Our Name is an opportunity marketplace that connects women athletes of color to brand partnerships and capital resources during and after their collegiate playing career. The mission is to create branding, charitable, and non-playing opportunities for women athletes of color that will maximize the value of their name, image, and likeness for current and future career benefits.
Dawn Harper-Nelson, a two-time Olympic medalist and Head of Partnerships, is both excited and proud of the groundbreaking concept.
“We are witnessing the most freedom ever given to student-athletes and businesses to create mutually profitable partnerships,” said Harper-Nelson. “We are designing a platform to help women athletes of color take full advantage of our name, image, and likeness with hopes to bring gender equity, athlete diversity, and pay balance to the NIL space.”
Our Name differs from a traditional sports agency because it provides NIL opportunities to current players, and executive recruiting services for student athletes who exhaust their eligibility and look to foster skills that will help them navigate the career landscape. The company has already attracted high praise from industry execs with its niche approach to branding and recruiting for women athletes of color during and post playing career. Ayana Parsons, a former Division 1 athlete and a national leader in executive talent and leadership development, applauded Our Name’s specific solution-driven approach to gender and ethnic balance in collegiate athletics.
“Our Name is developing a sought-after pipeline of future industry leaders,” said Parsons. “Student athletes have many qualities – discipline, resilience, collaboration, accountability, and competitive drive – that are winning traits in leadership. I’m excited to see this type of platform designed to address diversity, equity, and inclusion in both collegiate sports and talent pipelining.”
One of the platform’s first clients, Lauren Brown, a sophomore sprinter from the University of North Texas, shares the importance of representation in the NIL space.
“My goal is to be a professional athlete and work with likeminded brands,” said Brown. “Our Name has demonstrated the leadership, strategy, and passion to maximize my name, image, and likeness during and after my collegiate career.”
Our Name was founded to eliminate the pay gap between male and female collegiate athletes, improve gender equality in America, and amplify the voices of Black and Brown female student athletes with a platform that elevates their name, image, and likeness.
