Get in the Game: Designing Your Career in Sports

Panels

Panel One

Strategizing the Triple Play: Marketing, Communications, and Sales in the Sports Arena

In today's dynamic sports landscape, effective marketing, strategic communications, and robust sales strategies are essential for teams, leagues, and brands to thrive. This expert panel brings together leading voices in the sports industry to explore the latest trends, challenges, and best practices in marketing, communications, and sales.

Moderated by: Kimberly Marcus Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Monumental Sports and Entertainment

Panelists

• Melissa Elguera Senior Manager, Sales Marketing, Washington Nationals

• Chris Hudgins Head of Corporate Partnerships, Washington Spirit

• Charlie Mule Senior Manager, Football Communications, Washington Commanders

Panel Two

Championing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Game Plan: Power Plays for Social Impact and Team Dynamic

In the rapidly evolving landscape of professional sports, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and making a positive social impact is imperative. This accomplished panel convenes leaders and influencers from the sports industry to delve into the critical intersection of human resources, DEI initiatives, and social responsibility.

Moderated by: Chanelle Reynolds Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs Lead, Washington Commanders

Panelists

• Jason Beckwith Vice President, Human Resources, Washington Nationals

• Maria Harrigan Human Resources Director, Washington Spirit

• Trey Triplett Senior Manager, People Partner, Monumental Sports and Entertainment

Panels (continued)

Panel Three

Game Day Tactics: Enhancing Operations, Elevating Fan Engagement, and Empowering Youth Sports

In the constantly changing world of professional sports, making operations more efficient, engaging fans effectively, and supporting youth sports are incredibly important. This respected panel brings together influential voices from the sports world to discuss how operations are managed, ways to engage fans, and how to maximize youth sports programs.

Moderated by: Kimberly Marcus

Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Monumental Sports and Entertainment Panelists

Malcolm Blacken

Senior Director of Player Development, Washington Commanders

Natalie Garbalosa

Fan Experience and Promotions Coordinator, Washington Spirit

Angelyse Henry

Events Sales Manager, Ballpark Enterprises, Washington Nationals

Jessie Thompson (SCS’16)

Senior Manager, Youth Hockey Development, Washington Capitals

Plenary Session

Plenary Session

Driving Towards Victory: Pioneering Plays at the Intersection of Sports, Business, and Community Impact

Join us for an illuminating plenary session where two distinguished leaders at the forefront of sports management will delve into the intricate interplay between sports, business, and community impact. Together, they will offer invaluable insights into the strategies and innovations that are reshaping the landscape of professional sports and entertainment.

In this session, our visionary speakers will reflect on their remarkable journeys in sports while dissecting the convergence of sports, business, and community engagement. Through their wealth of experience and expertise, they will explore how these pillars intersect to drive success and influence within the industry.

Moderated by: Jimmy Lynn Senior Advisor/Adjunct Faculty, Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business and School of Continuing Studies

Panelists

Jim Van Stone

President of Business Operations and Chief Commercial Officer, Monumental Sports and Entertainment

Jason Wright

President, Washington Commanders

Speakers

Jason Beckwith

Vice President, Human Resources, Washington Nationals

Jason Beckwith has an extensive and successful career in human resources, bringing 20 years of experience to his role as the vice president of human resources for the Nationals. Before joining the Nationals, he served as a regional director and human resources business partner at Comcast Corporation. Prior to that, Beckwith held similar positions with Carnival Cruise Line and Lockheed Martin, showcasing a diverse range of experience in the field.

As a graduate of Bowie State University and a native Washingtonian, Beckwith is deeply connected to the Washington metropolitan community. His support for all the Washington teams reflects his local pride.

Malcolm Blacken

Senior Director of Player Development, Washington Commanders

Malcolm Blacken is entering his third season as senior director of player development after serving seven seasons as director of player development for Washington.

In his current role, Blacken guides the development and education of Washington players as it pertains to both their personal and professional lives. His guidance covers topics including: financial education; healthy and unhealthy relationships; total wellness and mental health; league policies on substance abuse, performance enhancing drugs and personal conduct; social responsibility; social media; decision making; stress and time management; team history and tradition; and the expectations of being a player in the National Football League.

In addition, Blacken works hand-in-hand with Washington’s charitable foundation and was a principal figure in instituting the team’s Rookie Community Club, which integrates the team’s rookies into the Washington, D.C. area community through a series of service efforts. He also provides assistance with continuing education and offers guidance for players’ academic pursuits.

