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nyone who attended a New York Yankees game in 2000 or 2001 may have bought a baseball cap from the NFL’s current executive in charge of social initiatives, including the league’s highly publicized effort to combat domestic violence.
Anna Isaacson sold souvenirs in a tiny store across the street from Yankee Stadium. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, her protective Brooklyn parents did not want her traveling to the Bronx, so she landed a part-time job with the infant Brooklyn Cyclones, a Class A affiliate of the New York Mets and six minutes from her home. The team tapped her to oversee the club’s Brooklyn sports museum, which became a focal point for school trips to learn about Jackie Robinson.
“That really steered me toward a career in community relations and sports,” she said.
Anna Isaacson
National Football League |
Senior Vice President, Social Responsibility
In 2006, she applied for a job at the NFL to run community relations. The league was forming what would become the Play 60 program, which encourages children to be active for an hour a day. Isaacson’s efforts with Play 60, along with her work on the league’s breast cancer awareness program, are the two projects she points to as NFL efforts in which she takes the most pride. That could surprise some, given that Isaacson is perhaps best known for getting the nod last year to craft the NFL’s high-profile domestic violence program. But in many respects, the work in that area is just taking shape.
“The work we have done over the last year has incredible potential and may overtake those things,” she said. “Hopefully in three years we can look back and share that with you.”
— Daniel Kaplan
