GGM Announcement: Julie Foudy

As Nicholas Kristof wrote in his landmark 8/17/09 NY Times Magazine article -- changing the lives of women and girls in the developing world can change everything. "The world is awakening to a powerful truth. Women and girls aren't the problem; they're the solution."

Global Girl Media, a non-profit I heled to found today announces that Julie Foudy, former Olympic Gold Medalist and Captain of the USA Women’s Soccer Team, will serve as Spokesperson for the non-profit organization and our pilot project, Kick It Up! which provides training, skills and mentoring to high school age girls from underserved communities in South Africa to become digital video journalists at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Julie personifies the key qualities we want all of our Global Girl reporters to strive for -- a woman and female athlete who is respected for her strong, articulate voice--both on and off the field—and one who works with the highest standards of journalistic integrity and professionalism. Julie is a leader in sports and leadership education for young women and understands the role both play in developing self-confidence and leadership skills for a future generation of female leaders.

One of the world’s top female soccer players, Foudy has garnered two Olympic Gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and two World Cup championships during her seventeen years playing on the national team. She was one of the founding players of the first Women’s Professional Soccer League, the WUSA. Foudy won the 1997 FIFA Fair Play Award for her work against child labor, the first woman and first American to win the award, and in 2007 was inducted into the National Hall of Fame.

Since 1988, Foudy has served as a soccer analyst and commentator for ESPN, where she has covered World Cups, Women’s World Cups and numerous international and national soccer events, in addition to serving as a commentator on SportsCenter, First Take and other ESPN programs. Foudy is slated to be part of the ESPN reporting team for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa next summer.

Global Girl Media, a California 501 © 3 organization, nurtures the voice and self expression of young girls in under-served communities and developing nations with a goal to inspire and empower a future generation of female “citizen broadcast journalists” around the world to speak out about the issues that affect them most. www.globalgirlmedia.org