The Council for Responsible Sport announced that Shelley Villalobos, its longtime managing director, has been promoted to executive director. Villalobos served as the Council’s certification director for three years prior to being named managing director five years ago.
In making the announcement, Council Board Chair Michele Grossman said: “The Council has been fortunate to have Shelley on staff for the past eight years. Her passion for authentic sustainability, drive to move our mission forward and exceptional relationship-building skills have served us well. And, as we endure the pandemic and its impacts on the sports industry, her leadership is guiding us through some of our most productive moments to ensure we emerge as an even more capable organization.”
Single event certification has been central to the Council’s service offering since its pilot year in 2007. Over the past 18 months, Villalobos worked with a team of sustainability and sporting event production veterans to develop a parallel certification track for organizations that produce multiple events. After peer review and public comment, the Council for Responsible Sport launched the Responsible Standard for Sport Organizations last month.
“Over the years, the Council put a lot of thought into the new Responsible Standard for Sport Organizations,” said Villalobos. “Years of thought before the COVID-induced cessation of sporting events cleared the calendar enough for new program development. In fact, we found enough room on the calendar for two major projects.”
The Council’s other project is a web-based application that will offer on-demand project measurement, tracking and reporting tools for event planners to use to produce sustainable events.
