Women In Esports // PNC X Knights Pittsburgh Knights

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is vital to a positive and welcoming culture, but it can be scary to tackle. How do you go about it? What if  you’re unsure what to do next? What if you make a mistake? In this episode, we talk with Carmen DeMint, a DEI strategist who created community and opportunity for women in gaming before it was a main topic of discussion. We talk about the dos and don’ts when it comes to DEI, and how you can apply best practices at your own organization or company.   Carmen DeMint is a passionate Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Strategist and Human Resource Generalist leader with more than 20 years of experience working with diverse businesses. She is thoroughly invested in supporting organizations to cultivate equitable, diverse, and inclusive work cultures and environments where their employees can thrive, feel seen, be safe, have a sense of belonging, show up as their most authentic self, and do their best work.

In this Women in Esports episode, we dive into How to Become a Pro Gamer in Highschool and middle school. Getting into Esports as a young person.

Women In Esports S3E3 // Pitfalls, Pitstops, and Opportunities: What You Need To Know When Considering A Career in Esports/Sports


With so many existing and emerging opportunities for careers in esports and sports, the overwhelm can get real. Do you join an existing organization or do you start your own esports/sports adjacent business?

Do you seek to become a pro player/driver, engineer/mechanic, do you sit in front of the camera as a caster or do you run the show as a production lead? There are more opportunities than ever for women to get involved in esports/sports, and the landscape is ever changing.

In this panel, leaders from PNC and members of the Knights Invstr Rocket League team and members of the PNC Chip Ganassi IndyCar team come together to deliver a roadmap of opportunities, pitfalls, and considerations women looking to enter the esports/sports industry should keep in mind.

Guests: PNC, Knights Valerie Shin-lau, Knights Women Rocket league team members Zoelle gg, Pepper and Jade and members of PNC’s Chip Ganassi IndyCar Racing team.

Advocacy and Activism isn’t a new concept in the gaming and esports industry, but there are certainly right and wrong ways to go about creating lasting change. In this episode, we talk with Verta Maloney, Co-Founder of the*GameHERS, about how she’s built a thriving and supportive community for femme-identifying gamers, why authenticy always matters, and some tips for women who want to enter the gaming industry.

As more and more colleges and universities adopt esports programs, students who want to go pro in competitive esports or build a career in the industry have more choices than ever. In this episode we speak with Sari Kitelyn, the woman responsible for building out the esports program at Full Sail University. From tips on making the most of a collegiate program to a glimpse at how Full Sail University pulls women into the gaming community, this episode is one you don’t want to miss if you’re running a collegiate esports program or are looking to join one.

After seven incredible episodes spanning how women can go pro and advocate for themselves to mental health and how non-endemic companies are powering the growth of esports, we needed to take a minute to reflect on everything we learned. In this episode, we host a roundtable with Jonathan, Angelica, Valerie, and Matt (dare we say, Knights of the roundtable?) to wrap up Season Two of the Women in Esports Podcast. Join us to reflect on what resonated most throughout the season, dive into why the Women in Esports initiative is so important, and what the Knights have in store for 2022.