When veteran NFL reporter Laura Okmin started her career nearly 30 years ago, she could count the number of women in the room or on the field on one hand.

"I did my first 40 years of life without a group of girlfriends - in work and in life," Okmin told NBC. "It was so hard to build our own careers in a time where there weren’t many women in the room. We weren’t thinking about helping others, it was self-preservation."

As her career went on, she noticed a shift: more women were entering the sports reporting industry, but not always with the necessary training to succeed.

Okmin saw media companies hiring women and putting them in higher positions faster as the corporate desire for female representation grew.

"I saw a lot of skipped steps - which may be OK for a cool job, but not for building lasting careers," Okmin said. "I became protective. I knew it was shattering the confidence of these young women, not on a game day, but every day. They weren’t ready - as I wouldn’t have been - but they also couldn't turn down terrific opportunities. So I started asking myself, 'how can I help? How can I help them be ready?'"

Okmin's answer to those questions? GALvanize.

What is GALvanize?

In 2011, Okmin launched GALvanize, an organization aimed at empowering and educating women who want to work in sports as reporters, producers, directors, agents, writers, or in sports marketing. Through boot camps, workshops and coaching, women in the field learn their craft through intentional mentorship.

At the time, it took four months to find 20 women who wanted to participate. Now, there are thousands of women and a waiting list to follow.

“As someone who doesn't have children, it really makes me feel like I'm a mom to thousands of women,” Okmin said. “I did my first years in this business without women in my life and I look back and I can't even imagine that because now my army of women is strong.”

When GALvanize began, many of the women participating wanted to be sports broadcasters.

Now, the program has grown to include women who want to work behind the scenes in many other areas of the sports business: producing, directing, working as agents, writing, in public relations and in marketing.

GALvanize joins NBC Local at Super Bowl LVIII

GALvanize is partnering with NBCUniversal Local for the NFL’s Super Bowl LVIII.

As a part of the partnership, NBCUniversal Local will offer expertise and resources to seven select women involved in GALvanize, who will work in producing and editing content.

The women will be stationed at Radio Row at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas and focus on camera and workflow tutorials, NFL Opening Night production at Allegiant Stadium and content capturing.

Having navigated covering the Super Bowl as a “one man band,” Okmin says the women are set up for success far better because they will be learning together.

"In a business that will test your confidence and self-worth every step of the way, there is nothing that replaces having women around you to remind you who you are. To build you up. To tell you you’re doing the best you can. To tell you to forgive yourself for making a mistake, because they know. That would’ve changed my young life if I had had that support," Okmin said.

The change I’m hoping to see in the next wave of women is more of them wanting to enter this profession so they can hire those jobs. We need them.

Laura Okmin, founder of GALvanize

Aside from the technical growth, Okmin hopes the women continue to view each other as assets, instead of competition – something difficult to navigate in an often cutthroat world.

Viewing other women in this light will continue to move the collective needle forward for women in the industry, especially when it comes to executive leadership, Okmin said.

"If I wanted to count the number of women executives, the women who truly make lasting change to our profession, I’m back to being able to count those on one hand," Okmin said.

"The change I’m hoping to see in the next wave of women is more of them wanting to enter this profession so they can hire those jobs. We need them. One of my favorite things about the growth of GALvanize is having so many women who do not want to be on camera. We need you in the trucks and in the executive offices."

To learn more about GALvanize visit the website here.