Impact Interview: Mya Doelling

Name: Mya Doelling

Role/Function: Purpose Partnerships Lead, International Olympic Committee

What are you working on these days?

I’m currently Purpose Partnerships Lead at the International Olympic Committee. Our mission at the IOC is to build a better world through sport. At the Global Partnerships team, we know we can better leverage our commercial partners to support and amplify everything we do.  

There is impressive evidence that companies that harness the power of purpose in sports achieve better financial results, attract and retain the best talent and build loyal customer relationships. As such, we have seen a great opportunity through purpose-led partnerships to become one of the key pillars of the Olympic Partnership (TOP) programme. 

My role is to help deliver more impact by leveraging the tremendous knowledge and resources of our partners for purpose and ensure we’re delivering business value back to those partnerships as well. 

We’re working on a lot of ongoing purpose-led initiatives with our TOP partners. A few examples of these purpose-led initiatives with our TOP partners include the first IOC Climate Action Awards, aimed at recognising and celebrating the great work being undertaken by athletes, National Olympic Committees and International Federations to address climate change. We have seen a high calibre of entries across all categories this year, with the shortlist being announced soon. We’ll invite even more athletes, NOCs and IFs to enter again in 2024 in the run-up to the Paris Games.  

What was the “aha” moment that sparked your interest in social impact?

Not an ‘aha’ moment per se, but my interest certainly comes from my own life experiences. One significant event at an early age inspired me to make social impact a central part of my career. When I was 10 years old, I was diagnosed with Leukaemia. I was an aspiring track athlete at the time. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, my family and I were able to fly to Sydney, Australia for the 2000 Olympics so I could see my pen pal at the time, Marion Jones, compete in track and field. It was truly a moment of pure joy for us going through one of the hardest experiences we’ve ever had to navigate.  

The opportunity to go to one of the sports’ biggest moments enabled me to see how sports can inspire people to do good, aim higher and be better. I saw the immense power in that on both an individual and societal level. What’s more, perhaps not something I noticed at the time, but also the ways in which organisations – like Make-A-Wish and the Sydney Organising Committee – can come together for a purpose.  

I’ve been lucky enough to evolve, grow, and expand this work, starting with the Michael Phelps Foundation back in 2012 and now at the IOC as the Purpose-led Partnerships Lead. 

How did you break into the social impact space?

I got my first social impact-focused role after leaving university. I was Director of the Michael Phelps Foundation prior to and during the London 2012 Games. We combined Michael’s amazing achievements as an athlete with the great work being done by Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Special Olympics International to provide water safety and swim training courses. We also worked closely with partners to create a larger impact and legacy for the work.  

In terms of advice for anyone looking to get into social impact, I would say find an area that you are both passionate about and that aligns with your values. That’s sports for me, but there are lots of other areas to explore. 

Working in social impact is often about driving change. What is the skill or trait that has been most important for your work as a change agent? How did you learn or hone it?

Resiliency. When you’re driving change, you need to be resilient and steadfast in your efforts, especially in your need to be a people motivator. By this, I mean having the ability to convene multiple sectors and people who do not necessarily speak the same industry language so that everyone knows the role they can play and is excited and empowered by the task at hand. Also to find the right champions for you as a leader and the work you hope to achieve. Sponsors and supporters could not be more critical in personal and professional success!

What most excites you about the social impact space right now?

One of the most exciting things about working in social impact is that it’s my role to see the global challenges we’re addressing as opportunities, not as barriers. And the more partners we can find with superpowers that can help in their own way, the more dynamic and long-lasting the impact can be. Working in and leveraging sport as a vehicle for change also often means finding unconventional ways of achieving said impact – so I’m always learning and experiencing new things.  

I think we’re at a pivotal time for the social impact space. Of course, in the last decade, we’ve seen a steady increase in awareness of the benefits of purpose, whether in sport, business, or government. However, with new generations – who are more socially conscious and politically active – making their mark on the world, so much demand for a collective effort to address key societal issues like climate change and inequality, as some examples, means our sector is thriving.  

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