RaShauna Hamilton: “I had to unlearn the battle warrior side.”

RaShauna Hamilton is the VP of Fan Growth & Community for the Washington Spirit, a women’s soccer team in DC.

I met RaShauna though colleagues a few years ago. We immediately clicked on all levels. I admire her understanding of the communities she's in, and how she uses her platform to drive equity and access for women and minorities.

We caught up recently to discuss her work, her impact, and what's important to her in life. I hope you enjoy this conversation!

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🗨 So, can you tell us who you are and what you do?

I am RaShauna Hamilton and I am the Vice President of Fan Growth and Community for the Washington Spirit, which is DC's professional women's soccer team.

🗨 You have a long history in sports, and I remember talking to you before you got this role and it just seems like everything came together so magically. So, congratulations! Can you talk to us about something that you've recently worked on that supports the broader impact you want to have in the world?

This is so timely, we just launched a small business initiative yesterday. When I came in, I really revamped our community strategy. Our community strategy is all centered around empowering and supporting women. We do that through many different lenses, but really the four areas we focus on are access, empowerment, education, and wellness. Part of the empowerment piece was a small business initiative that will have 10-12 small businesses that are all women-owned and local to DC. It's a really cool initiative, because we work with these businesses all year long to try to help them gain some exposure in the market, support them economically, and then we find cool ways to integrate what they do with our team, our players, and our fans.

🗨 Okay, I'll be watching. What's something that you've had to unlearn or rethink as a leader?

I had to unlearn the battle warrior side. For so long, especially being a woman in a male-dominated industry, it was like every time you go in be ready for the fight, and be ready for the battle. I came in rough and tough, and I'm Vaselined up and I'm ready to go. In this role and my last role, I had to unlearn coming in with that mindset of I've got to be ready for this attack, which has been really nice. I've been able to come in and say no, how do we collaborate? How do we work together? I don't have to be trying to prove my value in every single thing that I do, right? I am enough the way that I am as a leader and I can show up the way that I am, and it is valuable. That’s instead of thinking you’re not successful until you hit certain benchmarks and milestones. That part has been hard, especially as a minority woman, and as a black woman.

🗨 I mean a lot of it is shaped by the cultures you were in. Especially in male dominated sports. This is your first female sport. Do you see a big difference?

Being an emerging league matters as well. The NBA, the NFL are very established in our country. They stand for what they stand for, and they have been around for so long. Whereas in this emerging league, there's this beautiful opportunity to embrace the now, and embrace the generation that's coming, and build our own tradition. It will shape the way that little girls and little boys consider sports. It will shape what they consider a professional athlete to be. All the experiences and memories we’re providing for fans will change the way that people view female athletes and female entertainment.

🗨 Absolutely. This will live on. So, what do you do to sharpen your creativity?

Our workforce is very young. I like to say that I'm like the old lady that just doesn't want to get old. But I think that helps my creativity, because I do want to be in-the-know about what is driving this generation. What are they watching on TikTok? Where are they consuming information? What is moving them to make purchases? What is the hip and cool new thing? I am very interested in being a continuous learner about our consumer. I think that helps with creativity, because they are such a creative generation.

🗨 Then you'll be relevant for your kiddos, too.

I can't wait to be the mom where they’re like, "Oh my god, mom, why would you say that?" I'm like, "Yes, that is me. I am she. I am that mother." Yeah. It's happening to me already. Dancing in public is too much. They're like, "Oh my god, mom." And I'm like, "I am hip."

🗨 What shifts in the world around us are we giving too little attention to?

I don't think we give enough focus to the cost of living in America. It’s very expensive to educate your kids. It's very expensive to feed your kids. I don't think we pay enough attention to the way that that gap is starting to widen between economic classes. I mean, you can see that in our housing crisis. Housing is becoming unaffordable, because gone are the days of our grandparents, when you could buy a house for 70 grand, and your interest rate was reasonable, and your insurance didn't cost you a million dollars a month. Generational wealth keeps growing for those that have it, but for those trying to get there, it just keeps getting further and further away.

I just joined a study for American Cancer Society called Voices of Black Women where they're trying to get women between the ages of 25 and 44, that are black and do not currently have cancer to sign up for this study to see what factors contribute to black women getting cancer. I also joined—because again I'm bored apparently—Chamber of Mothers, DC chapter. I was so moved when I went to one of their events, because they are. fighting for paid FMLA and maternal rights for our country, and that's something we don't focus on enough.

🗨 You've spent so much of your career in a space that is entertainment based. Tickets are a luxury for many families. Have you seen the cost of living crisis impact on ticket sales?

Yes, definitely. We are trying to close the gap. We have a program called Access Spirit, where we work with local nonprofits to give away tickets to communities in need, or even just communities for exposure. Soccer will be the most popular sport in another five years in our country, because it's growing and a lot of kids are playing it. But we're finding a lot of minority communities in America don't play it. When you're in a city that is 58% minority, that is a huge piece of our population. We're trying to do a better job of exposing black and brown kids to soccer, and the opportunities within soccer. Our Access Spirit program allows kids from those communities to come to their first match. We also started a “First Match Free” program, and that is not based on any economic factor.

🗨 What do you do to find joy?

Much of the work right now in DC can feel uphill through mud, but I think what we're doing at the Spirit is really, really exciting. I will say Michelle King, our owner, is just an absolute visionary. She just won the sports philanthropist of the year for ESPN. One of the things that she's investing in that I find super interesting is studying menstruation and how it affects performance. We have three PhD students on staff that study menstruation and certain aspects of performance in our players. This is groundbreaking research that will help women's sports.

When we put on clinics, or when we go to work with girls to try to keep them playing, we actually provide a period kit, and a sports bra. We are trying to break that stigma because we know it's about confidence for girls, and we know that there is a stigma around menstruation and the transition to womanhood. We tackle that head on, and we know these conversations make men uncomfortable, right? We're like “Hey, menstruation!” And they're like “What do I do?” But it is normal and we need to normalize it, and break the stigma because that's the way to help girls stay confident and keep them playing sports. I recently learned that 90% of everything we do for health and wellness is based on research for males only.

🗨 So they just dropped us and then just base everything off of a man's body?

They’re like, you guys will figure it out. Yes.

🗨 I’m so glad that you are on the ground supporting the girls and the women that need this normalized. That brings me a lot of hope and inspiration.

Isn't that crazy? Yes. I'm like, by the time my kids start getting competitive in sports, I really hope for a world where my daughter has just as many opportunities as my son, but also just as much support for her performance, her health and wellness.

🗨 I love all of this conversation. Thank you so much for sharing. I need to be in this women's sports world more!

Listen, I have officially poured the Kool-Aid in your cup. Feel free to take your time sipping. No rush. But you're in New York, so you have Gotham from the soccer side, and you have the Liberty from the basketball side.

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