Champions of Inclusion

The Collective is a remote education, storytelling, and professional development internship for those eager to leverage their voices, creativity, and leadership to strengthen connection, belonging, and pro-social behavior within their teams and communities. Participants will contribute to The Athlete Voice, Athlete Ally’s digital home for stories, commentaries, and creative content. Instead of enacting allyship in one-offs, The Collective provides participants with hands-on digital media experience and repeated opportunities to build the skills needed to invoke culture change through small, meaningful actions over time.

Over a 15-week span, participants will name what they believe, practice building the skills needed to act on those beliefs, and create visible examples of what care can look like in sport. The Collective is both a leadership development program and a content-producing community. Participants in the program will contribute to The Athlete Voice, Athlete Ally’s digital home for athlete stories, commentaries, interviews, and creative content. Over the course of the semester, the program will gather content from participants while supporting them in practicing behaviors that make teams and athletic departments more connected, accountable, and humane. The Collective is grounded in the belief that inclusive sport cultures are built through competence, connection, and autonomy. Rather than asking participants to perform allyship as a one-time gesture, The Collective gives participants repeated opportunities to build the confidence and skills needed to act, and invoke culture change through small, meaningful actions over time.