A Seat at the Table: How Harvard Undergraduate Sports Labs is Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Sports

BOSTON – When Harvard Undergraduate Sports Labs Vice President Gracie Martin ’25 and Secretary Paton Roberts ’25 began planning the club’s latest event, they envisioned a gathering where they could put role models in front of students. Access, empowerment, and community building was at the heart of their vision.

The event — titled the Women in Sports Business Night and co-hosted with the Women in Business club — took place April 2 and featured fireside chats with Chief Executive Officer of Kraft Analytics Group Jessica Gelman ’97, Senior Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel for the Professional Women’s Hockey League Jen Flynn, and Chief Revenue Officer of Boston Legacy FC Amina Bulman.

HUSL has hosted notable speakers — including many women — at its business conferences in the past. But to Martin, this fireside chat format allowed the club to spotlight just how many successful women are involved in running Boston sports.

For Martin, the mission is also personal. Martin started college as a player on Harvard’s women’s basketball team, but after tearing both ACLs, she was forced to find a new way to be involved in sports.

Gelman — whom Martin originally met through the Harvard women’s basketball mentorship program — took Martin “under her wing,” allowing Martin to shadow her at the Kraft Analytics Group’s office. Martin credits Gelman — and other mentors — who “carried her through” the difficult period for helping her transition to sports business.

With the Women in Sports Business Night, she hoped to help other women find new inspirational figures.

The Right Location

The first step for Martin in planning the event was finding the right venue — somewhere that would help convey the respect she felt female sports business leaders deserve.

The best choice was obvious: The Harvard Club of Boston.

From its exterior, the Commonwealth Avenue entrance fits the aesthetic of its neighboring Back Bay brownstones: historically charming, prestigious, and exclusive. Yet, in recent years, there’s been a renewed effort to make the club welcoming to all of Harvard.

The event was held at the Harvard Club of Boston. By Dylan J. Goodman

Harvard Club President Marcus DeFlorimonte has driven the club’s participation and hosting of College students. DeFlorimonte emphasized the Harvard Club of Boston’s willingness to “support student groups, groups from the University in any way, shape or form.”

According to DeFlorimonte, the club is meant to connect generations and foster lifelong learning. Deflorimonte added that the club is to be a “social, intellectual, and athletic hub of greater Boston,” that supports events run by students, hosting famous alumni, and uplifting student interests.

“We’re talking about women in the sports business,” he said. “Why shouldn’t we? If we didn’t, shame on us.”

For DeFlorimonte, the event was the epitome of what he has been focused on shaping during his term.

“I’m proud to say that since I’ve been President club, there’s a much more inclusive, diverse crowd,” he said. “But more importantly, they feel they have access, and they feel like they belong. So it’s not just sort of like checking the box off.”

For Martin, the prestige of the club lended a sense of importance to the event and allowed the women in the audience to make critical connections in-person.

“Jen Flynn and Amina Bulman speak for an hour, and then they hang around and linger at the Harvard Club,” she said. “You don’t get that kind of networking [virtually].”

Martin also made it clear how important it was to have the presence of diverse attendees, noting that the crowd included doctors and other fans of women’s sports.

‘That Door is Finally Being Open’

In the event’s first hour, smiles and greetings were shared amongst students, alum, Crimson athletes, and professionals who poured into the venue. A buzz of excitement filled the air as attendees mingled with friends and formed new connections. For many, it was their first time visiting the Harvard Club.

The event began with Martin warmly introducing Gelman in a personal tribute to her mentor.

For women’s volleyball freshman Taylor Larkin, the event helped her see just what is possible for women in the sports world.

“I think it’s extremely important.” Larkin said. “To be here with all these powerful women in sports, it’s such an inspiring thing, especially for me, since I want to go into the field, just seeing that it’s possible and achievable for a woman to be the CEO of a sports focused company.”

Larkin’s teammate, sophomore Ryleigh Patterson added, “representation actually matters, and just seeing that the possibilities and that door is finally being open.”

Patterson has been optimistic about the growth she sees in women’s sports, and noted that this event further inspired her ambitions to “hopefully be a part of that growth in the future.”

In Gelman’s final takeaway points, she encouraged students to pursue the path that inspired them most, not necessarily the most popular career route for Harvard graduates. Gelman spoke of the several times she made her own role at a company in the industry. Gelman’s takeaway message — that women’s sports needs the media attention and primetime slots that men’s sports receives, so that it can flourish into its full potential.

For the next generation of Harvard women athletes, Martin’s concluding message was to leverage the skill learned thorugh sports “and really have those translate into the real world.”

Martin highlighted the resilience required, especially of Harvard women student athletes.

“I want them to feel empowered by making their next move and going into whatever industry they’re going into,” Martin said.

“Knowing I was an athlete, I’ve done hard things,” she added. “They can do it too.”