Jim Abbott is an University of Michigan Baseball Hall of Famer and veteran MLB pitcher known for being born with one hand. His parents never treated him any differently and taught him to live independently and joyfully. Growing up, Jim played multiple sports and joined his high school football team as quarterback, but he ultimately chose baseball when he went to University of Michigan.

As a kid, Jim's dad worked with him to improve on speed and technique, perfecting what's now known as the Abbott switch. While pitching, Jim would balance his glove on his right wrist, where the arm ends, pitching with his left arm. When fielding, he'd quickly switch the glove to his left hand. Despite having offers to play professionally out of high school, Jim opted to attend University of Michigan where he earned the Golden Spikes Award.

1988, Jim's junior year at University of Michigan, proved to be an exciting one as he won Big Ten Athlete of the Year, signed with the Angels, played in the Pan American games, defeating Cuba in the finals, AND helped lead the US Olympic baseball team to gold at the summer games in Seoul, South Korea.

After playing with the Angels for four seasons, he was traded to the Yankees, where he and his wife navigated big city life as a young couple. In 1993, Jim famously threw a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians, and the season was halted the following year due to the MLB strike. He eventually signed with the White Sox as a free agent and then re-signed with the Angels in 1996. Jim discusses his struggles through his professional career and how he had to meet some deeply-buried fears head-on to realize and appreciate that there's much more to him as a person than playing in the MLB.

Jim retired from baseball in '97 and unlocked his passion for sharing his story to encourage others to persevere and overcome seemingly impossible challenges.

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Jim Abbott is an University of Michigan Baseball Hall of Famer and veteran MLB pitcher known for being born with one hand. His parents never treated him any differently and taught him to live independently and joyfully. Growing up, Jim played multiple sports and joined his high school football team as quarterback, but he ultimately chose baseball when he went to University of Michigan.

As a kid, Jim's dad worked with him to improve on speed and technique, perfecting what's now known as the Abbott switch. While pitching, Jim would balance his glove on his right wrist, where the arm ends, pitching with his left arm. When fielding, he'd quickly switch the glove to his left hand. Despite having offers to play professionally out of high school, Jim opted to attend University of Michigan where he earned the Golden Spikes Award.

1988, Jim's junior year at University of Michigan, proved to be an exciting one as he won Big Ten Athlete of the Year, signed with the Angels, played in the Pan American games, defeating Cuba in the finals, AND helped lead the US Olympic baseball team to gold at the summer games in Seoul, South Korea.

After playing with the Angels for four seasons, he was traded to the Yankees, where he and his wife navigated big city life as a young couple. In 1993, Jim famously threw a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians, and the season was halted the following year due to the MLB strike. He eventually signed with the White Sox as a free agent and then re-signed with the Angels in 1996. Jim discusses his struggles through his professional career and how he had to meet some deeply-buried fears head-on to realize and appreciate that there's much more to him as a person than playing in the MLB.

Jim retired from baseball in '97 and unlocked his passion for sharing his story to encourage others to persevere and overcome seemingly impossible challenges.

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Pilar Ramos serves as the Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of TelevisaUnivision, Inc. In this role, she leads the Law, Compliance, Government Affairs, Business & Legal Affairs, Standards & Practices, and Rights Management functions. She is a core member of the company’s executive leadership team and serves as secretary to the Board. Ms. Ramos joined the company during a pivotal moment, navigating a major strategic merger that resulted in the creation of TelevisaUnivision, now recognized as the world’s leading Spanish-language media and content company.

Before joining TU in 2021, Ms. Ramos held several senior positions at Mastercard, most recently as Executive Vice President & General Counsel, North America—the company’s largest business unit. Prior
to that role, she served as Senior Vice President, Global Public Policy & Regulatory Strategy Counsel, leading a global advocacy team on public policy and regulatory matters across diverse markets, spanning Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, and Latin America. In that role, Ms. Ramos played a key role in addressing global trade in data and services, market access and competition law issues, and financial regulation matters. Prior to her long tenure at Mastercard, she served as General Counsel of a start-up marketplace, residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and as corporate counsel at DIRECTV Latin America.

Ms. Ramos began her legal career as an associate in the corporate group at Simpson Thacher, in both the New York City and London offices.

Ms. Ramos earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she served as an Executive Editor of The Law Review. She earned her Bachelor of Arts cum laude in International
Relations and French from Penn. As part of her undergraduate work, she studied at l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques & Sciences in Paris, France.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Ms. Ramos is deeply committed to leveraging diversity for the betterment of business and society. She is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, serves as Co-Chair of the Penn Law Alumni Advisory Board on Equity and Inclusion, and holds positions on the Board of LatinoJustice and the Board of Advisors of the University of Miami Law School’s Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Program. She also remains an advisor to the Board of the YWCA Greenwich, on which she previously served. A passionate and practical leader, Ms. Ramos serves as a generous mentor through various channels, including The 30% Club, and advocates for diversity in the legal profession, particularly in leadership roles, including through her involvement in The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

Ms. Ramos has been honored with leadership recognitions, including the Legal Momentum Aiming High Award, Council of Urban Professionals Change Agent Award, Corporate Counsel National
Transformational Leadership Award, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Legal Champion of the Arts Award, Latino Justice Lucero Award, Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award, and Penn Law Women’s Association Award.

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