Career Close-up: Alexis Roe

atlanta hawks

Alexis Roe started her postgraduate career as a teacher and college counselor in Nanjing, China. After transitioning back to Atlanta, she ventured into innovation consulting with a strong focus on diversity in consumerism. As director of DE&I programs for the Hawks and State Farm Arena, she focuses primarily on the diversity and inclusion strategy for the organization’s workforce, workplace and marketplace.

What has been your top priority/area of focus while you’ve been settling into the DEI role?

Our top priority has been assessing the data; we’ve been listening to our workforce, fans and community. Through this, we have launched eight employee resource groups. We have also started cultural listening labs, bringing our community together with our internal staff to discuss what does authenticity mean to Atlanta’s diverse communities. We are amalgamating the data captured from surveys and listening [labs] to create a measurable strategy that we can execute. 

What is the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?

The biggest risk I took was when I went back to school full time, while also working full time. Growing up I would hear often, “Black women always have to show up overprepared and overdeliver, or [we’ll] be fired.” It was iterated that we don’t get the luxury of slacking off, and that if we made a mistake, we would be judged harsher. Going back to school, I believed that, although it would be challenging to maintain both school and work, this would support my advancement opportunities and I had no choice but to excel in both. In the end, I finished having exceeded my expectations in both school and work commitments.

What career advice do you have for a young person or student wanting to work in sports business?

I have three pieces of advice. The first is that if you’re interested in sports business, but don’t land a career in it immediately, it doesn’t shut that door completely. You can always find nonconventional ways to network into the space, which leads me to my second point: Network for effectiveness. A lot of people reach out, but know why you’re reaching out, do your homework, come prepared and know the desired outcome from reaching out to someone to grow your network. It is also your job to maintain the relationship and provide consistent touchpoints. Third, because you spend more time working than with your family, take time to develop an understanding of what you’re passionate about and what brings you joy. Pursue that with full force.

Alexis Roe can be reached at HawksDiversity@hawks.com.

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