As a child, Juliana Zavala dreaded buying groceries with her mom. They had to walk one mile to the store, and her mother liked to stop and chat with every neighbor they met on their way.
But today, Juliana acknowledges those moments gave her much more than boredom. As the senior manager of elementary sports at Chicago Public Schools and an advocate for female athletes, she had a pivotal role in starting the girls’ flag football league in Illinois, with support from the Chicago Bears and the NFL. And she guarantees one of their athletes will be at the Olympics in 2028. Last December, the Bears honored her with the 2023 Inspire Change Changemaker Award.
Those trips to the grocery store required a lot of patience, but Juliana learned an important lesson: investing time in networking and sharing one’s experiences can change people’s lives.
“That has been my career path,” she shared with host Amy Boyle during the latest episode of the Speaking of Phenomenal podcast. “Picking people’s brains, trying to figure out, how can I become a better leader? How can I become a better administrator to make sure that other student athletes have better opportunities than I did?”
Juliana, the daughter of two Mexican immigrants, was raised in Little Village, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side. She has four sisters and a brother but was the only one interested in sports growing up. She played soccer and eventually became a coach at UIC and an athletic director. She enjoys being “behind the scenes and making sure that others have a great experience.”
Exchanging ideas has been part of her whole career. At the Chicago Public Schools, she is constantly in touch with other cities like Miami and Los Angeles to learn from their experiences not only with sports, but social and emotional education too. “It’s not just going out there and just playing games,” she said. “Sports is a tool to help kids guide them, and it’s their vehicle for their next chapter in life.”
She put those same network efforts into helping start girls’ flag football in Illinois. Despite obstacles like finding proper spaces for practice and overcoming resistance from people worried about keeping other girls’ sports, Juliana persevered. “This has to happen,” she thought at the time.
They kicked off the league in 2021. Juliana initially hoped to gather six to eight Chicago public league, but 21 played in the end. Today, the league has a total of 150 teams throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
Besides leading the girl’s flag football league, Juliana is a mother of two boys, aged one and two years old, and has a very busy life. She often brings them to practice and games to show young women that motherhood is compatible with sports and professional life. “You can do both,” is the message she wants to leave. “You can be a mom and you can also be a leader.”
As Juliana helps transform the sports landscape in Illinois, her behind-the-scenes work has changed a bit. She feels more comfortable passing unnoticed but knows that many girls see her as an inspiration and want to hear about her experience.
Juliana’s story invites us to look at our passions, then at our network, and think: where do I want to get? Who are the people who share my passions? How can we make a change together?
Have you ever asked yourself these questions?
Carolina Baldin is a freelance journalist from Brazil. Having worked in law, policy and regulation, she is passionate about everyday stories that illustrate larger issues. She graduated from a master's program at Northwestern University in 2023 and became a guest blogger on the "Speaking of Phenomenal" podcast blog in March 2024.
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