Company: Flame Bearers
Company Description: Award-winning storytelling platform championing the voices of women Olympians and Paralympians via podcast, video and live events. We are the first trailblazing media company that supports this elite class of women athletes and our mission is to tell the stories of women who inspire people to drive change for themselves and in their communities.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Women Helping Women - Social Change
 Nomination Title: Jamie Mittelman
- Briefly describe the nominated individual: history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 113 words used.
Jamie Mittelman is the founder and host of Flame Bearers, the world's first storytelling platform championing the stories of diverse, resilient women Olympians and Paralympians. Her background is in media, having managed a $30 Million media portfolio on behalf of the conglomerate of Yahoo, The Huffington Post, AOL, and Verizon. She founded Flame Bearers while receiving her Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School where she chaired the women's conference and received an award for her significant impact on the Harvard community. Priot to Harvard, Jamie received her MBA from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business where she was recognized by the staff for her contributions to the culture of the school.
- Outline the nominee's achievements since July 1 2021 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 199 words used.
In the U.S. historically 96% sports media has gone to male athletes, so that's ~4% for women athletes. Of that, pretty much all has historically gone to white, able-bodied women from the global north who hold certain identities. #s are even lower globally. There's a QUANTITY problem. Further, coverage has historically sexualized/pitted women against each other/pittied athletes with disabilities. Their stories have been co-opted. There's a QUALITY issue. Jamie's work with Flame Bearers addresses both quantity and quality. Her work has:
-Formed a GLOBAL COMMUNITY: elevating the voices/stories of elite women athletes from 40+ countries including Afghanistan's Masoma Alizada on the Refugee Olympic Team, Chile's Tamara Leonelli and China's Liu Jiayu.
-Championed TRAILBLAZERS IN THEIR SOCIETIES shattering barriers including the first female Malagasy Winter Olympian (Mialitania Clerc), India's disability rights advocate (Manasi Joshi) or mental health champion (Deja Young).
-Hosted PANEL DISCUSSIONS championing athletes' stories at high profile events including the Harvard Women's Conference or Super Bowl side sessions (bringing athletes to share their stories)
-REACH & IMPACT: reach in 48 countries, received awards in podcasting and video the categories of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Public Service & Activism (Webby Finalist, Anthem Awards, Signal Awards, Telly Awards)
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 96 words used.
Example of video trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xGHOcRLAW4
Example of viral Flame Bearers social media elevating voices of elite women athletes (286,000+ views): https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwJRSOcJcSi/?hl=en
Example of how Jamie uses social media to tell stories: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqV8u6JpyZk/?hl=en
Recent coverage by Apple+ on the Special Edition series. This ie an example of Jamie's work connecting generations of women trailblazers. The idea behind this series was honoring those on whose shoulders today's athletes now stand: https://apple.news/A7D6r5GRLS92FP7dZm137jg
Harvard article on Jamie's work celebrating women: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/more/student-life/student-stories/elevating-stories-diverse-unsung-women-one-interview-time
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2021 of the nominated woman, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below:
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the nominee's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 168 words used.
Flame Bearers is the FIRST media company that specifically invests in the stories of women Olympians and Paralympians from around the world. As shared, less than 4% of sports media coverage has historically gone to women athletes in the US and this number is even lower globally. Pretty much all of that has supported a very narrow portrayal of women: white, abledbodied, from the global north, hetorosexual, usually practicing the dominant religion, etc. Jamie is telling the stories of ALL athletes, specifically elevating the voices of athletes like Lea Davison, the first openly gay professional biker.
Other organizations like Just Women's Sports or The Gist provide sports reporting (scores of games, predictions, etc), but less on the storytelling side. Jamie's work seeks to establish emotional connections so her audience becomes invested in the athletes and women's sports. She is building demand for content around women's sports, as her work is more human-interest focused (who these women are and what they care about so anyone can relate to it).
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