Make-A-Wish Connecticut appoints ESPN’s John Papa to its Board of Directors

Make-A-Wish Connecticut is proud to announce that it has recently appointed John Papa to its Board of Directors. The mission of Make-A-Wish is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Papa is the Vice President of Programming, Content Strategy and Scheduling in the programming department at ESPN where he leads the network scheduling strategy for ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic and ESPN on ABC and also has oversight of the on-air-management, formatting and content rights management teams.

Papa earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Hartford and his Master’s Degree in Sports Management from the University of Connecticut. Papa joined ESPN in 1996 out of college and spent his first 10 years involved with ESPN’s international networks. In 2006, Papa moved to the U.S. side of the business at ESPN, joining the programming department and holding a number of different roles over the last 10 years.

“I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to serve on the Make-A-Wish Connecticut’s Board of Directors and to be part of a team that is positively impacting the lives of so many children, families and communities,” Papa said.

Papa’s presence on the board will help to continue to grow and develop the Connecticut chapter, expanding their reach throughout the state to fulfill the wishes of eligible children. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Make-A-Wish Connecticut, which is celebrating more wishes than ever before.

2016 marked ESPN’s tenth year of collaboration with the Make-A-Wish Foundation on the “My Wish” series, which chronicles sports-themed wishes granted to children with life-threatening medical conditions. For five days each summer, ESPN shows viewers in-depth and emotional stories, starting with how the wish is revealed to how the child interacts with his or her favorite athlete. More than 55 wishes have been fulfilled over the course of the series.

To learn more about Make-A-Wish Connecticut and to learn how you can help make wishes come true, visit CT.WISH.ORG.