In the coming months as we build up to an epic two days for WiSEAN 2026, we will be announcing our spotlight sessions. Scroll through to see and learn about our spotlight speakers and sessions.
- Dr Kate Ackerman
- Dr Nicole M. LaVoi
- Dr Kelsie Johnson
- Panel – From Grassroots to Elite: Supporting Women and Girls in Sport – featuring Jo-Anne Downing, Kate Kenyon, Kirsty Goldie-Brammer, Sarah Lewis, OBE OLY, Eve Joseph and Dr Vidya Panicker.
Spotlight session – Dr Kate Ackerman
Presented and supported by the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences‘ Celebration of 50 Years of Sport Science at Loughborough University.
This session will be given by the United States based Director, Co-founder, and President of the Women’s Health and Performance Institute (WHSP) who is travelling to Loughborough to deliver an inspiring session that will set the tone for striking with purpose!
Biography:
Kathryn (Kate) Ackerman, MD, MPH, FACSM is the co-founder and Director of WHSP Medical, WHSP Institute, and the Biennial International Female Athlete Conference, as well as an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She also founded and formerly directed the Female Athlete Program at Boston Children’s Hospital.
- She earned her BA from Cornell University, MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health, and completed her residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her sports medicine fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, endocrinology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as further research training in the Neuroendocrine Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.
- She chairs the USRowing Medical Committee, co-chairs the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee Women’s Health Task Force, is a member of the World Rowing Medical Commission and the Women’s Tennis Association Women’s Health Taskforce, and is a Deputy Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
- Her research focuses on female athlete health and the various aspects of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs). She has authored/co-authored over 175 articles and book chapters related to sports medicine, endocrinology, rowing, bone health, and female athletes, including position statements with the International Olympic Committee.
- Athletically, Dr. Ackerman represented the US as a lightweight rower at the World Championships, having taken up rowing as a walk-on at Cornell. She has multiple National Championships titles and still competes with her teammates for life as a masters athlete. In 2020 she became a member of the National Leadership Council for the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, a $220M initiative to improve health and performance globally. Dr. Ackerman leads the Alliance’s focus on scientific advancements for women.
Find out more about Dr. Ackerman here: https://whspinstitute.org/
Spotlight session – Dr Nicole M. LaVoi
Presented and support by the Women’s Sport Collective as part of their ongoing efforts to be an inclusive, collaborative community of all women working in – or wanting to work in – sport.
This session will be given by the acclaimed United States based Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport who is travelling to Loughborough to deliver an masterful session that will demonstrate how to consistently and collaboratively strike with purpose!
Biography:
Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer of social and behavioral sciences in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota and the Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. Through action-oriented collaborative research, she translates data and answers critical questions that can make a difference in the lives of girls and women.
As a leading scholar on gender, leadership and women coaches, Dr. LaVoi has published 100+ book chapters, research reports and peer-reviewed articles in top-rated journals. Her Outstanding Academic Title award-winning book Women in Sports Coaching, the annual Women in College Coaching Report Card™ and Emmy-nominated documentary GAME ON: Women Can Coach help inform countless stakeholders who changing the system for women sport coaches. She is the founder of Coaching HER®, and co-creator of Body Confident Sport, free tools to upskill coaches to more effectively coach girls.
As a public scholar she consults with a variety of stakeholder groups, works with industry partners, speaks around the world, fields media requests, provides thought leadership, and serves on mission-driven advisory boards. She is an award-winning athlete, coach, scholar, and distinguished teacher, 2013 regional Emmy winner for Best Sport Documentary, three-time Hall of Fame inductee and was named a 2023 USTA Champion of Equality for her work in gender and sport. LaVoi played collegiate tennis at Gustavus Adolphus College winning a NCAA-III National Team Championship where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees. Prior to her career in higher education, she was a USPTA Teaching Pro and head tennis coach at Wellesley College. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, biking, hiking, golf, painting and soaking up the sun.
Spotlight session – Dr Kelsie Johnson
Presented and supported by Loughborough Sport and the Lightning franchises who advocate for the best environments and people to help create the best sporting systems for women and girls.
This session will be given by one of the shining lights of sport and exercise nutrition and physiology in the UK, who is passionate about bridging the gap between science and real-world performance by translating research into practical strategies athletes can actually apply.
