On Election Day 2021, we speak with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball Associate Head Coach Eric Reveno, who has played an integral in helping to create the student-athlete-inspired #AllVoteNoPlay initiative taking place today across the NCAA, where coaches and student-athletes are required to pause from practice to focus on civic engagement and community action. Coach Rev joins RISE's Ian Cutler and Jared Shanker to talk about this initiative and how coaches and student-athletes can take action today to positively impact their communities. We define what it means to be civically engaged, discuss the importance of local elections, such as those happening across the country this year, and talk about the ties between voting and issues of systemic racism and social injustice.

Champions of Change: The RISE Podcast

Election Day Special: Eric Reveno, Georgia Tech Men's Basketball Associate Head Coach

RISE CEO Diahann Billings-Burford leads this conversation on inclusive leadership with NASCAR President Steve Phelps and NFL Executive Vice President, Football Operations, Troy Vincent. Both Phelps and Vincent are members of RISE’s Board of Directors. This conversation was part of FRED, an invitation-only forum and high-level gathering of CEO and industry leaders to discuss the future of ethical and inclusive leadership. Billings-Burford, Phelps and Vincent discuss whether there are reasonable limits to inclusivity, NASCAR’s decision to ban the Confederate flag, the NFL playing Lift Every Voice and Sing before games and share their advice to leaders aiming to build more inclusive organizations.

Inclusive Leadership: NASCAR President Steve Phelps, NFL EVP Troy Vincent, Diahann Billings-Burford

Gustavo Silva, Chicago Bears Manager of Youth Football & Community Programs, joins us to help celebrate Latinx Heritage Month. We discuss the importance of recognizing and celebrating diverse cultures for the sake of inclusion, equity and representation, and reflect on how such heritage months afford us the opportunity to examine the systems and structures of our society for the sake of understanding what’s required to address racism. Gustavo also shares his personal connection to Latinx Heritage Month and discusses some of the Bears key community initiatives, including the Coaches Leadership Series that the Bears and RISE ran earlier this year equipping Illinois high school and youth coaches with the skills and knowledge to effectively discuss and address matters of racism and injustice with their teams, schools and communities. (Learn more about the coaches leadership series here: https://risetowin.org/stories/2021/7-15/rise-chicago-bears-empower-high-school-coaches-to-address-racism/index.html)

Celebrating Latinx Heritage Month - Gustavo Silva, Chicago Bears

We celebrate our 100th episode of Champions of Change: The RISE Podcast with Morgan Tuck, the Connecticut Sun Director of Franchise Development, a 4-time NCAA champion with UConn and a 2020 WNBA champion with the Seattle Storm. Morgan discusses her transition from player to front office and her work leading the Sun’s social justice initiatives. We also discuss the topic of bias, particularly when it comes to Black women athletes speaking out for issues of inequity, and what she learned about being an advocate from playing in the historic bubble season of 2020 when players across the WNBA united and elevated their platforms to address racial and social injustice like never before.

Morgan Tuck, Connecticut Sun

Anthony Pardo is Director of Partnership Activation for Major League Baseball and a leader of a Latinx Business Resource Group within MLB. Anthony just completed the Pro Sports Assembly + RISE Inclusive Leadership Course, which empowered sports industry professionals across the country to be leaders in discussing and addressing matters of racism, diversity, equity and inclusion through a 12-week course based in RISE’s curriculum. Anthony speaks with RISE's Ian Cutler about inclusive leadership, how racism impacts his life, and the role and responsibility of sports organizations and professionals to lead on matters of diversity, equity inclusion and social justice. We also dive deeper into the concept of inclusive leadership, with RISE's Sr. Director of Curriculum Dr. Collin Williams Jr.

Anthony Pardo, MLB Director of Partnership Activation

RISE’s Sumer 2021 intern class takes over this episode. They reflect on their time with RISE and discuss how they will apply their learnings and experiences from this summer to create more inclusive cultures in their respective campuses and communities. Featuring RISE Summer 2021 interns: Diego Andrade-Cabrera, Morgan Chall, Alexis Cheatum, Marcus Davis, A’kiem Gardner, Bradley Polkowitz and Drew Schiffer. Episode Breakdown: Learning about identity, breaking down biases and connecting with diverse colleagues(3:45); Key diversity concepts and applying learnings to create change(17:03); Collegiate athlete activism (27:18); Defining leadership (39:05); Biggest takeaways (41:30).

