Bay Area Host Committee Announces Inagural Winners of BAHC Impact Awards Presented by PNC Bank
Five Visionary Leaders Recognized for Driving Transformative Change Through Sports, Business, and Community
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – (November 26, 2025) -- The Bay Area Host Committee announced today the winners of its inaugural BAHC Impact Awards presented by PNC Bank, honoring five exceptional leaders who are advancing meaningful change through sports, business, and community impact. This marks the first year of the Bay Area Host Committee's Impact Awards program, which recognizes leaders whose work reflects the organization's mission to unite the Bay Area through sport—building pride, connecting communities, and reenergizing the region.
The inaugural BAHC Impact Awards recognize leaders in five categories: Sports Leadership (advancing meaningful change), Sports Business Excellence (building sustainable opportunities), Community Impact (transforming lives at scale), Women's Confidence (empowering women to lead), and Trailblazing (reimagining what's possible).
"These five leaders represent the very best of the Bay Area," said BAHC President & CEO Zaileen Janmohamed. "They challenge the status quo, lead with courage and conviction, and demonstrate that sports and business are powerful engines for community connection, equity, and transformation. Their work embodies our mission to unite the Bay Area through sport by celebrating the diversity and innovation that make our region extraordinary."
To ensure each award truly reflects excellence in its category, the Bay Area Host Committee followed a thoughtful and consistent selection process. Nominees were sourced through community recommendations, partner input, and industry insight. Each candidate was reviewed using a structured rubric that evaluated impact, leadership, alignment with the award category, and the inspiration their work brings to the community. Following this process, a selection committee was chosen, and the group identified the honorees whose work reflects the standards of impact, leadership, and community commitment of the program.
“With global attention on the Bay Area as major sporting events approach, we’re proud to honor the leaders and changemakers using sports to strengthen our communities and drive economic growth,” said Megan Schoettmer, PNC Bank regional president for Northern California.
The 2025 BAHC Impact Awards Winners
SPORTS LEADERSHIP AWARD, Presented by PNC Bank: Steve Kerr, Head Coach, Golden State Warriors
Steve Kerr exemplifies what it means to be a true sports leader. As head coach of the Golden State Warriors since 2014, he has guided the team to four NBA championships and six NBA Finals appearances, including a record-setting 73-win season. He extended that leadership to the world stage in 2024, guiding Team USA to Olympic Gold in Paris and being recognized as USA Basketball’s Coach of the Year that same year.
Beyond his coaching achievements, Kerr has consistently leveraged his platform to address pressing social issues, from gun violence prevention to racial equity and civic engagement. Following the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, his impassioned remarks demanding action on gun safety went viral, sparking a national conversation and earning recognition from President Joe Biden and congressional leaders. In 2023, Kerr transformed a Warriors White House celebration into a policy summit on gun violence prevention, partnering with senior administration officials to advance meaningful dialogue.
Kerr has demonstrated that sports leadership is about far more than winning—it's about advancing meaningful change and inspiring communities.
SPORTS BUSINESS CHAMPION AWARD, Presented by PNC Bank: Lindsay Kauffman, Founder and Coach, Girls Unite
Lindsay Kauffman has dedicated 15 years to empowering young women in the Bay Area through soccer. As founder of Girls Unite, an organization that empowers young girls through soccer with all-female coaching staff, she has created a safe, supportive environment where girls ages 5–18 build confidence, develop leadership skills, and fall in love with the game. Kauffman's impact extends throughout the region. She sponsors free recreational soccer through public schools, has been previously recognized as a San Francisco Unified School District Women's Soccer Coach of the Year and served as assistant coach for the 2013 USA Maccabi Women's Team that won the gold medal. Through Girls Unite, she trains women who want to become coaches, educators, facilitators, and mentors, expanding access to quality sports programming and female leadership in athletics. Her mission is to empower young women through organized and competitive sports while creating a safe space where they can share ideas, build confidence, and express themselves. In a landscape where media and peers often impose limiting expectations, Kauffman provides healthy messages and positive role models, helping girls see their full potential.
COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD, Presented by Kaiser Permanente: 10,000 Degrees
For 44 years, 10,000 Degrees has championed educational equity across the Bay Area. Serving 16,000+ students and families annually across eight counties, the organization combines scholarships with year-round college and financial aid advising, a signature Fellowship program employing recent graduates as near-peer mentors, and comprehensive career success programs. The results are transformative. While just 11% of low-income students nationally graduate from college, 10,000 Degrees achieves an 80% graduation rate. More than 45% of students pursue STEM or healthcare careers, strengthening the Bay Area's workforce pipeline. The organization serves 1,500 community college students annually—populations often underserved by traditional support programs—with transfer and graduation rates three times the national average.
10,000 Degrees exemplifies the spirit of community impact through an unwavering belief in the potential of all students, regardless of GPA, income, or immigration status. The organization's alumna, Imani Lawson, represents this transformative power: a first-generation college graduate who earned her degree in Computer Engineering Technology from Grambling State University, she now works as a Structural Engineer maintaining the BART system. Beyond her career, Imani advocates for STEM education and founded Be You, For Us, a fashion brand that celebrates individuality while honoring community values—a ripple effect that demonstrates how educational equity creates leaders who lift others along the way.
WOMEN'S CONFIDENCE AWARD, Presented by Invisalign: Cathy Adams, President & CEO, Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce
For more than four decades, Cathy D. Adams has been a force for empowerment in the Bay Area, breaking barriers for Black women and championing small businesses. As founding President of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Oakland Bay Area Chapter, she created platforms where young Black women could see themselves thriving. Through Powerful Women of the Bay, she has elevated women leaders across industries, strengthening networks of empowerment throughout the region.
As President and CEO of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce since 2019, Adams demonstrated extraordinary leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing that Black businesses faced extinction, she mobilized the community with fierce urgency and compassion, raising over $1.1 million and providing grants to 250 African American-owned businesses. This initiative earned the OAACC the 2020 Chamber of the Year award from the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce. Adams embodies confidence not as self-serving, but as contagious—inspiring others to believe, act, and rise. Guided by her mother's words—"As you are moving up, take someone with you"—she has transformed countless lives through mentoring, advocacy, and unwavering belief in the potential of her community. Her leadership has earned her numerous honors, including the Jefferson Award, the Ella Hill Hutch Award, and recognition from the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame.
TRAILBLAZER AWARD, Presented by Genentech: Faatimah A., Founder & President, Women's Premier Basketball Association
Faatimah A. is pioneering a bold new model for women's professional sports. In 2022, she founded the Women's Premier Basketball Association (WPBA) to address the lack of opportunities for women athletes beyond college and create an athlete-first development league that guarantees salaries, benefits, and revenue sharing from day one. By embedding equity into the league's foundation, her leadership directly challenges the status quo.
The WPBA is building a developmental pipeline aligned with the WNBA while expanding opportunities for referees, coaches, and executives. Early partnerships with Google Pixel, Gatorade, and Foot Locker, combined with recognition from ESPN, KRON4, and the San Francisco Chronicle, demonstrate her local and global impact. Perhaps most trailblazing was Faatimah's leadership in bringing the WPBA to the international stage. In 2024, she transformed an unprecedented invitation to compete in the FIBA WBLA tournament in Medellín, Colombia into a historic reality. Through tireless fundraising, strategic partnerships, and hands-on leadership, she made the WPBA the first U.S. team ever to compete at that level—a career-defining experience for her athletes and a proud moment for the Bay Area that echoed the region's reputation as a global leader in sports and innovation.
About the Bay Area Host Committee
The Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC) is the region’s first long-term sports entity, dedicated to uniting the Bay Area through sport by building pride, connecting communities, and reenergizing the region. As a nonprofit, BAHC partners with local teams, civic leaders, and businesses to bring world-class sporting events to the Bay Area—driving lasting economic, cultural, and social impact. BAHC is proud to have Boston Consulting Group (BCG), EA SPORTS, Kaiser Permanente, Genentech and other visionary organizations as founding partners, supporting its mission to bring communities together and create lasting legacies through world-class events and sports. For more information, visit www.bayareahostcommittee.com or email us at info@bayareahostcommittee.com.
About PNC Bank
PNC Bank, N.A., is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). PNC is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking, including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com.