Blacken graduated from Virginia Tech with bachelor’s degrees in art and physical education.

Speakers

Melissa Elguera

Senior Manager, Sales Marketing, Washington Nationals

Melissa Elguera is the senior manager of sales marketing at the Washington Nationals. Before the Nationals, Melissa spent four years in New York City, working with the New York Mets and Madison Square Garden as a sales representative, selling ticket products and game experiences, such as season tickets, group tickets, and premium spaces.

While she considers Florida home, Elguera was born in Lima, Peru, and moved to the United States when she was two years old. As a first-generation college student, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a sport administration degree and got her first experience in the sports industry as a ticket sales intern with the Carolina Hurricanes. Since then, Elguera has been able to utilize her past sales experience and help the Nationals streamline their ticket sales efforts and increase fan engagement using Salesforce, a customer relationship management platform.

Natalie Garbalosa

Fan Experience and Promotions Coordinator, Washington Spirit

Natalie Garbalosa was born and raised in Boca Raton, Florida, and moved to Arlington, VA, to attend and play collegiate volleyball at Marymount University. While at Marymount, Garbolosa studied business administration with a focus in sports management and interned for the Los Angeles Sparks. In early 2023, she started her career with the Washington Spirit as a part time operations assistant on game days, shortly thereafter she joined the organization full time as the fan experience and promotions coordinator. Garbalosa’s hobbies include playing soccer, coaching volleyball, puzzles, and going on hikes.

Maria Harrigan

Human Resources Director, Washington Spirit

Maria Harrigan is a people and culture leader with a passion for building teams and operations. Currently, she serves as human resources director for the Washington Spirit. Harrigan’s background is in media, formerly a part of POLITICO and their tech news startup. She is thrilled to be living the dream she never knew she had leading people and culture in women’s sports. Outside of the Spirit, you can find her with her new baby girl and two bowling ball bulldogs.

Speakers

Angelyse Henry

Events Sales Manager, Ballpark Enterprises, Washington Nationals

As an event sales manager for the Washington Nationals, Angelyse Henry helps drive revenue by creating ballpark experiences for corporate and private event clients. As an event planner for non-game day events, she sells unique spaces, solidifies the contracts, and assists with execution on the day of. She loves bringing her clients’ vision to life and making connections in the community.

Henry began building her resume in college working as an event manager for the Capstone Conference Center summer program, and as a marketing intern for Chick-Fil-A. She was a member of the Professional Convention Management Association Student Chapter, on the Homecoming Committee, and was involved in intramural sports and various festivals and events.

Chris Hudgins

Head of Corporate Partnerships, Washington Spirit

Chris Hudgins has more than 25 years of experience working in the sports industry. He is the current head of corporate partnerships for the Washington Spirit, overseeing all sponsorship sales and activation activities for the club.

Prior to joining the Spirit, Hudgins served as the senior vice president and general manager of Team Services LLC, where he led the day-to-day operations of the company and oversaw the sales consulting division. His work and expertise included naming rights and sponsorship sales, partnership valuation, revenue analysis, strategic advising, and negotiation. In addition, Hudgins has also consulted on the brand side of sponsorship with companies to build partnership programs through sports. More recently, Hudgins established a new division of Team Services to help colleges, student athletes, and brands to understand and take part in the new opportunity landscape surrounding college athlete’s ability to prosper from their use of their name, image and likeness (NIL).

Kimberly Marcus

Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Monumental Sports and Entertainment

Kimberly Marcus is the vice president, diversity, equity and inclusion for Monumental Sports and Entertainment. In this role, she builds, develops, implements, and supports transformative DEI programs across Monumental Sports and Entertainment’s teams, platforms, people, and community. Prior to this role, Marcus was the director of supplier diversity for AARP. Marcus also was a presidential appointee for the Department of Commerce, serving as associate director for the Office of Legislative, Education, and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Minority Business Development Agency.

Previously, Marcus served as the national African American outreach director for

Speakers

the Democratic National Committee. In this high-profile role, she worked closely with the African American community to emphasize the importance of the African American vote.

Marcus considers her position as director of economic development for the NAACP to be an exciting turning point in her career, as it gave her the chance to tackle issues of immediate relevance to equal opportunity for people of color.

A native of Oakland, California, Marcus holds a bachelors degree in marketing from Clark Atlanta University.

