2023 BJK Youth Leadership Award Honorees
The Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award celebrates and honors young people who are using the power of sport as a catalyst for change and making a positive impact on society. The three national honorees will be featured in “The 2023 ESPYS.”
Jordan Adeyemi: Jordan Adeyemi is a student-athlete and a Special Olympics Youth Ambassador for Georgia, a role which has allowed him to represent and raise awareness around inclusion, and support for those with disabilities. He is helping to break down the stigmas surrounding disabilities and encouraging others to view individuals based on their strengths and talents, rather than their limitations. Adeyemi also has co-founded Shoeless Ones, a nonprofit program that helps to level the playing field by providing athletic shoes to kids in underserved communities, helping athletes overcome limitations and pursue their passions for sport. To date, Shoeless Ones has donated over 500 pairs of shoes in the United States and Nigeria, with the hope of donating 5,000 pairs of shoes by 2028.
Ashley Badis: A student-athlete at the University of Hawaii, Ashley Badis is one of four plaintiffs in a landmark Title IX lawsuit. During her time competing in swimming and water polo in high school, Badis found that female athletes were treated like second-class citizens compared to male athletes. Badis wanted to stand up not only for the female athletes on her team but for all girls in the school so they would not experience the same problems she had. Badis has filed a class action Title IX lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, seeking systemwide change and Title IX compliance to end gender discrimination in high school sports.
Rishan Patel: Richan Patel is the founder and CEO of the sports equity nonprofit, AlleyOop Kids, and its legacy project Lending Lockers. The 16-year-old from California started the Lending Lockers, which installs lockers filled with sports equipment at under-resourced schools. In just 10 months, Lending Lockers have been installed at more than 65 schools, serving over 50,000 youth in his community. Patel has also empowered Locker Captains, who are fellow students that are equally passionate about sports equity, and they manage inventory and gear drives for their locker. The project has expanded to assisted living facilities for neurodiverse young adults, and he recently partnered with EmpowerHER in India to provide lockers to dozens of all-girls schools.
In addition to the three Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award national honorees, the following young people have been recognized as regional honorees:
– Rumaiz Ahmed, Jamaica, N.Y.
– Onyekachukwu Arah, Silver Spring, Md.
– Ronny Delgado Zavala, Bronx, N.Y.
– Molly Dreher, Sacramento, Calif.
– Denecia Fernandes, Inglewood, Calif.
– Ana Klenke, Ballwin, Mo.
– Viva Kreis, Belle Vernon, Pa.
– Sandhya Mahesh, Pearland, Texas
– William Munro III, Gainesville, Fla.
– Ayanna Shah, San Diego, Calif.