THE MEMBERSHIP-LED COMMUNITY IS DEDICATED TO ADVANCING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, ALONG WITH CULTURAL AND GENDER INTELLIGENCE, IN THE SPORTS INDUSTRY
September 10, 2020 (New York, NY) – Today a group of esteemed sports business executives have united to launch a first-of-its-kind, industry-wide, and mission-driven community called PRO SPORTS ASSEMBLY (“The Assembly”) – a 501(c)(3) organization for people who work in professional sports which aims by 2030 to achieve parity in opportunity, pay and leadership amongst its workforce.
Designed to keep leagues, teams and unions both knowledgeable and accountable for delivering an equitable and profitable future in professional sports organizations – The Assembly is a membership-led community that challenges its industry to advance diverse and inclusive leadership. It believes that by developing cultural and gender intelligence, as well as setting best practices of stewardship, mentorship and allyship, professional sports properties can drive innovation, bolster financial performance, capture new markets and increase brand loyalty. The Assembly is aggressive in its vision and stance to create the future of its industry through the #PowerofProSports.
“We are united in game plan, and diverse in council,” says Shareef Abdur-Rahim, President of NBA G League and Founding Advisory Board Member of The Assembly. “We organized our Founding Boards to represent the diversity that our industry-at-large needs to see. In order to truly advance collectively – we must use an equity lens in leadership.”
Jessica Berman, NLL Deputy Commissioner & Executive Vice President, Business Affairs, added, “Sports are community assets and those communities deserve to have diverse perspectives making decisions. Change in our industry will take time and we will be relentless in its pursuit. I am proud to be among this esteemed group of professionals who are committed to this goal; it will be healthy both for the sport of lacrosse and for the future of sports.”
“For every five athletes you see on the field of play, there are 95 people behind the scenes bringing that game to life,” says Laura Dixon, Head of External Relations for Spurs Sports + Entertainment, and Founding Governing Board Member of The Assembly. “The people who work for professional sports teams, leagues and unions now have a place to connect and collaborate on the critical issues facing our industry. The larger our membership, the more impactful we can be in our purpose of advancing diverse, productive and inclusive leadership. The power of pro sports is truly in its people.”
See below a complete list of The Assembly’s Founding Board Members (in alphabetical order):
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
- Andy Loughnane – President, Austin FC
- Cynt Marshall – CEO, Dallas Mavericks
- Ese Ighedosa – President, House of Athlete
- Hugh Weber – President, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment
- Jessica Berman – Deputy Commissioner, National Lacrosse League
- Kenneth Shropshire – CEO, Global Sport Institute, Arizona State University
- Kyle Bunch – Managing Director, Global Sports Venture Studios
- Len Perna – CEO, Turnkey Search
- Michele Roberts – Executive Director, National Basketball Players Association
- Shareef Abdur-Rahim – President, NBA G-League
- Shelley Zalis – CEO, The Female Quotient
- Theresa Tran – Founder, The Offense
- Tom Glick – President, Tepper Sports & Entertainment
- Xavier Guiterrez – CEO, Arizona Coyotes
GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS
- Alex Chang – Chief Marketing Officer, San Francisco 49ers
- Alison Roscoe – Vice President, Partnerships, Austin FC
- Ann Seeney – Vice President, Human Resources, St. Louis Cardinals
- Antony Bonavita – Executive Vice President, Venue Operations, Cleveland Cavaliers
- Brandon James – Vice President/Deputy General Counsel, Spurs Sports + Entertainment
- Brittanie Boyd – Vice President, Corporate Partnerships, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment
- Cassandra Carr – Investor, Spurs Sports + Entertainment
- Dan Gladstone – Senior Vice President, THINK450/National Basketball Players Association
- Dionna Widder – Chief Revenue Officer, Houston Dynamo/Houston Dash
- Keisha Wyatt – Director of Marketing, Dallas Mavericks
- Laura Dixon – Head of External Relations, Spurs Sports + Entertainment
- Molly Wurdack-Folt – Vice President, Partnerships, Detroit Tigers/Detroit Red Wings
- Oracio Galindo – Head of Employee Experience, Los Angeles Rams
- Raquel “Rocky” Egusquiza – Executive Director, Miami Marlins Foundation
In its first year, The Assembly will formalize its member network and provide professional development, as well as hold virtual forums, workshops and discussions. In addition, it will commission research, share tools and develop analytics around key indicators in professional sports – to be distributed amongst the membership as a benchmark and playbook towards ensuring a more fairly functioning workplace.
For more information, please visit: www.prosportsassembly.org (Website), @prosportsassembly (Instagram), @theproassembly (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/company/prosportsassembly (LinkedIn).
