Throughout the month of February, Hornets.com will be featuring different employees across the organization’s multiple departments in conjunction with Black History Month.
Describe what you do with the Charlotte Hornets organization.
“I am an Account Manager for Corporate Partnerships, specifically working as a part of our activation team, serving as the day-to-day contact for about 20 of the team’s partners, like Gatorade, State Farm and Fox Sports South to name a few. Internally, I work with various departments within the Hornets organization to bring these partnerships to life – whether it’s facilitating branding spaces in the arena, in-game activations and signage, partner promotions and events, or partner hospitality. I help build the relationship that the Hornets team has with its partners. In short, the mission of my team is to bring the goals and objectives of both the partners and Hornets together to create an awesome fan experience.”
What experience(s) have had the most significant impact on your career in sports?
“This past summer, I interned with NASCAR as part of the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program (NDIP). I was a part of the largest class the program has ever had, so I was very honored to be a part of such a milestone. The program provided ample opportunities to develop various skillsets that are important in the sports industry. We also had various networking events, panel discussions and lunch-and-learns that we were able to take advantage of. Most importantly, it introduced me to a sport that was completely foreign to me. I had absolutely no idea what motorsports even entailed until this internship. It was really cool to step outside of my comfort zone and see what NASCAR is all about.”
“For this internship, I specifically worked with Roush Fenway Racing Team as a digital marketing and social media intern. I got to work with a great team of people, who all took me under their wing and allowed me to experience different departments within a professional sports organization. They didn’t limit my learning to my title and I was able to work with business development, public relations, digital marketing, events and partnership activation. It was really beneficial to be able to get experience in a lot of different fields, and since NASCAR is centered around partnerships, I think this exposure really helped me with my current role. Furthermore, the networking opportunities that the program provided and encouraged is essentially how I was able to get my current position here. I can’t express enough how influential NDIP was to my career. It’s a really, really great program that I encourage a lot of people in my network to apply for.”
What does Black History Month mean to you?
“It’s a celebration. Black History is not just something that lives in the past, but is constantly being created every day. I think it’s a time to reflect on all the strides that have been made. Not only looking at some of the struggles that we have been through as a race, but also looking at the strides, the progress and the contributions we have made to society in terms of equality, social justice, politics, innovation, literature, music, the economy – the list goes on and on. It’s just a time to celebrate. It’s really inspirational to reflect on this history, celebrate it, and look to these notable people as a model for how I, myself, can contribute to Black History.”
How do you see yourself as a role model in the African-American community?
“When I think of people that I’ve been able to look at to inspire me, it’s people that you’d hear about in Black History Month, like Michelle Obama, Misty Copeland, Angela Davis, Madam CJ Walker, Shirley Chisholm, Oprah, etc. They were and are complete powerhouses and the epitome of what we like to call, ‘Black Girl Magic.’ Each are role models and inspirations in their own right, who broke barriers and created representation for black women where there was none. I like to think that as an educated black woman who is pursuing a career in a white-male dominated industry, that I too have some of that ‘Black Girl Magic.’ I can help sprinkle it on other little girls so they can see that, ‘Okay, if she can do it, then I can do it, too.’ Being able to represent, share my experiences and help lift others up is how I’d consider myself a role model.”
Are there any influential African-American role models in your life?
“There’s a whole number – the list goes on and on. I definitely take bits and pieces from different peoples’ lives and see how it can relate to mine. I mentioned women like Michelle Obama, but even my family members, too. I have a lot of powerful black women who have helped raise me on the pedestal that I am right now. Not only family members, but career wise, I look at Cynthia Marshall, who is the first black female CEO of an NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks. Having that representation, it’s kind of like, ‘Wow.’ It’s not until 2018 that something like that happened, but it’s like, ‘She did it. I can look that far into my career, too.’ My dreams don’t have to stop at a certain level in the league. I can make it all the way up to running an entire NBA team. It’s nice to have that representation with people like Cynthia Marshall or Michelle Obama and see how I can take their experiences and apply them to my life to help better and move me forward and encourage others to do so as well.”