Last year, the inaugural Mizuho Americas Open LPGA tournament was honored with a Shorty Award for its status-quo disrupting, purpose-driven approach to supporting opportunity and equity. This year, we looked to new ways to further the tournament’s goals of promoting women, celebrating excellence, and advancing the next generation of talent both on and off the course. We introduced the Mizuho DrivHER Summit, an inspirational day of leadership training and teambuilding to help young women and girls gain confidence, break down barriers, and affect positive change in their communities.
The DrivHER Summit builds upon our partnership with Girls Inc., a nonprofit preparing underserved girls to be leaders by helping them master academic skills, practice healthy behaviors, and build positive relationships with peers and adults. Girls Inc. is the official charitable partner of the Mizuho Americas Open, and our three-year, $500,000 partnership enables Girls Inc. to make resources more accessible to its network of 76 affiliates throughout the United States and Canada. As a result, Girls Inc. is equipping thousands of girls with leadership skills over the grant period.
In addition to expanding our partnership with Girls Inc., the DrivHER Summit is a reflection of both organizations’ shared values of advancing equity and opportunity for women and girls, and was the perfect addition to our tournament week, with girl power on full display.
The Mizuho DrivHER Summit was held at the prestigious Liberty National Golf Club during this year’s Mizuho Americas Open tournament week, a fitting addition to a tournament dedicated to showcasing women in sports, expanding opportunities for women and girls, and highlighting the importance of mentorship. Attended by high school students from Girls Inc. of Long Island, the day-long program featured panels and interactive presentations from accomplished women sharing their advice and experiences, along with hands-on leadership training, teambuilding, and career development activities. The afternoon sessions included a tour of Liberty National Golf Club, lunch & networking, and the day wrapped up with a hands-on golf clinic with professional LPGA instructors.
We worked closely with Girls Inc. of Long Island leadership to prepare the program and ensure engaging activities, and, in addition to executives, we featured junior-level speakers to create relatable content. Speakers included Michelle Wie West, LPGA icon and Mizuho Americas Open Tournament Host; Mollie Marcoux Samaan, Commissioner of the LPGA; Stephanie J. Hull, Ph.D., President & CEO, Girls Inc.; LPGA and AJGA players such as Emma Talley and Gianna Clemente, respectively; as well as several Mizuho representatives from across the organization.
Mizuho also announced recipients of the 2024 Mizuho Americas Scholarship, wherein three outstanding young women who exemplify the Girls Inc. mission that inspires girls to be strong, smart, and bold, were each awarded $5,000 toward their college tuition to further their commitment to self-growth and academic achievement.
The inaugural Mizuho DrivHER Summit was a huge success. More than 30 members of Girls Inc. attended, and the Summit offered an array of role models and activities to help them build self-confidence, identify career pathways, and understand steps to leadership. Based on the girls’ enthusiasm and engagement, it was clear our focus on creating opportunity had a significant impact on everyone involved.
In terms of digital performance, the event was promoted across our social channels and resulted in an engagement rate of 4.4% (62% above benchmark) on LinkedIn, and 12% on Instagram with 36k views (176% above benchmark).
Given the event’s success and positive feedback, the Mizuho DrivHER Summit is set to become a staple of the Mizuho Americas Open tournament week in the years to come.
