We are excited to announce the successful candidates for the 2024 Courage and Confidence to Lead program.

The program is designed to provide an upskilling opportunity for women seeking greater opportunities on their association boards and committees, and will provide an opportunity to cultivate professional skills, develop enhanced leadership styles, and join a network of motivated women who are the future leaders of basketball in Victoria.

The selected applicants have a diverse range of experiences and roles within the Victorian basketball landscape and are affiliated with sixteen associations and clubs from both metropolitan and regional Victoria.

The program is built around Margot Foster’s bespoke Governance and Board Leadership Program which will focus on board director duties and responsibilities, conflicts of interest, how to hold effective and efficient meetings, and a range of other topics.

Other presenters throughout the program include Carol Fox who will lead a session on Confident Communication for Leaders in Sport, BV Board President Michelle Bruggeman who will present on Strategic Planning and Risk Mitigation, and representatives of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, Basketball Australia’s She Hoops program, and VicSport.

The Courage and Confidence to Lead program was first held with great success in 2019, and in 2024 Basketball Victoria have collaborated with Deakin University’s Centre for Sport Research to provide the opportunity for researchers to explore the experiences of aspiring women leaders in Victorian basketball. The program is supported by funding from the Victorian State Government through the Together More Active 2023-2027 grants program.

Women and Girls Participation Coordinator Katherine Gourley was delighted to offer places in the program to the twenty successful applicants.

“I am so excited to bring together this group of passionate women who are the future leaders of Victorian Basketball. They have an incredibly diverse range of experiences, and I hope that they will learn as much from each other as they do from the program presenters” Katherine said.

Congratulations to the successful applicants for Courage and Confidence To Lead 2024.

Name	Association/ Club
Carleigh Egan	Whittlesea
Cathy Ciurlino	Collingwood
Ebony Raby	Geelong Rovers
Jade Odom	Southern Peninsula
Jamie Dowsett	Sunbury
Jessica Brookens	Ferntree Gully
Jodee Gregory	Keilor
Kirsten Green	Sunbury
Kristy Leslie	Warragul
Mannon Nolan-Black	Whittlesea
Narelle Kent	Eltham
Narelle Montgomery	Sunbury
Natasha Smallwood	Mildura
Rachel Gill	Philip Island
Sally Kerin	Coburg
Sally Loughland	Ivanhoe
Shelley Whelan	Korumburra
Skye Hawkins	Pearcedale
Tania Bono	Coburg
Tara Schofield	Melton

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