Power The Journey

Brent Rodgers is the Senior Vice President of Field Operations for Staffmark Group, leading the U.S. operations for RGF staffing. Staffmark is one of the largest staffing companies in the world with sister brands including Indeed, Indeed Flex, and Glassdoor. Brent joined Staffmark in 2000 as the Director of Strategic Sales in the Southeast Region, in 2006 as a Vice President he turned his focus to drive innovative entrepreneurial change through a service offering with Staffmark specialty divisions, cost-per-unit engineering solutions, Staffmark drivers, and employee management services. In 2019, Brent assumed responsibility for US Commercial Operations supporting over 250 locations. Prior to his career with Staffmark, Brent was a baseball student-athlete competing at the college level. 

Joseph Scowden is the current Sales Manager for Momentum Solar in Houston, one of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States. Only after six months at Momentum Solar, he became their top sales rep in the company. Prior to starting at Momentum solar, Joseph worked in Business Development Analytics at Choice! Energy Management, a nationwide leader in energy, telecom, and utility management solutions. Joseph was a collegiate football player for the University of Columbia from 2016-2020 and attributes a lot of his success early in his career to the traits he gained when playing sports at Columbia.

On this episode of Power the Journey, join various executives in the sports wagering industry as they lead an interactive conversation focused on industry growth, future challenges, and career opportunities. In May 2022, Benjie Levy was named Head of Penn Interactive (PI), in addition to continuing to serve as President & Chief Operating Officer of theScore. As Head of PI, he oversees the company’s Interactive segment, including operations for Barstool Sportsbook and mychoicecasino.com. He reports to Todd George, Penn’s Executive Vice President of Operations. At theScore, Benjie leads all day-to-day operations as well as strategy and corporate development across its integrated media and gaming businesses. A respected sports business industry veteran, he has been integral in leading the evolution of theScore into a technology driven, mobile-first company that uniquely integrates media and betting. Most recently, he spearheaded theScore Bet’s launch in its home province of Ontario in April 2022 and the milestone completion of its proprietary technology stack in July 2022. Previously, he played a key role in building theScore’s television business and oversaw its sale to Rogers Media in 2012. A graduate of the University of Toronto with a B.Com specializing in Finance. Sara Slane has over 15 years of experience working in the casino gaming industry. Most recently, she launched her own practice focused on strategizing with media companies, teams and leagues about the sports betting opportunity. Prior, she was the senior vice president of public affairs at the American Gaming Association. In this role, Sara played an instrumental part in leading advocacy efforts to build favorable perceptions of the gaming industry and overturn the ban lifting the federal ban on sports wagering in America. Sara has consummated over a billion dollars in deals between stakeholders in the sports and gaming industries. She currently serves on numerous boards and advisory positions throughout the industry. Jeremy Kudon is a partner attorney at the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Jeremy began his legal career working in commercial litigation, servicing large corporate clients with a national presence. Through this work, Jeremy developed a niche for building and operating state legislative campaigns, which led to his founding of Orrick’s public policy group. Jeremy’s involvement in the gaming world began in 2014 when his group led campaigns across the country for daily fantasy sports legislation. Leading up to the repeal of the federal ban on sports wagering, Jeremy represented some of the largest prospective sports wagering operators and several professional sports leagues, such as the NBA, MLB, and PGA Tour, to prepare advocacy campaigns for legalization of sports wagering. Today, Jeremy remains a prominent figure in sports wagering legalization, coordinating and leading lobbying efforts for sports wagering legislation on behalf of his clients across the country. This conversation is moderated by Dan Sabreen, Vice President of Communications at Penn Interactive.

