Two Up2Us Coach alumni were named honorable mentions for the 2023 Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award leading up to The 2023 ESPYS, held on Wednesday, July 12th.

Onyekachukwu (Onyeka) Arah served as an Up2Us Coach from January 2022 to January 2023 at Peaceplayers Baltimore.

You can learn more about Onyekah by reading this piece she wrote for Women’s History Month in 2022.

Ronny Delgado Zavala served as an Up2Us Coach from September 2020 to October 2022 at South Bronx United.

You can learn more about Ronny by reading this piece that featured him for Hispanic Heritage Month in 2021.

Excerpt below taken from ESPN Press Room.

The Billie Jean King 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 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 under-served communities, helping athletes overcome limitations and pursue their passions for sport. Recently, Jordan was selected as one of 100 students in the country to attend the Disney Dreamers Academy, a program that recognizes individuals that are making an impact in their communities.

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 system-wide 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 honorees, the following young people have been given honorable mentions:

• Rumaiz Ahmed, Jamaica, New York

• Onyekachukwu Arah, Silver Spring, Maryland

• Ronny Delgado Zavala, Bronx, New York

• Molly Dreher, Sacramento, California

• Denecia Fernandes, Inglewood, California

• Ana Klenke, Ballwin, Missouri

• Viva Kreis, Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania

• Sandhya Mahesh, Pearland, Texas

• William Munro III, Gainesville, Florida

• Ayanna Shah, San Diego, California