Best Sports Speakers for Women's History Month

Women’s History Month is a great time to celebrate female achievement in every sector. One area now teeming with opportunities for women is the sports world. There are several tremendous female athletes and coaches who have been pioneers in this battle for inclusion. They make great Women’s History Month speakers for luncheons, charity galas, corporate events and more.

Billie Jean King

Iconic Tennis Player and Winner 12 Grand Slam Singles Titles

Billie Jean King has been one of the 20th centurys most influential and respected people. As a former number 1 in the world as a professional tennis player, she won 39 Grand Slams, including 16 women

Lisa Leslie

Three-Time WNBA MVP and Four-Time Olympic Gold Medalist

Lisa Leslie graduated from Morningside High School in Inglewood, California and signed to play basketball at the University of Southern California after averaging 27 points and 15 rebounds during her

Cynthia Cooper

Four-Time Olympic Gold Medalist and WNBA Champion

Cynthia Cooper, who now goes by her married hyphenated name Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, is a former star basketball player. As a former player, she has a history with her college team, the Olympics and the W

Cheryl Miller

Women's Basketball Legend and Basketball Broadcaster

Sometimes overshadowed by her more well-known brother, Reggie Miller, many will be surprised to learn of the success that Cheryl Miller had in basketball from a very young age. As a four year starter

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Olympic Gold Medal Winning Legend and One of the Greatest Female Athletes of All-Time

Jackie Joyner-Kersee is a graduate of UCLA, where she was a decorated All-American in both track and field and basketball. During her decorated olympic career she earned six Olympic medals, including

Katie Sowers

First Openly LGBT NFL Coach

Katie Sowers first broke through the glass ceiling by becoming just the second woman hired to be a full-time NFL coach. She was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an offensive assistant in 2017. Sow

Gabby Douglas

Three-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Gymnast and the 2012 All-Around Champion

When Gabby Douglas was 16-years-old she made history at the 2012 London Olympics Games when she became the first African-American female to win a gold medal during women’s gymnastics all-around event.

Simone Biles

Most Accomplished Olympic Gymnast of All-time

Simone Biles has dominated the gymnastics world in recent years. Biles is a three-time World all-around champion and three-time U.S. all-around champion. She also won world titles in floor excersize

Jen Welter

First Female Coach in NFL History

Jen Welter is the first known female coach in the NFL. Welter joined the Arizona Cardinals as a coaching intern for the 2015 training camp and preseason. She was also the first female coach in any f

Chris Evert

Tennis Legend and 18-Time Grand Slam Singles Champion

There have not been many tennis players more successful or beloved than Chris Evert. The former world number one captured 18 Grand Slam singles titles and won 157 times overall. Evert played 56 Gran

Dara Torres

Four-Time Olympic Gold Medalist, Best-Selling Author and Motivational Speaker

Dara Torres is one of the best Olympic swimmers ever, with five Olympic Games and 12 Olympic medals to her name. But she's more than just an unbelievable athlete. She’s a mom, a best-selling author, a

Shannon Miller

Olympic Gymnastics Gold Medalist

Shannon Miller is the most decorated U.S. gymnast, male or female, in history. She won a total of 16 world championships and Olympic medals between 1991 and 1996 and was a member of the "Magnificent S

Serena Williams

Record-Setting Grand Slam Tennis Champion

Serena Williams first captured the world No. 1 tennis ranking in 2002 and has since gone on to win 23 Grand Slam championships, including seven Australian Opens, three French Opens, five Wimbledon cha

Amy Van Dyken

Six-Time Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist

Amy Van Dyken is one of the most accomplished American Olympians of all-time. She won six gold medals as a swimmer at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. Her four golds in Atlanta were a record for a U.S. w

Ann Meyers Drysdale

Retired Women's Basketball Legend and Phoenix Suns Vice President

Ann Meyers Drysdale was one of the early stars of women’s college basketball and a 1993 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. She stared at UCLA and was the first ever woman to be a four year scholarship

Annika Sorenstam

Ten-Time Golf Major Winner

Annika is the greatest female golfer of her generation, and often regarded as the best of all time. During her 15-year Hall of Fame career, she rewrote the LPGA and Ladies European Tour (LET) record b

Danica Patrick

Former Star IndyCar and NASCAR Driver

Danica Patrick was trailblazer throughout her career in auto racing. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only wi

Courtney Force

Winningest Female Funny Car Driver in NHRA History

Courtney Force is a retired funny car driver who competed in the National Hot Rod Association. Born to 16-time NHRA national champion, John Force, in 1988, Courtney comes from a family of drag racers.

Brandi Chastain

American Women's Soccer Icon and World Cup Champion

When Brandi Chastain hammered a penalty kick into the back of the net to win the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup to defeat China she launched herself into superstardom and women’s soccer to the forefront

Bonnie Blair

Five-Time Olympic Speedskating Gold Medalist

Bonnie Blair is one of the top speed skaters of all-time, having won five Olympic gold medals in speed skating for the United States from 1988 to 1994. Blair was born in New York and raised in Champa

Ibtihaj Muhammad

Retired Olympic Fencer

Ibtihaj Muhammad is a fencer who competed internationally for the United States. She was the first Muslim woman who wears a hijab to compete for Team USA at the Olympics. Muhammad first competed for

Diana Nyad

World Record Long Distance Swimmer

To say that Diana Nyad is fearless would be an understatement. In 2013, at the age of 64 she became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage, fins or a wet suit.

Julie Foudy

Former Co-Captain of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team

Former co-captain of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team, Julie Foudy, is American soccer royalty. Foudy joined the national team in 1987 in the middle of her All-American career at Stanfo

Lyn St. James

Retired Professional IndyCar Driver

Lyn St. James was a groundbreaking professional IndyCar driver. St. James is one of just seven women that have qualified for the Indianapolis 500. With a career best finish of 11th in 1992, she beca

Becky Hammon

WNBA Champion Head Coach of the Las Vegas Aces, Assistant Coach for the San Antonio Spurs

Becky Hammon is a pioneer for all women in sports. Hammon was the first female full-time professional assistant coach for any men’s major professional sports team. She was hired by Greg Popovich to jo

Cammi Granato

Olympic Hockey Gold Medalist

Cammi Granato is a Downers Grove, Illinois native and played in every world championship for the United States Women’s National Hockey Team from 1990 to 2005. During that time she led the USA to a Go

Carli Lloyd

U.S. Soccer Great Who Won Two Women's World Cups

Carli Lloyd was a two-time World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Lloyd began playing soccer at five years old and at that time she played on a coed team. In high school, Lloyd played

Kim Ng

First Female General Manager of the Major American Professional Sports Franchise

Kim Ng is the forrmer general manager of the Miami Marlins. Her post with the Marlins made her the first female GM and highest-ranking Asian-American front office executive in MLB history. As a c

Manon Rheaume

First Woman to Play in the NHL

Manon Rheaume made history in 1992 when she signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Rheaume appeared in net for the franchise during exhibition games in 1992 and 1993, making her the first wom

Carol Polis

First Woman Professional Boxing Judge

Carol Polis is the first ever professional boxing judge in the world. Prior to becoming a boxing judge, Polis was a multisport athlete during high school where she was a swimmer, diver, and tennis pla

Donna de Varona

Two-Time Olympic Gold Medal Winning Swimmer

Donna de Varona won two gold medals in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games in the 400-meter medley and 4x100-meter medley at the age of 17. She made her Olympic debut four years earlier at the 1960 Summer Ol