From iconic to inclusive: NFL executive shares journey of transformation for Women’s History Month
At this year’s Women’s History Month Signature event, UT Southwestern’s Women & Allies Business Resource Group (BRG) featured a groundbreaking NFL executive who has prioritized diversity and inclusion in her leadership as a female in a traditionally male-dominated field of professional sports.
In welcoming the audience, UT Southwestern’s Suzanne Farmer, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President, Organizational Development and Training and Executive Sponsor of the BRG, praised women leaders who bring “their talents, their creativity, their hearts, their energy to this BRG and they’re the reason why we have great events to connect and network people and to also learn and grow.”
Video: Women's History Month Signature Event
To observers, the National Football League might not seem like the most obvious group to reach out to women. But, as part of an overall goal of becoming more inclusive, that’s exactly what it’s doing.
Just as the United States is changing in the 21st century, so is the NFL, said keynote speaker Marissa Solis, Senior Vice President of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing for the NFL, who spoke to about 400 members of the UT Southwestern community gathered in-person and online for the event. The March 30 event, which carried the theme “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories,” took place in a McDermott Lecture Hall on South Campus.
“We want to transform from an iconic brand – which it is – to truly being an inclusive brand and a force for good,” said Ms. Solis, who spent 18 years in marketing at PepsiCo before joining the NFL 1½ years ago.
The speaker described a meeting early in her career when she walked into a room in a Latin American country to present a marketing campaign – only to find a conference table surrounded by men, one of whom suggested she go outside with his female assistant “while the men talked business.” Although it was awkward, she explained she would need to stay since she was leading the campaign development. From this experience she learned it’s important to take your place at the table – and to pull other women and disenfranchised groups with you.
“With such a great platform, comes great obligation and great responsibility,” she added, explaining why the NFL has made it a priority to work toward greater inclusivity.
The NFL is reaching out to a more diverse fan base by focusing increasingly on the humanity of the players, Ms. Solis said, making them approachable to a greater degree. In one key initiative called “My Cause My Cleats,” players select a cause to support and decorate their cleats to reflect that movement. The cleats are sometimes later sold, with funds raised donated to the player’s charity.
New England Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones chose to support the Play Like a Girl campaign, which encourages girls to participate in sports and to pursue STEM and other nontraditional female careers. He said he did so because of his daughter Skylar.
Later in a “fireside chat” with Jenny Doren, M.S., UT Southwestern’s VP for Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs, Ms. Solis talked about her background and what it is like to be such a high-profile working mother. Although Ms. Solis travels from McKinney, Texas to New York weekly for work, she also strives to maintain a connection with her family. “You cannot control time,” she said. “But you can manage your energy and your engagement.”
The NFL Senior VP said she meditates daily, reflecting on her gratitude and what she intends to accomplish that day. She quoted Invictus as her favorite poem, reciting the lines: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
The event was hosted by the Women & Allies Business Resource Group and the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In addition to the keynote, the event featured UT Southwestern’s M-Cats Jazz Group performing the Spanish-language song Mujer and a reading of the Amanda Gorman poem We Rise by BRG member Yeturdé Broomfield-Figueroa.
Before the event, Ms. Solis spent some time touring the UTSW campus and reflected on what she described as a “peaceful place” with incredible faculty.
“The most important thing is remembering why you’re here,” she told the audience. “You are here to give others not just healing, but to give others well-being, happiness, comfort, and peace. All those things are very powerful.”