Biography:
Dr Kelsie Johnson is an academic member of staff with teaching duties Sports Nutrition and Physiology within the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences. Kelsie graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a first class honours degree in Sport and Exercise Sciences. Kelsie then continued her studies with an MSc at Loughborough University in Exercise Physiology and subsequently a PhD at Leeds Beckett University in Nutrition. Simultaneously to completing the PhD, Kelsie also worked as a part-time lecturer within Leeds Beckett University. Following the completion of her PhD Kelsie became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Kelsie’s research and practice specialises in female athlete physiology, with particular interests in:
- gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in female athletes,
- the menstrual cycle and performance,
- carbohydrate metabolism and gut training.
Spotlight session – From Grassroots to Elite: Supporting Women and Girls in Sport
Presented and supported by the Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park who is champions innovation and collaboration. This panel will feature voices from across the sporting landscape that will give the WiSEAN 2026 delegates an opportunity to hear from industry voices about what the most pressing opportunities and challenges are for shifting the dial across the sporting ecosystem.
The panel will feature:
Jo-Anne Downing, Lawn Tennis Association
Jo is Programme Strategy Manager at the LTA, where she leads national initiatives to grow tennis participation. With over 16 years of experience in sports development, she has spearheaded programmes like the Prime Video LTA Youth Girls initiative, which has encouraged thousands of new girls to engage with tennis. Collaborating with Judy Murray, Jo has also worked to grow and empower the female coaching workforce. As a Level 3 coach and lifelong county player, she is passionate about breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for women and girls in tennis.
Eve Joseph, British Triathlon
Eve Joseph is the Head of Social Impact at British Triathlon. She is responsible for creating and implementing the organisation’s social impact strategy focusing on Sustainability and ED&I. Before transitioning to the sports industry, Eve spent 15 years at Microsoft, working on the intersection of business and ESG, restructuring the way in which Microsoft and other F500 organisations addressed Sustainability. Holding roles focusing on both the UK and wider global markets, she has extensive experience bridging the gap from hypothetical strategy desire into real life social impactful programmes.
Sarah Lewis, OBE OLY
Sarah Lewis, OBE OLY is a highly respected international sports leader with an extensive global network across the Olympic Movement and industry. Before embarking on a career in sports administration, Sarah became an Olympian (OLY) in Alpine Skiing, representing Great Britain at the Calgary 1988 Games. From 1998 to 2020 she served as Secretary General of International Ski and Snowsboard Federation (FIS), and the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federation (2014–2020). She was appointed a member of the IOC Programme Commission and Coordination Commissions for the Olympic Winter Games and Youth Olympic Games (2026, 2022, 2020, 2018) and the Steering Committee of SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit (2002-2020). Currently Sarah serves as chair of the GB Olympians Association Committee, is a Non-Executive Director of Snowsport England, Vice-President of the Sustainable Mountain Alliance and an Advisory Board member of the Loughborough University London Institute for Sport Business. She undertakes mentoring especially for women, provides consultancy services across sport organisations and industry. In 2018 Sarah was awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire on the Queen’s New Year Honours List for services to sport. She was a proud member of the UK delegation that secured the hosting rights for the London 2012 Olympic Games in 2005.
Kirsty Goldie-Brammer, Rugby Football Union
With over 20 years of experience in the sports industry across the UK and internationally, Kirsty has built a career spanning football, hockey, cricket, and now rugby. She is a Senior Project Manager at the Rugby Football Union (RFU), where she plays a leading role in shaping and advancing the Women’s Game. Her work focuses on driving strategic projects that support the growth, performance, and long‑term sustainability of women’s rugby. One of her key areas of leadership is the RFU’s female health initiative—an essential programme designed to better understand, support, and prioritise female health to support the current and future participants of the game at all levels. Through this work, she is helping to ensure that women and girls can thrive in the sport with the right knowledge, resources, and environments around them. Passionate about creating meaningful change, she brings deep industry insight and a commitment to elevating female athletes’ experiences both on and off the field.
Kate Kenyon, The Football Association
Kate is the Female Heath Strategy Lead at the Football Association, who has a wealth of experiences across high-performance sporting environments. The current flagship headlines that prioritising female health support is considered fundamental to women’s and girls’ football as new Female Athlete Health Framework to be launched at the Football Association. Kate gave a breakdown on the work that’s being carried out across our organisation to transform this area of the game. “So much work has been done to open doors for women and girls to play, to professionalise the women’s game, and to deliver winning performances on the international stage… But for us to truly take the sport to the next level, we need to build a game-wide ecosystem designed specifically through the lens of being a female in football – we know that has the power to be transformational.” Find out more here: New female health developments to provide lasting change for women and girls in football | England Football Learning