Ice Powered

Estela Rivas-Bryant empowers girls through ice hockey.

Written By Nancy Sokoler Steiner | Photographed by Michael Neveux

Some are in the foster care system. Others have single parents. All come from circumstances that don’t normally allow for participating in private sports. Yet these 12 girls have all found an unlikely home on the ice, thanks to their involvement in the Empowerment Effect. The fledgling nonprofit introduces ice hockey to girls from underserved communities.

Estela Rivas-Bryant founded Empowerment Effect in the fall of 2021 to foster confidence among girls who could use a boost. The group holds practice clinics twice a month as well as a monthly mentorship or community service activity.

“Being able to conquer something so different and unique really brings out the best in these girls,” says Rivas-Bryant, a production manager for a company that makes sports documentaries. “And it extends beyond the ice. We see them taking home and school responsibilities more seriously.”

Along with Rivas-Bryant, a group of seven other women ice hockey players—all with other day jobs—forms the volunteer board of directors. An additional 14 women volunteer as coaches.

“The whole project is built on mentorship. These women want to be the example they didn’t get to see in their own youth,” says Rivas-Bryant.

The group currently consists of 12 girls, and Rivas-Bryant aims to recruit a total of 30 participants. While comprised of girls ages 7 to 16, the focus is on those ages 7 and 8. Referrals come from social service providers such as the Torrance office of Los Angeles County Child Services.

Empowerment Effect aims to teach participants things they might not otherwise learn. For example, at one session a banker spoke to the girls about credit and budgeting.

Estela Rivas-Bryant, a longtime ice hockey enthusiast, is the founder of Empowerment Effect, a nonprofit that introduces ice hockey to girls from underserved communities.

The Los Angeles Kings sponsor Empowerment Effect through their We Are All Kings program, providing ice time at their Paramount facility and funds toward gear and equipment. At a Kings game in November, the girls lined up in the player tunnel and gave high-fives to the players as they skated into the arena. Rivas-Bryant and representatives from two other community service organizations dropped the ceremonial puck. The National Hockey League also gave a grant to Empowerment Effect.

Rivas-Bryant discovered the sport as an adolescent, and it became an integral part of her life. She played ice hockey at West Los Angles College and met her husband on the ice. She says Empowerment Effect is “a group project” for her family. Her husband and son attend practices and her son, 14, acts as a junior coach for the youngest players. “I couldn’t do it without their support,” she says.

Rivas-Bryant believes in giving back—something she thinks everyone who is able should do. “I love hockey. It’s given me confidence, and I want to share that with others.” •