Iliana Limón Romero ran unopposed for the Association for Women in Sports Media board president and begins her 2022-23 term on Oct. 1. She previously has served multiple terms as AWSM board chair and vice president for fundraising. Limón Romero also was a mentor in the inaugural AWSM Champions class. She is the Los Angeles Times assistant managing editor for sports / sports editor. She helped the Times win Associated Press Sports Editors 2021 grand slam honors. She previously was the sports editor at the Orlando Sentinel, where she contributed to the paper’s Pulitzer finalist coverage of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Limón Romero is an El Paso, Texas, native, University of New Mexico alum and National Association of Hispanic Journalists Sports Task Force co-chair.‍

Iliana on why she decided to run for president:

AWSM connected me to an incredibly supportive group of friends and mentors who helped me navigate challenging times throughout my career and ultimately become the first woman to serve as sports editor at the Los Angeles Times. I’m also the only Latina sports editor at a major newspaper in the United States. Like most AWSM members, I stand out at every work event I attend. My first AWSM convention showed me how much this organization has to offer its members. I felt like I could conquer any challenge in front me after sharing stories with others who faced the same obstacles and found creative solutions to their problems. In the past, I served as the AWSM board chair and vice president for fundraising. As the organization pushes to emerge from pandemic-induced setbacks, it's my honor to serve as AWSM’s president and help bolster support for our student and professional members. It’s an opportunity to give back to an organization that helped open many doors for me.

Iliana on her goals for AWSM:

AWSM was hit hard by the pandemic. In-person networking and support are a huge part of who we are and that simply was not possible for several years. Students and professional leaders did our best to offer robust digital programming and ease back toward in-person events. I’m proud we have helped many members find new jobs, internships and promotions since the pandemic began. Funding from our traditional partners, however, plummeted as their budgets were cut. We are grateful we were able to host a small convention in Denver this year and had a few key corporate partners continue to support us. My focus will be on building on that momentum, calling on everyone from our most experienced veterans who helped establish this organization to our newest members to do all they can to help an outstanding all-volunteer organization that provides support and professional development opportunities for women working in all aspects of sports media. I’m committed to leading a strong year of fundraising and programming to get AWSM back to its healthiest levels. We’re well on our way, and I think the future is incredibly bright if we all work together.

Interested in volunteering with AWSM’s board? Email awsmboard@gmail.com for details or to express interest.