Charlie Mule

Senior Manager, Football Communications, Washington Commanders

Charlie Mule is the senior manager, football communications, public relations, with the Washington Commanders. He has held a variety of sports communications and public relations roles across the sports industry including with the National Football League, New York Mets, and New York Giants. With the Commanders, Mule manages the media schedule, player, coach and coordinator requests, public relations publications, two seasonal interns, and 12 gameday staff members. Prior to Washington, Mule led credentialing and media availabilities at key NFL events including the NFL Scouting Combine, NFL Draft, Pro Bowl, and Super Bowl. Mule began,his sports communication career start as an intern with the New York Giants while in college. He graduated from Seton Hall University with a bachelor of arts in communications.

Chanelle Reynolds

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs Lead, Washington Commanders

Chanelle Reynolds is the diversity, equity, and inclusion programs lead at the Washington Commanders. She started her career as an account executive in the NBA G League with the Delaware Blue Coats. Reynolds started with the Commanders as the director of group sales, where she launched the team’s group sales program and was responsible for developing her team of account executives while creating ticket sales strategy. Simultaneously, she founded the Commanders’ first employee resource group alongside other key colleagues. The Washington Commanders’ Black Engagement Network is an employee resource group designed to serve employees of the African diaspora at the organization.

After two years of leading the Black Engagement Network, Reynolds pivoted to leading the team’s holistic approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion full-time. Additionally, Reynolds is an author, podcaster, and international speaker. She is also a TEDx speaker, with her most recent TedTalk taking place at the University of South Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa. Reynolds is a proud HBCU graduate of Delaware State University.

Speakers

Jessie Thompson (SCS’16)

Senior Manager, Youth Hockey Development, Washington Capitals

Jessie Thompson is the senior manager for youth hockey development with the Washington Capitals. In her ninth season with Monumental Sports, Thompson has spent more than eight years driving community engagement, leading innovative programming, and connecting DMV hockey through the love of the game. She is particularly passionate about leveling the playing field for women and girls in the hockey community. Thompson received her bachelor’s degree in leadership studies from University of Richmond and her master’s degree in sports industry from Georgetown University.

Trey Triplett

Senior Manager, People Partner, Monumental Sports and Entertainment

Trey Triplett is a seasoned professional passionate about building strong organizational cultures. As the senior manager, people partner at Monumental Sports and Entertainment, Trey leverages his expertise in customer and community relations, team/culture building, and recruiting/staffing. His background includes leadership roles in a national fitness franchise, where he managed projects driving bottom-line business growth in highly competitive markets. Beyond his professional pursuits, Triplett enjoys staying active and playing sports. With a degree in sports management from Cardinal Stritch University, he brings a unique blend of skills to his role, including policy development, analytics, and employee relations.

Plenary Speakers

Jimmy Lynn

Senior Advisor/Adjunct Faculty Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and School of Continuing Studies

Jimmy Lynn, a veteran of more than 30 years in the sports and entertainment sectors, is one of the pioneers of the digital sports space and is regarded as one of the leading relationship brokers and connectors in the sports industry. He is a co-founder and vice president of Kiswe Mobile, a interactive mobile video startup focused on bringing a rich viewing experience for live media content such as sports and entertainment events to mobile devices.

Lynn is an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and also with the Sports Industry Management program in the School of Continuing Studies. He earned a bachelors degree in public communication and an MBA in marketing from American University.

Jim Van Stone

President of Business Operations and Chief Commercial Officer, Monumental Sports and Entertainment

Jim Van Stone is the president of business operations and chief commercial officer at Monumental Sports and Entertainment overseeing ticket sales and services, corporate partnerships, executive suites, marketing, and retail business. Previously, Van Stone was Monumental Sports and Entertainment’s chief revenue officer. Van Stone has played a leading role in a myriad of groundbreaking sponsorship agreements at Monumental including arena naming rights, practice facility naming rights, and medical partnership.

Van Stone joined the Capitals as vice president of ticket sales and service in 2007 before transitioning to his Monumental Sports and Entertainment role in 2010. Before joining the organization, Van Stone held senior positions with the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Coyotes.

Jason Wright

President, Washington Commanders

As president of the Washington Commanders, Jason Wright is responsible for leading the organization’s business divisions, including operations, finance, sales, and marketing. In addition to leading a historic transformation of a sports franchise, he is the first Black team president in the history of the NFL and currently is the youngest team president in the league. He is the fourth former NFL player to become president of a team.