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Game Changers

Meet the 10th class of Game Changers

Leader. Innovator. Trailblazer. Change agent. Rock star.

These are just a few ways the 50 women selected for Sports Business Journal’s 2020 class of “Game Changers: Women in Sports Business” have been described. They represent every sector across sports business from teams and leagues, to agencies and sponsors, to technology companies and media outlets. 

Together, they make up the 10th class of Game Changers. SBJ will profile each of these women and offer a glimpse into their lives away from work in a special section on Oct. 19.   

In 2011, SBJ created Game Changers to “tell the stories of women in the sports business — women with broad, deep, and varied responsibilities and oversight who contribute to the success of the industry in multiple ways.” The 392 women honored in all 10 classes of Game Changers follow in the progressive heritage of their colleagues who have been part of SBJ’s Lifetime Achievement, Champions and Forty Under 40 programs — women such as Billie Jean King, Val Ackerman and Bea Perez. 

In 2013, SBJ launched an annual one-day conference in New York City to recognize the Game Changers honorees and examine the key issues facing women in sports. Over the years, the conference became one of the most successful and dynamic events on our calendar. This year, while we will not be able to gather in person, we are conducting the conference virtually on Oct. 27, with plans to honor the 2020 class and for a full day of content and networking. 

For more information or to register for the virtual conference, visit www.game-changers-conference.com.

Our goal today remains the same as in the inaugural year of Game Changers: to honor women — some you might know, others you might be reading about for the first time — who offer new solutions, ideas and perspectives that will change the sports business in the years to come.

Introducing the 2020 class of
Game Changers:
Women in Sports Business


Amy Azzi

Senior Director of Sponsorships

T-Mobile

 

Heidi Browning

Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

National Hockey League

 

Victoria Brumfield

Chief of Staff

USA Triathlon

 

Diana Busino

Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer

Turnkey Search

 

Michelle Byron

Vice President, Partnership Marketing

NASCAR

 

Grace Calhoun

Director of Athletics and Recreation

University of Pennsylvania

 

Jennifer Carroll

Senior Vice President, Talent and Culture

Major League Soccer

 

Kareeda Chones-Aguam

Vice President of Business Strategy and Management

Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum

 

Kari Cohen

General Counsel

New York Red Bulls

 

Joni Comstock

Senior Vice President of Championships

NCAA

 

Alexandra Dell

Senior Vice President, Media

SportFive

 

Lauren Dienes-Middlen

Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel – IP

WWE

 

Christine Dorfler

Chief Financial Officer, NBC Sports Group

NBCUniversal

 

Danielle du Toit

President, SeatGeek Enterprise

SeatGeek

 

Melissa Duhaime

Director, Sports Marketing

PepsiCo Beverages North America

 

Lauri Eberhart

Founding Member and Attorney

Apollo Sports & Entertainment Law Group

 

Jené Elzie

Chief Growth Officer

Athletes First Partners

 

Jill Frederickson

Senior Vice President, Production and Content Strategy

ESPN

 

Colleen Garrity

Senior Vice President and Head of Basketball Marketing

Excel Sports Management

 

Jordan Harnsberger

Chief of Staff

CAA Sports

 

Kat Harwood

Sports Consulting Lead

Deloitte Consulting

 

Molly Higgins

Vice President of Community Affairs and Engagement

Los Angeles Rams

 

China Jude

Senior Associate Athletics Director for Administration and Senior Woman Administrator

University of Wyoming

 

Donna Julian

Executive Vice President and Spectrum Center General Manager

Hornets Sports & Entertainment

 

Erin Kane

Vice President, Player Agent

Octagon

 

Dani Rylan Kearney

Founder and Commissioner

National Women’s Hockey League


Angelina Lawton

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Sportsdigita

 

Raquel Libman

Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Miami Heat and AmericanAirlines Arena

 

Blair Listino

Chief Financial Officer, Philadelphia Flyers and Wells Fargo Center

Comcast Spectacor

 

Nicole Lynn

Sports Agent and Attorney

Young Money APAA Sports

 

Liliahn Majeed

Senior Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion

National Basketball Association

 

Bernadette McDonald

Senior Vice President, Broadcasting

Major League Baseball

 

Jen Millet

Senior Vice President of Marketing

Golden State Warriors and Chase Center

 

Jill Monaghan

Senior Project Designer

Generator Studio

 

Belicia Montgomery

Director, Diversity and Inclusion

Minor League Baseball

 

Jessica Muir

Director, Brand Partnerships and Amplification

Comcast

 

Patti Phillips

Chief Executive Officer

Women Leaders in College Sports

 

Shelley Pisarra

Executive Vice President, Global Insights

Wasserman

 

Stefanie Rapp

Chief Revenue Officer

Bleacher Report

 

Naomi Rodriguez

Vice President, External Affairs and Community Relations

Los Angeles Dodgers 

 

Shoshana Salmon

Director, Traffic, Broadcast Operations

CBS Sports

 

Kristine Schroeder

Chief People and Culture Officer

Learfield IMG College

 

Kim Shelton

President, UK Sports and Campus Marketing

JMI Sports

 

Dasha Smith

Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

National Football League

 

Jill Spiegel

Senior Vice President, Merchandising and Planning

PGA Tour Superstore

 

Gina Sprenger

Chief Strategic Retail Officer

Fanatics

 

Shiz Suzuki

Assistant Vice President, Sponsorships and Experiential Marketing

AT&T

 

Vanessa Taveras

Vice President, Properties

CSM Sport & Entertainment

 

Denise Taylor

President, Global Technology Solutions

Legends

 

Dionna Widder

Chief Revenue Officer

Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash and BBVA Stadium

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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