Nicole Shaia: Igniting Change for Girls in Sports

Research shows that girls drop out of sports twice as often as boys by the age of 14. Social stigma, lack of access, safety, transportation issues, costs, and lack of positive role models keep them out of the arena in their adolescent years. While it cannot be denied that participation in sports and physical activity positively impact s physical and mental health, the need for increased participation of girls becomes imminent. Nicole Shaia, the founder of Tharros, is helping girls stay engaged in sports and fitness and develop their athletic identity.

Education and Career

Nicole worked in the non-profit sector for more than 13 years in program and community development, outreach, and fundraising, primarily in the greater New York area. During the course of her career, she had the opportunity to mobilize over $20 million in financial resources, partnerships, and programs that have impacted millions of lives across the globe. With the entrepreneurial streak always chiding her to develop her leadership and management skills, she earned a Master’s in Public Administration from NYU Wagner with a specialization in Social Innovation and Impact Investing, where she learned how to tackle complex social issues effectively. Besides, she is also trained in Confidence Coaching, Transformational Psychology, Cognitive Behavior, and Youth Engagement.

Nicole always knew that she wanted to help people positively. An internship at a non-profit during her undergrad years changed the trajectory of her life when she discovered that there was a whole sector dedicated to creating real change in communities and directly impacting lives. With the relevant network, knowledge, and expertise of what it takes to start and scale a successful social business gave Nicole the confidence to take that leap into entrepreneurship.

Getting Girls into Sports

Nicole drew inspiration to start Tharros (meaning “courage” in Greek) in 2021. When she returned to playing soccer after 15 years of battling confidence issues and financial constraints, she was appalled by the inequity and how common it was for girls to drop out of sports. This shook Nicole and propelled her to do something and help girls overcome barriers and change the outlook of future generations. With Tharros, her goal is to mobilize resources to implement solutions of high impact potential.

Tharros offers three core programs: Courage Chats, Empowerment Workshops, and an Innovation Council. Collectively, these programs aim to elevate, inspire, connect, and amplify the voices of girls and women in sports. The Courage Chats series is a monthly virtual chat where role models in sports and fitness share encouraging stories so that girls draw inspiration from their mindsets and behaviors. The Empowerment workshops program focuses on personal growth and teaches girls how to develop confidence and discover their athletic identity, besides encouraging them to come up with their own sports experience based on their ambitions. The Innovation Council is a group of fearless girls tackling issues that prevent them from participating in sports through critical social entrepreneurship and innovation skills.

Mobilizing Empowerment

Nicole noticed the same gender equity barriers for women at work that she witnessed in sports, inspiring her to start “Women in the Seen” in July this year. Her mission is to rectify the future pipeline of leadership opportunities for the next generation of women and bridge the significant gap through strategic empowerment. As part of the process, an informative blog post is published every Friday with advice, guidance, and inspiration on different leadership topics to help women feel seen at work.   

Suit up!

Nicole feels that strategic empowerment can play a significant role in building women up before they reach that big milestone or even after all the excitement has faded after they hit that goal, as recognition goes a long way in building self-esteem. As a word of advice to women business owners, Nicole asks them to follow their hearts. “Work on strengthening your mindset and focus on the value of what you deliver. It is easy to get distracted by shiny opportunities that end up nowhere in the long run. Prioritize the value that you add to the people you want to serve with your business,” she said.