WISE is dedicated to recognizing women who achieve a standard of excellence in sports business, lead by example and support other women. The WISE Women of Inspiration Award, determined and awarded by local WISE chapters, honor women in chapter markets who exemplify the spirit of the WISE mission and are making a positive impact on the business of sports while serving as positive role models and mentors for other women.
WISE Greater Orlando is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2023 WISE Women of Inspiration Award:
Sari Kitelyn is the Director of Esports at Full Sail University. Since 2016, Sari has been building Full Sail’s award-winning esports ecosystem from the ground up, including establishing Full Sail Armada, Full Sail’s varsity esports team. Since its launch, Full Sail’s esports efforts have grown tremendously, expanding both deep into the industry as well as locally on campus. Full Sail has been home to many events, including the MLG Call of Duty U.S. Championship, NBA2K’s The Ticket, Red Bull Conquest, and has produced their own events like Call of Duty Collegiate Invitational, Overlords of Orlando with HungryBox, Blizzard's Hearthstone Collegiate Championship, and more. Full Sail Armada has grown to a community of over 6,000 students with more than 80 varsity athletes, and has formed a robust stream team consisting of content creators, streamers and shout casters.
Under Sari’s leadership, Full Sail Armada has been recognized as a finalist for the Collegiate Award at the annual Esports Awards, Collegiate Esports Program of the year by the Tempest Awards, and Most influential Gaming Community by Women in Games Global Awards.
In 2020, eFuse named Sari one of the Most Impactful Women in Collegiate Esports. In 2023, Femme Gaming included her in their list of Powerhouse Women Making a Difference, she was an honoree for Orlando Business Journal's Women Who Mean Business Awards, and she was selected as an Orlando Magic Diversity Game Changer. Sari also co-founded Esports & Coffee - a Twitch show and online community dedicated to supporting marginalized voices throughout esports and gaming.
Sari sits on both the Wise Within committee and Events committee for WISE Greater Orlando. She loves being a part of WISE because it allows her to connect with other women who are also working in male-dominated fields, it provides an incredible support system, and she's continued to learn from the panels, programming and networking events the chapter provides.
Congratulations Sari!
If you'd like to help us celebrate Sari and other women in our Greater Orlando sports community, join us at the 2023 Celebrating Women in Sports Luncheon presented by Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute! The luncheon is being hosted at UCF's Addition Financial Arena on Wednesday, Sept. 13. This year's featured speaker is Joan Benoit Samuelson, pioneer of women's marathon running and winner of the first Olympic Women's Marathon in 1984.
To read about the other women being honored this year and to purchase a table or individual tickets, visit www.GreaterOrlandoSports.com/Celebrating-Women-in-Sports/.