Diversity In Football, Women in Football participants who were hired

CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO –The Canadian Football League is committed to creating a workplace culture that promotes inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility.

The CFL recognizes and respects the values and perspectives of all employees in hopes of fostering positive learning and working environments. It encourages collaboration, and an interconnected and supportive team culture, where everyone is heard, diversity of thought and experience is valued, and every idea is considered based on merit and potential.

Those principles led to the creation of the Women in Football Program presented by KPMG and the Diversity in Football Program presented by Securian Canada two years ago. Since then, dozens of participants have been able to take part in training camp with CFL teams and experience coaching, or the football operations sides of the league. Some of these individuals continue to be a part of these organizations, while others moved on to other opportunities.

CFL.ca brings you a list of past participants who were hired.

Sadia Ashraf works with the Alouettes video crew during game day (Supplied, Saadia Ashraf)

Nate Taylor (running back coach) was part of the program in 2022 before joining the REDBLACKS in 2023 for his first season as a CFL coach. The Montreal native and former defensive back for the Concordia Stingers joined the team after a stint as the offensive coordinator and receivers coach for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. Taylor joined the school as full-time special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator in 2016. In 2019, Taylor became the team’s receivers coach, while still serving as recruiting coordinator.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats also hired former participants in Paige Ottaviano (Business Operations) and Greg Coates-Cameron (Coordinator, Football Operations) who were the 2022 and 2023 participants respectively. Emily Todd (Game Day Operations Volunteer) and Taylor McIntyre (Manager, Grey Cup Festival) performed roles with the organization before moving on to other opportunities.

Sadia Ashraf (game day role) still takes part in game days with the Montreal Alouettes after participating in 2022. Shaylee Ford (head of video) has been hired as the video coordinator for the Edmonton Elks after taking part in 2023 and Elisha Torraville (Manager, football operations) spent time with the team before exploring new challenges. Finally, Tatrina Medvescek (game day role) also spent some time with the Calgary Stampeders after being a 2023 participant.

Finally, 2023 participant Tara Mrakic has since been elected to the board of directors at Football Canada (2023-2026). The three-time Coach of the Year honours recipient from the Réseau des Sports étudiants du Québec (RSEQ) is serving her first time ever as director-at-large with Football Canada.

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