Eva Havaris

Eva Havaris is a former elite soccer player, a veteran executive leader in the Canadian sport industry, an advocate for gender equity, and the founder of Leadership Mindset by Design, a leadership development and coaching agency that has supported over 70 women-identified leaders across several industries. In her current role as the Vice President of Partnerships and Participation at Canada’s leading National Sport Organization (NSO), Tennis Canada, Eva has driven significant impact and change in partnership with women and girls. Featured in national media on gender inequity and advancing gender equity in sport, Eva has a Master of Arts in Sport Management and published a thesis on the organizational effectiveness of Sport Canada’s sport funding and accountability framework.

In 2022, Eva led the development and deployment of Tennis Canada’s first-ever gender equity advancement strategy; created senior leadership roles and leadership development opportunities for women in tennis focusing on advancing gender equity; and designed and launched the inaugural UNMATCHED Gender Equity in Sports Conference. Dedicated to putting action behind words and disrupting the status quo, Eva’s passion for sports has personal ties. As a former Division One collegiate soccer player and coach, Eva earned numerous accolades, most notably being recognized as the Canadian University Sport women’s soccer MVP in 2003. She was later inducted into the Western Mustangs Hall of Fame in 2019. While she was still coaching, Eva launched her career as an Executive in the Canadian Sport industry, working at the provincial and national levels in sport. She joined Rugby Canada in 2006 and worked as the Associate Director of High-Performance Women’s Rugby and Rugby Development Manager until 2010. She later went on to serve as CEO of two NSO’s, Taekwondo Canada (2010-2014) and Equestrian Canada (2014-2017), and was a founding member of the Anti-Racism, Equity, and Diversity Committee for Ontario Soccer, with whom she still volunteers today.