Advice to My Younger Self: Three Inaugural SBJ Game Changers

Wednesday, September 10 | 12:30 PM ET

Advice to My Younger Self: Three Inaugural SBJ Game Changers

In celebration of the 15th anniversary of SBJ’s Game Changers program, this special SBJ Live episode brings together three trailblazing women from the inaugural 2011 class of honorees. These industry leaders will reflect on their journeys, share pivotal lessons learned, and offer candid advice they wish they could give their younger selves. The conversation will explore themes of leadership, resilience, mentorship, and the evolving role of women in the sports business landscape.

What we will discuss:

• The personal and professional growth of women who helped shape the industry
• How the sports business has changed - and what still needs to change
• The power of mentorship and community among women in sports
• Actionable advice for the next generation of leaders

Who should attend:

• Professionals across all sectors of the sports industry seeking inspiration and guidance
• Women at all stages of their careers looking to grow their leadership potential
• Executives and managers committed to fostering inclusive and empowering workplaces
• Anyone interested in the legacy and future of women in sports business

Featured Speakers (Additional to be Announced)

Tamera Green most recently served as chief communications officer for Tepper Sports and Entertainment (TSE) overseeing all communications strategy, crisis and issues management, public and media relations for all TSE properties, including the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC and Bank of America Stadium before joining the School of Journalism and Mass Communications as a faculty member and co-director of the Sports Media Institute.

Green has more than three decades of experience in strategic communications and sports-related marketing. She joined TSE from VIRIDIAN Marketing, a company she founded in 2012, where she won a “Crowns of Enterprise” award from the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Previously, Green held leadership roles with GMR Marketing and IMG, directing strategy, communications and sports marketing efforts for clients including Coca-Cola, Gillette, VISA, Best Buy, HBO, Cintas and Comcast. 

Green played a key role in the effort to bring the Panthers to Charlotte, working on the franchise’s rollout of PSL funding that generated $100 million toward the construction of Bank of America Stadium, where the team plays. In addition, she worked with multiple other NFL teams on funding programs and community outreach strategies.  

Green is a member of The Sports Business Journal’s inaugural class of “Game Changers: Women in Sports Business.” She was named “40 Under 40” by the Charlotte Business Journal and was selected as a “Woman Extraordinaire” by Business Leader Media. Green serves on Johnson C. Smith’s Board of Visitors and is a Crisis Assistance Ministry Board Member.  

A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in journalism and political science, Green also earned an MBA from Queens University. Green is married to Global Golf Post senior writer and PGA lifetime achievement in journalism award winner, Ron Green, Jr. They have a daughter, Molly, who works at Wells Fargo in their corporate social responsibility group. 

Jackie Woodward is committing her time and talent to Consulting, Executive Coaching and Boards of Directors following a long corporate career driving brand renovation and digital transformation. Jackie is a member of Chameleon Collective, serving as an Interim Chief Marketing Officer for brand clients to accelerate business and team growth. She is also an Executive Coach Partner with Ariel Partners, supporting new Executive Leaders transition from departmental leadership.

Business transformation has defined Jackie’s career. Whether launching “I’m lovin’ it” as part of the turnaround team at McDonald’s in 2003 to stints managing media, business affairs and digital growth at MillerCoors, General Mills and then as Global Chief Marketing Officer at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Corporation and at Bojangles Restaurants, Inc., Jackie is known for her unique skillset combining classic strategic brand building with driving brands into the digital age.

Jackie has experience both domestically and globally. She has worked across publicly traded companies, private equity firms, multi-unit franchise business, classic Consumer Packaged Goods businesses and regulated industries. Jackie served on the Board of Directors of Craft Brew Alliance (NASDAQ: BREW) from 2017-2020 at which time the Board sold the company to Anheuser-Busch. She is a past recipient of the Chicago Ad Federation’s Ad Woman of the Year award (2012) and has been recognized as one of the Top 25 Women in Business by Charlotte Business Journal (2021) and as one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2022 Top 50 Franchise CMO Gamechangers. She is a passionate women’s mentor and advocate for helping women grow into their leadership potential.

Jackie serves on the National Advisory Board of The Salvation Army, the Advisory Board for Women in Restaurant Leadership for QSR Magazine and the Foundation Board for The Village Chapel in Pinehurst, NC. She and her husband Steve reside in Pinehurst along with their daughter Layne and her husband Jackson Smith.

Anne Worcester has spent the majority of her 40 year career in the Sports Industry growing professional tennis on a global scale and impacting every facet of the sport’s business, from players to tournaments to sponsorship to governing bodies.

A former CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the world’s preeminent sporting circuit for women, Worcester was the first woman - and youngest person - to lead any major professional sports organization when she was named CEO at age 34. Previously, she also served as Managing Director of the Women’s International Professional Tennis Council, the then-governing body of women’s pro tennis.

In her previous role as President of Universal Tennis (UTR Sports), she was instrumental in growing the sport by connecting players globally through level-based play, innovative events, and a digital marketplace.

For over 20 years, she served as the Tournament Director of the Connecticut Open at Yale, developing the WTA and ATP tournament into one of the world’s best attended WTA events, a player favorite, and a leading example of leveraging a large-scale international sporting event to build community tennis, especially for inner city youth.

Worcester also worked in wide-ranging Sales and Marketing roles at US tennis events for Endeavor/IMG (1983-1987), as Tournament Director of tennis events across Spain (1987) and Director of Worldwide Operations for the global Virginia Slims Series (1988-1991).

Most recently, she helped to launch and lead Pickleball, the fastest-growing sport in America - and to build, nurture and grow the sport at the professional and recreational levels. As a Strategic Advisor to Major League Pickleball (MLP) and the Professional Pickleball Tour (PPA Tour), Worcester helped to launch a pro sports league in MLP, merged MLP with the PPA Tour creating the pre-eminent Pickleball organization in the world, and then integrated the two leagues to ensure that Pro Pickleball is poised for future growth.

Worcester is a graduate of Duke University, a 2023 Inductee into the USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame, co-founder and board member of New Haven Youth Tennis & Education (New HYTES), and board member of the Tennis Foundation of Connecticut. She is married to longtime Sports & Music executive Tom Worcester, has two adult children, Tom and Victoria, and resides in Nashville, TN.

Registration is free. All registrants will receive a recording of the webinar following the event.

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