MLB Commissioner Bud Selig often says baseball is a social institution with social responsibilities. Wendy Lewis, his senior vice president for diversity and strategic alliances at MLB, is often where the rubber meets the road on his remarks. Lewis runs the league’s thriving Diverse Business Partners program, helping expand the game’s reach to minority- and female-owned businesses. This past summer, Lewis spearheaded the league’s first Diversity Business Summit, a one-day event aimed at further expanding baseball’s pool of minority and women employees and vendors. The summit, more than a half-decade in the making, drew representatives from all 30 MLB teams, MLB Advanced Media, MLB Network and 10 minor league clubs. And in part through the efforts of Lewis, MLB has earned four consecutive top marks in racial diversity in hiring from the Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.

“The commissioner has embraced my group and made this a very big deal,” Lewis said. “I feel very blessed to have that kind of institutional trust, and having that trust made a big impact in how we’re able to reach the businesses and communities we serve.”