Honoring Our Coaches This Women’s History Month

Girls Leading Girls was founded with the belief that women coaches and role models better serve girls. Women coaches can better understand their development and the unique issues they struggle with. This is why our staff, coaches, board members, and advisory council members are mostly women, all with diverse stories and backgrounds.

The design of GLG’s girl-centered program begins with our coaches. Focusing on skills development, leadership training, character-building, and advocacy, our women coaches lead the way on and off the field.

Hear from three of our women coaches on what inspired them to become coaches.

Highlighting our all-Female Staff Behind the Scenes

Meet two of our female staff that work behind the scenes for the GLG community.

Amy is the Registrar and Admin Coordinator for GLG. Prior to this role, Amy served as GLG Board Member and met the CEO/Founder Bre when they were Peace Corps Volunteers in Vanuatu where Girls Leading Girls was just an idea. She has a bachelor’s from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MBA from University of Illinois Chicago. She is a small business consultant with a passion for mentoring women and small businesses. While in the Peace Corps in Vanuatu, it was apparent that women and girls did not have the same opportunity to participate in many activities. Soccer became a vehicle to show that women and girls have the right to play alongside the men and boys and could play just as well or better! The idea for Girls Leading Girls was born and the same goal remains to advocate for women and girls which I am proud to be a part of.

With a degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from Rowan University, Kelly has served with Engineers Without Borders in El Salvador and with the Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. She’s been a nationwide speaker for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, discussing how she leveraged passions for engineering, project management, social responsibility, and volunteerism to develop culturally-appropriate and sustainable solutions for public health, water, sanitation, and education in developing nations. Kelly now runs a bookkeeping and virtual assistance business for small businesses and nonprofits from her 200-year-old Bristol, Pennsylvania home. There, she grows mammoth grey stripe sunflowers and tends to over 75 houseplants. Kelly connected with Bre because of their shared Peace Corps background. Wanting to work with Peace Corps-owned small businesses and nonprofits, Kelly feels she was lucky to find Bre and GLG!

Hear from GLG’s CEO, Bre Russell, about Women’s History Month.

“I started this organization in 2014 on the belief that women can do anything they dream of - on and off the field. And that together, as a collective community, we can uplift the next generation of girls through soccer, leadership, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and mentorship. I still hold that belief today, almost a decade later.”

Woman Coach and Staff Spotlight

This Women's History Month, GLG celebrates the women coaches that inspire, lead, and advocate for women and girls in sports. Our Director of Program Management and Seasoned Coach, Michelle Feinberg exemplifies our values of leadership, advocacy, community, communication, and safety in her work at GLG. Michelle has been a Girls Leading Girls coach since July 2021 and is in the role of Director of Program Management. Michelle is the backbone of GLG, allowing it to run smoothly and with a purpose while staying dedicated to our values and to GLG. Thanks to Michelle for all that you do for GLG this Women's History Month and beyond!!

Meet and hear from Michelle about her time at GLG and what inspired her to go from player to coach and beyond.

Michelle was GLG’s Program manager from 2021-2023 and now has taken on the role of Director of Program Management. Michelle speaks about coordinating and guiding the Junior Board of GLG players to plan, market and implement a successful End of Season Treasure Hunt for the fall 2022 season as her biggest achievement thus far.

Michelle provides administrative support while also assisting many GLG teams such as 4th grade Flames and 3rd grade Glow and many others.

What is your coaching experience?

“My introduction to coaching started in 2020 when I started my soccer TikTok account. As the account grew, I used it to demonstrate proper techniques and resources for players to use when structuring their trainings and development. When joining GLG in fall 2021, I coached 3 seasons with GLG SOL Courage 05G travel team while being the Trainer and Assistant Coach for a handful of recreational teams ranging from 2nd to 8th grade.”

What inspired you to start coaching?

“Being able to give players the opportunity to have the same impactful and door opening experiences with soccer that I had growing up as a reserved kid who wouldn't have had built the friendships, confidence, and/or life experiences that I've been able to have with soccer in my life.”

What attracted you to GLG?

“The leadership opportunity to merge my passions for management and soccer to make a living out of college.”

Looking Beyond Women’s History Month

As we move past March, remember to continue to celebrate and advocate for girls and women in your society. Women’s History Month reminds us to pay close attention to how women-led, and women-centered organizations are made stronger when their leadership share their diverse experiences. Aligning building leadership and advocacy skills with GLG’s mission allows us implement Women’s History Month beyond March.

Wishing everyone a great Women’s History Month!