Jun 8, 2021
In this episode of The K.P. Wee
podcast, you’ll hear from Dr. Chelsea Heyward, a sports industry
professional. She works as an advisor with the Players Coalition
and is also a branding and digital media manager. As if that wasn’t
already enough, she is also a research associate at Morehouse
College where she teaches Sports, Culture, and
Power.
After a bachelor’s in psychology
at Long Beach State, Chelsea wasn’t sure what to do when she
graduated. When she heard about the masters degree in sports
management, she stayed at Long Beach to enroll in the program.
That’s where it all started. After her masters, Chelsea went on to
USC to get her doctorate in Organizational Change in Leadership.
Her interested in athletes’ involvement in social activism
increased and she wrote her dissertation on improving the
effectiveness of athlete activism. Since then, she has been
involved in the sports industry in many ways and on many levels,
including her teaching at Morehouse as well as her role at LaChica
Sports with Angela LaChica.
Chelsea offers lots of insight
about how she stays organized, what motivates her to work, and how
she stays creative and curious. Plus, she offers valuable advice to
high school students and young college students on how to become an
open-minded learner and get their foot in the door with the sports
industry.
If you’re a fan of this
podcast’s intro music, please follow Roger Chong:
Twitter @chongroger and Instagram @chongroger
KEY TOPICS:
- (2:09) –
Introduction to Chelsea and how she got to where she is
today
- (7:14) – How
Chelsea balances her schedule in the day-to-day
- (8:38) – What
motivates Chelsea to keep going every day?
- (9:50) – Chelsea
explains branding and her person-centered approach
- (11:05) –
Staying creative and being a lifelong learner
- (13:14) –
Chelsea’s advice for high schoolers and freshmen in
college
- (15:42) – Being
a sports fan while working in sports
- (18:29) – The
pandemic’s positive impact on Chelsea’s work
- (20:34) – Advice
from Chelsea on a student’s path to do work in the
field
- (23:54) –
Finding a professional mentor
- (27:45) –
Chelsea’s guiding north: liberation of oppressed people
KEY QUOTES:
- (5:22)
“Beyond wearing a T-shirt or tweeting about an issue, how can we
change the system surrounding a problem?”
- (8:30) “It’s
almost underestimated about how important the people you work with
are because they’re shaping your worldview for 70% of your
week.”
- (10:42) “When I
look at branding – either branding a business or a company or an
initiative – is trying to look at it from a person’s perspective.
So, if this initiative were a person, what would it look
like?”
- (12:32)
“Creativity comes about through mixing ideas that haven’t been
mixed before.”
- (14:02) “You
should listen to listen, not listen to respond.”
- (16:31) “It’s
about treating the athletes like people but also understanding what
their schedule and their world looks like.”
- (18:42) “It’s
[the pandemic] actually greatly increased my own personal impact I
think because it’s increased access.”
- (21:05) “In
sports management you understand the business side of sports, so
you understand all that goes into it which becomes really important
for understand how things work.”
- (24:42) “I think
it’s getting to know as many people as you can as deeply as you
can.”
- (26:37) “For
young people seeking out mentors, finding someone that doesn’t tell
you what to think but gives you a framework of how you should think
becomes really important.”
- (27:27) “There’s
not a one-size-fits-all solution but if people know themselves well
enough, they can figure out what path forward best works for
them.”
- (28:14)
“Everything that I do goes into liberation of people, whether it’s
socioeconomically, mentally, physically.”
About K.P. Wee:
K.P. Wee is the author of
multiple books and a regular contributor to sports radio programs
and websites. In addition to hosting The K.P. Wee Podcast, he also
enjoys writing sports and psychological fiction with a twist of
romance. He spent a decade working as a program developer and
instructor for a private school before joining the
Vancouver Canadians baseball club’s
media relations department.
You can find out more about books by K.P. Wee
here.
Follow K.P. Wee:
K.P. @Twitter
Additional episodes of The K.P.
Wee Podcast: https://kpwee.libsyn.com