Nicole Staple

Co-Founder and CEO of Brideside

Nicole Staple is a co-founder and CEO of Brideside, an digital retail platform that is reinventing the wedding industry providing a seamless and complimentary concierge service for modern bridal parties. She runs all finance & revenue generating operations, including sales, marketing and capital raising. Prior to founding Brideside, Nicole spent four years in healthcare investment banking and technology venture capital, where she supported large M&A transactions and growth investments. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where she was awarded The Women’s Business Association Scholarship, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Wellesley College, where she was captain of the Varsity Lacrosse Team.

Takiyah Jackson

Mental Health Counseling

Sports: Basketball & Track

Lives in: Seattle, Washington

Education: B.S. University of California Los Angeles, M.Ed Seattle Pacific University

Profession: National Board Certified Counselor, Head of Comprehensive Counseling Washington Middle School, Professional Educator Standards Board – Office of the Governor

Athletic highlights: Inducted into Washington State WIAA Hall of Fame, winning Pac-10 Championships with UCLA basketball and going to the elite of 8 of the NCAA tournament

Favorite quote: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?” Martin Luther King Jr.

Fun-fact most people don’t know about her: “One of my first sports I played was football on an all-boys team. When I told people that I wanted to play football, everyone said you can’t play football, that’s a boys sport. I challenged that notion and played anyway as the only girl on the team and loved it.”

Best advice she’s ever gotten: Never let societal norms or traditions limit your options or goals in life.

Liz Boyer

Sport & Counseling Psychology

Sport: Gymnastics

Lives in: Seattle, Washington

Education: PhD Counseling Psychology, Specialization in Sport Psychology University of North Texas, Ed.M in Counseling and Developmental studies, specialization in sport psychology from Boston University, and a BS in psychology from University of Washington

Profession: Sport and counseling psychologist, adjunct faculty Capella University

In a sentence, why ZGiRLS? I love that ZGiRLS gives young female athletes more tools and opportunities for developing a stronger sense of themselves, and getting the most out of sport and life.

Favorite thing her body allows her to do: Feels empowered when she’s working through a hard workout or running fast, but her favorite thing her body can do is DANCE and CARTWHEELS!

On a weekend, we could find her: At a park with her two daughters

Book she would recommend to a friend: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

Website: www.NorthwestPerformancePsychology.com

Bridgid Normand

Curriculum Development

Lives in: Seattle, Washington

Education: M.Ed University of Washington

Profession: Director of Education and Learning, Committee for Children

If she could speak to her 12 year-old self, she’d say: Pay attention to what you are paying attention to. Thoughts are not facts.

Favorite thing her body allows her to do: Hike and swim in mountain lakes

Fun-fact most people don’t know about her: Used to drive a double-decker bus

If you could have a super power, what would it be? To heal the wounds people carry inside themselves – the ones you cannot see from the outside.

Ginny Gilder

Sports & Entrepreneurship

Sport: Rowing

Lives in: Seattle, Washington

Education: B.A. Yale, MBA University of Washington

Profession: CEO Gilder Office for Growth, Co-Owner Seattle Storm

Athletic Highlights: Silver medal ’84 Olympics, held record for the women’s elite single in the Head of the Charles Regatta for 31 years

If she could speak to her 12 year-old self, she’d say: (1) Don’t listen so carefully to your fear, (2) Trust your instincts, (3) It’s all gonna work out as long as you do your best.

In a sentence, why ZGiRLS? Helps unlock the power of sports to transform lives.

Three things she’d bring on a desert island: kindle with a thousand books, her wife, sufficient potable drinking water