Tom Garbett and Kurt Gies
Alessandro Gasparro
Director of Social Media, Los Angeles Clippers
Age: 29
Born: New Haven, Conn.
Education: University of Michigan, B.A., sport management
About you
Could not go a day without: Dropping a comment on every new @laclippers Instagram post.
Most common misperception of your generation: That we’re to blame for the multitude of crises facing our generation and the next.
Go-to person when you need help: Depends on the context, but either my parents, my brother Marco, or my friends Chris and Kat.
In 10 years I hope to be … : Happy.
Specifically working in content/social media, the opportunity to get a ‘win’ every night, regardless of the final score. We have the power to create something that moves hundreds of thousands of people with the tap of a button.
In the Industry
Biggest surprise at career’s start: That I’d end up in the field I’m in now. This is not something I studied, or even considered pursuing, until after graduation.
Questions for networking: If networking with a peer: I want to know how their experience compares to mine and explore ways to help each other. If with a mentor: Their path, obstacles they’ve faced/overcome, and any advice they have for someone in my position. If with a student: What their career goals are and if there are ways we can help.
How should sports address social issues? Start by sincerely listening to marginalized communities and making genuine efforts to empathize with and address the problems facing them.
Sports industry needs to do a better job of … : Seeking new solutions to old problems.
