Association for Women in Sports Media is a volunteer-managed, 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1987 as a support network and advocacy group for women who work in sports writing, editing, broadcast and production, and public and media relations. The membership of more than 700 men and women includes professionals in the industry and students aspiring to sports media careers.
AWSM works to promote and increase diversity in sports media through its internship/scholarship program, which has placed about 100 female college students in paid internships since 1990, as well as through mentoring links and career-enhancement initiatives. AWSM annually pays tribute to individuals who have paved the way for women in sports media with the Mary Garber Pioneer Award, and the organization helps those who encounter roadblocks on the trails yet to be blazed.
AWSM was formed in 1987 by four California sportswriters—Nancy Cooney, Susan Fornoff, Michele Himmelberg and Kristin Huckshorn—to create a strong network and advocacy group for the few women who were working at the time in sports media. Forty people attended AWSM's first annual convention in 1988 in Oakland, Calif.