An Employee Profile: Elis Martin, Club Engagement Manager
Remarkable Wednesdays
“What on earth is ‘remarkable Wednesdays’?” A thought I had when I first got my job working for PlayerData, back in May. I’m pretty sure if you’ve made your way onto this post you might also be wondering what that might be… So, in short, it is a channel on our work slack page.
Another question you now might have is, “why is there a blog post on PlayerData about a slack channel?”. If that was your thinking process that’s totally fair and if you stick with it, I’ll try my best to explain…
‘Remarkable Wednesdays’ is safe space for the women and non-binary individuals of PlayerData to empower one another and help each other to feel more confident. It's currently a place for Beth, Yola, Helen and I to share our successes for the week, things that have made us proud of ourselves, things that we might not have even noticed if we weren’t paying attention! They range from small everyday wins, to life changing decisions. We post our successes on Wednesdays every week (if we remember) and share congrats, or sometimes advice about the posts.
My first week I don’t think I posted anything, in the second or third I remember being proud of quitting another job, and weeks on from then I find myself looking for parts of my day to feel empowered by and share. So… In honour of ‘Remarkable Wednesdays’, and my incredible female colleagues, I’d like to share some of their wins with you, our PlayerData Community. So that you, too, can begin looking for reasons to be proud of yourself in day to day life!
Shouting about us
Starting with our Chief Operating Officer, Beth. Beth joined PlayerData as a volunteer, working at the Homeless World Cup in Mexico, 2018. She told me herself that she never really even liked football much until then, but the atmosphere and the people in Mexico on that trip changed her perception of football, and that is where her journey with PlayerData began. She quickly became an integral member of the team, working her way to being the COO. Beth’s self-reported wins are modest from my perspective. She is an inspiring woman who has worked tirelessly to ensure the women within PlayerData feel encouraged, empowered and proud of their achievements. This is one of the most difficult jobs around, considering we work in sport and technology; arguably two of the most male-dominated industries out there! Beth helps to make PlayerData an easy place to work for everyone, and someone who keeps the operations team ticking through the trials and tribulations of post-covid life!
Next up in our remarkable whistle-stop tour would be Yola, a full-time PhD student and PlayerData Artificial Intelligence engineer too. Yola is currently studying cardiovascular disease with machine learning...a crossover of medicine and technology that I had never even heard of until they told me! They work with Helen to sort out everything machine learning at PlayerData. Not only is Yola an academic genius (I can hear her disagree, but, yes, she is) she has also completed a half marathon with her dad, and she’s got blue hair!
Last but certainly not least, our other Artificial Intelligence Engineer, Helen. Who is not only tech-smart (duh, self-taught AI engineer with a degree in physics), but also incredibly multi-talented. Helen is also a painter, an accomplished sportsperson (Kendo), and can speak multiple languages! Despite all these talents, you’d very rarely hear Helen talk about them, so you can definitely add modesty to that list too.
Essentially, within PlayerData, we have some remarkable women, who share remarkable things about themselves every Wednesday. I am proud to call them my colleagues. In fact, I would highly recommend doing your own version of ‘Remarkable Wednesdays’. The confidence it can give you to be proud of yourself, looking for small wins in day-to-day life, and celebrating big ones can change your outlook massively. Actually, to prove it works, here’s a bit about me… After-all, Beth did say that I have single-handedly sorted out the social media for the company! In my work, I also push for change in team meetings and constantly campaign for a customer-first approach. Outside of that, I am a rugby player and I work hard in (nearly) every aspect of my life, currently working towards a Masters Degree. Sharing my weekly wins has honestly changed my attitude towards success and failure in life and my career, I would really encourage the whole PlayerData community to try it!
