Meet Sofie Svelander | Co-founder & Head of Marketing at GameChangers Inc

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sofie Svelander and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sofie, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
GameChangers is a registered Non-Profit that was founded to close a gap in the workplace – a lack of dynamic, professional development resources geared towards ambitious women who are seeking out growth and looking for unique ways to gain career momentum.

We offer curated professional development retreats to advance equality in the workplace and accelerate the growth of female leaders. In our retreats, we provide women with a professional development greenhouse experience, where they can sharpen their skill set, expand their capabilities, and break down personal career obstacles.

During our retreats, we create curated workshops focusing on areas that attendees have expressed a need to master. This year we covered topics on Imposter Syndrome, How to Speak Like a Leader, and Crucial Conversations, to mention a few. We also facilitate small group sessions, where the attendees get an opportunity to share a current career obstacle with their group, and then the group brainstorm solutions, ideas and provide feedback. GameChangers aim is to help empower women to rise in influence, impact, and esteem.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been very passionate about women’s rights and equality. Before I moved to the US, I completed a certificate program in women’s rights and leadership in Sweden. As a part of the program, I spent 3 months volunteering in Israel and Palestine, launching women’s groups with a focus on educating women about entrepreneurship and computer skills amongst other things.

After finishing my undergrad, I pivoted into marketing and ended up spending three years working within brand building and creative processes at Google. However, I still had that urge of wanting to do more for women, preferably by using my experience and expertise in marketing.

Last year, I finally found the outlet to do so. After part-taking at the mini-pilot GameChangers retreat, me and Rachael (the GC founder) connected and quickly realized we complimented each other perfectly in terms of knowledge areas and both had the same drive. A few months later, we had registered GameChangers as a non-profit and started our work towards building the organization it is today. We recently had our launch retreat in Tulum, where 15 GameChanging women came together to find their moment of career lift.

The journey to get to where I am today has not been easy. Moving to the US was a dream coming true, but it required a lot of hard sacrifices – working two jobs on top of full-time studies, being far away from family and the constant uncertainty about the future was tough. But all those obstacles and challenges shaped me into who I am: resilient, compassionate and hard working. I am proud that I never gave up, and that I stayed true to who I am along the way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Miami is a great getaway for some sun, people-watching, tasty food and late night dancing! I love the large selection of health focused restaurants and activities, so I’d start by taking my friend for some Vegan Bao Sliders and Edamame Dumplings at Planta in South Beach. Before we leave, I’ll make sure to grab us a refreshing Cucumber Mule Mocktail to sip on while we head over to our cold plunge session. Growing up in the north of Sweden, I learned early on about the health benefits of ice baths, so to kick off my friend’s visit right and get us energized, I’m grabbing us a day pass at Miami Ice Club.

If we want to go all in on carbs for dinner, I’d take my friend to Forte Dei Marmi. Their pasta is just *chefs kiss*, and to top the meal off, we would finish with some tiramisu.
During her stay, I would also make sure that we stop by Komodo to enjoy their gorgeous decor and awesome Southeast Asian cuisine, grab a Green Deluxe Juice at Pura Vida, and chill at the beach club at The Savoy. For shopping, I would swing by the newly opened Acne Studio store to check out their SS 2023 collection.

Before ending the trip, we would head to Joia Beach for a Sunday party brunch. Sipping on an ice cold glass of Chardonnay and singing along to some early 2000 tunes before heading to the airport seems like the perfect way to end the trip to me!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a shoutout to my business partner and friend Rachael Rogers.

She had a vision of gathering all the GameChanging women she knew so they could share career advice, discuss career obstacles, offer feedback, and encouragement. Last year, that vision grew into a trip to the Dominican Republic, where I, together with other GameChanging women, had a magical career greenhouse experience.
A few months after the trip, Rachael and I started to discuss the idea of us joining forces and building GameChangers together. We stayed up most of the night brainstorming and planning, and we have more or less been inseparable since then.

Rachael is such a hardworking, ambitious woman who inspires me to keep pushing, keep working and never give up!

Website: https://www.gamechangersretreat.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gamechangers_retreat/