IN THE LOOP / PERSON OF INTEREST
mom of an 8-year-old and, via the foster care system, a 28-year-old who is in medical school, Allen says her most important title will always be “mama,” but that she is excited to fill this new role with the Spurs and make a difference by listening. “I have never been more clear about my purpose than I am right now,” she says.
Listening for Change Spurs Sports & Entertainment’s new chief impact officer, Kara Allen, Ed.D., says impactful community work begins with learning INTERVIEW BY KATHLEEN PETTY
iving back to the community is part of Kara Allen’s official charge as Spurs Sports & Entertainment’s new chief impact officer, but it’s also personal. The Indiana native is so serious about supporting others that she carries the student loan debt of some youth she wants to help succeed, and when she learned of an individual in need of a kidney last spring, she offered her own. “This work doesn’t really shut off for me,” says Allen, who joined the Spurs in October after serving as CEO of an education-focused nonprofit in Chicago. “I’ve been given a lot, and I have a lot of responsibility to pour in and that doesn’t mean just what I’m getting paid to do.” The
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FACT FILE
Education: Bachelor’s from Purdue University, Master of Social Work from USC, Doctor of Education in educational leadership for social justice from Loyola Marymount University Experience: CEO at NewRoot Learning, CEO of United Friends of the Children, executive director at CoachArt (and current board member)
You began your career in education and then social work. How did that lead you to the NBA? I started as a teacher in Oakland Unified School District. I learned very quickly the power of connecting sport with learning and impact. When I was a new teacher, I couldn’t figure out how to get my students to learn math. So, I connected with a rookie at the Oakland Raiders and asked him if on his day off he would come in and throw around the football with the students and read his stats off. That became math and my students learned about math by understanding sports and football statistics. I had to make learning relevant, and I had to get proximal. For me, relevancy and proximity have become a core of how I move and how I lead and support folks. I got my master’s in social work and one of the things you learn as a social worker is to start where the client is or where the human is. The practices that I learned as a social worker have shaped how I want to show up as a leader now. When I talk about human-centered leadership, it sounds buzzwordy, but for me, it means that we have to start where people are at. It’s seeing people first as humans and humans with needs. Chief impact officer sounds like a big role. Where do you begin? I get to provide the oversight and guidance for philanthropic engagements, community investments, and to work alongside Spurs Give and others. I get to amplify our diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging work. I get to ensure we’re being good stewards of the resources we have. For me, less formally, I get to connect with the community and be a bridge in this work. This is a new role. In working through their vision for 2025, RC Buford and the team realized that there are really three pieces to their vision: championship teams, financial strength, and community and societal impact. They knew what it meant to get to championship teams and to financial strength, but they didn’t yet know what it meant to get to community and societal ILLUSTRATION BY VICENTE MARTÍ
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