Kwan to co-chair IOC women's conference

LOS ANGELES – Retired figure skater Michelle Kwan and Hollywood producer Frank Marshall will co-chair the organizing committee for the International Olympic Committee Women and Sport Conference in 2012.

Their appointments were announced Thursday by the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games. The three-day event will be Feb. 16-18 in Los Angeles, marking the first time the quadrennial conference is held in the United States.

IOC President Jacques Rogge is scheduled to attend the conference, which typically is attracts delegates from National Olympic Committees.

Kwan says the conference plays a role in identifying ways to improve and increase participation of women in sports worldwide.

Marshall, whose producing credits include "Seabiscuit" and "The Color Purple," says a gender gap exists in the upper reaches of sports management. The conference will bring together women and men from around the world to find ways to change that dynamic.