RISE Summer 2021 Intern Takeover

A conversation on identity and activism with Schuyler Bailar, former Harvard men's swimmer and the first trans athlete to compete for an NCAA Division I men’s team. Schuyler became the only trans athlete to compete on a Division I men’s team for all four years, graduating in 2019. He has since become a leading advocate for trans rights, mental health and inclusion in sports, and is a motivational speaker, author and so much more. RISE's Ian Cutler and Jared Shanker speak with Schuyler about fighting against anti-trans legislation in states across the country and the ways he uses his platform to educate on the trans experience and the importance of inclusivity. That includes his appearance in RISE's Champions of Change virtual experience, which highlights Schuyler's story and was featured during the USA Swimming Olympic Trials leading up to Tokyo 2020. We also speak with Schuyler about identity and its multifaceted nature, covering his personal experience through his transition and as a Korean American. We later dive deeper into the subject of identity with RISE’s Dr. Collin Williams Jr. in a new segment, “Let’s Talk About,” where we feature RISE’s definitions of key diversity concepts. Episode Breakdown: Background and Transitioning (2:00)Importance of a strong support system for LGBTQ Youth (5:26)Finding your true self – gains and losses (7:23)Trans men competing with cis men (9:42) Being the first (10:36)NCAA policy on trans athletes (12:15)How to build an inclusive culture and support trans athletes (17:56)Burden of being the first and inspiring others (20:14)“Let’s Talk About: Identity” with RISE’s Dr. Collin Williams Jr. (22:42)Identity and intersectionality – being trans and Korean American (24:08)Fighting anti-trans bills – learn more at pinkmantaray.com/transathlete (29:32) Athlete Activism and how he effectively uses his platform (34:50)Advice for young people struggling with identity (38:00)

Schuyler Bailar, first trans NCAA DI men's athlete

The Denver Broncos accomplished something this year that no other organization in sports was able to achieve. They were nominated for the ESPN Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award in consecutive seasons. Allie Engelken, the team’s Executive Director of Community Development, leads those efforts and joins us to discuss the impact the Broncos have had on the Denver community over the past year, from COVID relief to social justice work with RISE. Dr. China Jude is the Broncos first Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. She is one of only seven individuals working for an NFL team who is formally assigned to focus exclusively on DEI work. China discusses some of the challenges that the sports industry faces when it comes to issues of equity and diversity, and shares what it takes to build a more inclusive team and sport culture.

Allie Engelken & Dr. China Jude, Denver Broncos

With the Tokyo Olympics beginning next week, Max Siegel and Renee Washington, the CEO and COO of USA Tack & Field, join RISE’s Ian Cutler and Jared Shanker. They discuss the impact of COVID on the upcoming Olympic Games, the state of athlete activism at the Olympics and the recent decision to leave sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson off the U.S. Olympic roster. Max and Renee also discuss their role on RISE’s Board of Directors and Max shares his view on the progress made by NASCAR from a diversity, equity and inclusion perspective as the owner of Rev Racing and executive manager of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.

Max Siegel, CEO, USA Track & Field + Renee Washington, COO, USA Track & Field

The American Ultimate Disc League, or AUDL, is the largest professional Ultimate league in North America. Like many organizations, the AUDL has deepened its social justice and DEI efforts over the last year, but for the league and the game of Ultimate, those efforts are critical to growing the sport and changing what players acknowledge is a culture that needs to be more diverse & inclusive. Part of that work includes a partnership with RISE and the new AUDL RISE & Lead Series, a 6-week virtual series where players, coaches, staff and owners are leading diversity, equity and inclusion workshops and discussions from RISE’s curriculum with their peers across the country. Matt Smith, the AUDL Director of Player Relations and Youth Engagement, and Dr. Christina Chung, the AUDL Chief Medical Officer and Co-owner of the league’s Philadelphia Phoenix franchise, co-chair the AUDL Inclusion Initiative, and join us to discuss the challenges facing the game of Ultimate and the league’s efforts to grow and become a more inclusive sport.

Matt Smith & Dr. Christina Chung, AUDL

Ten months ago, amidst the national reckoning on race that revealed visual and violent instances of racial inequity and injustice in our country, SB Nation and The Athletic reported stories on Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen that exposed a history of racism and what was described as a toxic work culture within the organization. Those revelations forced Hansen to put the team up for sale. Since Hansen has been away from the club, Real Salt Lake has genuinely embraced the need to address racism, diversity, equity and inclusion up and down the organization, be leaders in their community and advocate for those causes. They’ve worked closely with us at RISE and our Chief Program Officer Dr. Andrew Mac Intosh to hold multi-week leadership programs and trainings, from players and staff in their youth academy all the way up to senior staff and executives with their MLS club, and this week RISE will be onsite as Real Salt Lake is partnering with the Vancouver Whitecaps to celebrate Juneteenth when the two clubs resume their MLS season this Friday, June 18, at Rio Tinto Stadium outside Salt Lake City. Anthony Beltran, the team’s Assistant General Manager, and Arnold Rijsenberg, RSL Academy’s Director of Coaching, have been instrumental in bringing these DEI trainings to the organization in hopes of fostering a more inclusive culture from top to bottom. Tony and Arnold join us to discuss the progress made, the work that still needs to be done and the importance of this week’s Juneteenth celebration in light of all they have been through as individuals and as an organization.

Tony Beltran, Real Salt Lake Assistant GM and Arnold Rijsenburg, RSL Academy Director of Coaching

With new episodes every other Tuesday, Champions of Change: The RISE Podcast gives athletes and leaders in sports a platform to tell their stories and share their perspectives on issues of athlete activism, social justice and diversity in sports. Hosted by Ian Cutler, our podcast features interviews on how athletes are making a difference in their communities, and the power of sports to bring people together, improve race relations and promote understanding, respect and equality. Champions of Change: The RISE Podcast is a product of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality.

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Champions of Change: The RISE Podcast

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