From its groundbreaking partnership with Kim Kardashian’s Skims brand to its female-focused Super Bowl commercial, Nike has made no secret of its mission to attract more women to its brand.

For the past five years, it has also brought a group of high-powered athletes together to discuss challenges women face in sports and to brainstorm solutions. Among those who have participated in what Nike calls the Athlete Think Tank are Serena Williams, Sabrina Ionescu, Chloe Kim and many others from a wide variety of sports.

Among those who have been involved in the past year are Olympic medalists Sanya Richards-Ross and Sha’Carri Richardson, former WNBA star Sue Bird, Peloton instructor Jess Sims, soccer player Carson Pickett, football player Tayla Harris and college basketball star JuJu Watkins.

The most recent group, which Nike calls the Cohort 4.0, met during the Paris Olympics last summer and again in Mexico in November.

“I’m a part of Cohort 4.0 but I’ve been with Nike for a long time — 20 years this year,” said Richards-Ross. “It was just amazing to be part of such a unique group of women. It was mind-blowing, life-changing, satisfying.”

Tanya Hvizdak, vice president of global sports marketing for Nike, said there have been several breakthroughs from the Cohort groups over the years including the Leakproof collection of period-proof products, a Nike-specific Hyperice recovery boot, and the fact that white soccer shorts are a big no-no.

The athletes in the Think Tank have also served as champions for women’s sports in general. “Five years ago, they were talking about how we can help drive viewership and how we can make sure there’s equity in pay,” Hvizdak said.

Richards-Ross said it’s inspiring to see how popular women’s sports have become — although it was a long time coming. “I’ve known the talent has always been there, the stories have always been there,” she said. “And now, for a lot of reasons, I think there’s the much-deserved attention and support that female athletes need to thrive. I want to see more superstars, more coverage, more equity in pay. I’m rooting for women to continue to be great ambassadors of sport and inspire the next generation.”

In addition, the Cohorts have also brought mental health to the forefront. “Something else that came up that I don’t think we were anticipating was how much mental health was playing into the space of competition,” Hvizdak said. “I think we always focus on mental performance, but not mental health. So now we’re really focusing on the whole athlete, beyond just the space of sport. As a brand, you’ve seen us start to accelerate in those areas, and it’s really because of the work of this group.”

Richards-Ross said she believes “we’re headed in the right direction when it comes to supporting women in sports and giving women an opportunity to be heard and seen. Nike now pays so much attention to athletes holistically. And that’s the part that I want to continue to see. I feel like there’s always that athlete inside of us, whether we’re competitive professionally or not. So what does that journey look like for all women? And how do we support women as they continue on that journey of being their best selves? I see that change, and I know we’re going to continue to get better at that.”

Hvizdak also believes there’s still a lot of work to be done for women who are actively competing, like Watkins, or those who have moved onto other chapters of their lives like Richards-Ross who is now a broadcaster, entrepreneur and soon to be a mother of three. “The conversations look different,” she said. “We’re now pouring into them as individuals and that’s a much different landscape than it was five years ago. And that’s the beauty of it: they see themselves differently and I’m grateful we’ve been able to play a role in that journey.”

Watkins, a sophomore at USC who has won nearly every conceivable award for an amateur female basketball player, said her time working in the Think Tank has been enlightening. “It was just a really empowering experience,” she said of her time in Paris during the Olympics. “I left there with so much knowledge and inspiration to go home and practice — not only my craft and getting better at basketball, but also becoming more of a woman and growing up. I was around so many older women who seemed like they had their whole life figured out.”