports industry AND accelerate your career, it all comes down to who you know. There was a trend that kept coming up: people need to learn how to network & people need a space to be able to do so.
In Passion To Legacy, Emma shares impactful conversations with professionals working behind the scenes in the sports industry. The bases are loaded in this podcast, we’re chatting all about career goals, hurdles & charity. So grab a pen and pull up a seat - you’re going to want to take notes!
As a listener, you can expect to:
- Gain motivation and inspiration for pursuing your dreams
- Get an insider's perspective into what it’s like working in the sports industry
- Gain insight for getting involved in charitable work
- Learn networking tips for landing a role in the sports industry
- Plus much more!
Pro tip: new episodes drop every Tuesday & Thursday. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a session!