written by | Carlee Diggins

The NFL Women's Summit: In The Huddle was held in conjunction with Super Bowl LII and in collaboration with the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee and the Minnesota Vikings. We were thrilled to be able to attend and hear from inspiring women and men on a wide range of topics celebrating women's impact on football and sports. According to the Women's Summit LinkedIn page the vision for the event was to:

Motivate young women to continue to dream big and break barriers by highlighting the inspiring stories, achievements, and insights of current leaders across industry.
Bring together current and future leaders to discuss how football and the broader sports world can continue to support the advancement of women on and off the field.
Demonstrate the importance of mentorship, healthy relationships and advocacy as key contributors to women’s success.

And we think they did just that.

The event was emceed by Emmy Winner Maria Menounos. There were over 30 speakers including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Sideline Reporter of Sunday Night Football Michele Tafoya, and ESPN and CBS Commentator Beth Mowins. The keynote speaker was HBO Insecure’s Issa Rae and there was a surprise at the end with Aly Raisman (I truly think my heart stopped when she walked out)! Even our hometown women powerhouses Linsay Whalen and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar spoke.

I personally loved hearing from Vikings COO Kevin Warren who gave us his incredible story of how he fought barriers to be where he is now with the Lombardi trophy currently sitting on this desk waiting for the Super Bowl. The panels with women who work in top leadership positions within ESPN, NFL, Proctor & Gamble, and NBC were incredible. Some women who stuck out to me were Christine Driessen (EVP and Chief Financial Officer of ESPN), Andrea Kremer (Chief Correspondent of the NFL Network), Janet Fletcher (P & G Director, Olympics and Sports Marketing) and Jennifer Storms (Chief Marketing Officer, NBC Sports Group). It was also really inspiring to hear from our own MN Vikings women leaders including Anne Doepner (Director of Football Administration), Tanya Dreesen (VP, Partner Activation and Special Projects), and Tami Hendrick (Director of Vikings Women and Strategic Development).