On this episode of Power the Journey, various professionals in the sports wagering industry examine the industry’s commitment to responsible gaming and discuss what the future of responsible gaming positions will be. Keith Whyte is Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) in Washington, D.C. and has over twenty-five years of national experience in gambling issues.  Recognized widely for his work to promote responsible gambling and prevent gambling addiction, he has given invited presentations at conferences and events in 43 US states and 26 countries. Cait DeBaun is vice president, strategic communications and responsibility at the American Gaming Association (AGA). She leads the AGA’s responsibility efforts and integrated communications strategies to promote the social and economic value of the $261 billion gaming industry. Cait currently oversees the AGA’s Have A Game Plan® PSA campaign, working with sports leagues and teams and sportsbook operators to educate consumers on responsible sports betting. Alana Sacerdote is the Senior Responsible Gaming Program Manager at Penn Interactive, operator of The Barstool Sportsbook and iCasino. Alana has over ten years of experience which includes both brick-and-mortar gaming, as well as online real money gaming. She leads Penn Interactive’s responsible gaming efforts, which include proactive player and employee education and training, creation and implementation of responsible gaming internal procedures, player protection, and ongoing quality monitoring. Jamie Salsburg is the creator and host of the “After Gambling” Podcast, a blogger, brand strategist, and entrepreneur. As a former problem gambler, Jamie created the website and podcast "After Gambling" to help people who are struggling with compulsive gambling. He also provides peer support for recovering gamblers, as well as their friends and family. Jamie is a former collegiate athlete and remains a huge fan of sports. Jamie has not gambled since July 15th, 2010, and outside of work currently enjoys spending time with his wonderful family. This conversation is moderated by Chris Soriano, Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer at Penn National Gaming.

On this episode of Power the Journey, various stakeholders of the online sports wagering industry discuss the business of each organization and projected growth leading to expanded career opportunities for young professionals. Trey Atkinson is the Director of Operations at Penn Interactive and a former Guilford College lacrosse player. In this role, he is responsible for oversight of player experience, payments technologies, fraud risk management, operational efficiencies and profitability of Penn Interactive’s real money gaming products including the Barstool Sportsbook & Casino and HollywoodCasino.com. Trey started his career in Regulatory Compliance with an agency of the Treasury Department, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Siska Concannon is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Affiliated Sports Fans based in Philadelphia. She brings close to 20 years of experience in driving growth strategies through e-commerce, having worked with companies like GAN, Penn Entertainment: with the Barstool Sportsbook, and organizations in Finance & Manufacturing. For the past 8 years, she has been focused within the online sports & casino wagering industry, having successfully led the marketing strategy & operation for 15 online casinos & 2 major sportsbook brands across all legalized US States and other global markets. Siska is passionate and focused on female empowerment within the gaming and sports industry, often championing women business leaders initiatives and allies. Scott Sadin is the Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer at U.S. Integrity. U.S. Integrity is an anomaly detection firm that leverages proprietary algorithms to identify potentially suspicious sports betting related activity. USI services premier sports properties, sportsbook operators and regulatory bodies. In his capacity as COO, Scott oversees product development, corporate strategy, investor relations and compliance. Scott previously worked in financial services at Apollo Global Management and Michael Dell’s registered investment adviser MSD Partners. This conversation is moderated by Alex Graham, Manager of Marketing Compliance & Partnerships at Penn Interactive.

Vin McCaffrey is the founder and CEO of Game Plan. He founded the company in 2008 as a means to help college athletes find jobs. Over the years, Game Plan has transformed into a platform that integrates eLearning, mentorship, and career services for athletic organizations. Prior to founding Game Plan, McCaffrey worked in a variety of sales and corporate development roles. He is a graduate of Lehigh University, where he was a member of the men’s basketball team, and in 2008, he earned his MBA from Indiana University.

JR Butler is the Founder and CEO of Shift Group, a sales recruiting and training firm that specializes in helping college, professional, and Olympic athletes transition into the world of Technology Sales.

Dr. Janelle Wells and Dr. Doreen MacAulay are both from WellsQuest, which is a consulting firm that empowers leaders to foster an innovative workplace that is proactive, measurement based, and conscientious. Dr. Wells also serves as an associate professor in the USF Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program, within the School of Marketing and Innovation, and Dr. MacAulay is an instructor USF’s School of Information Systems and Management, teaching organizational behavior analysis and strategic management.

Dr. Andrew Mac Intosh is the Chief Program Officer for RISE. He leads the translation of RISE's mission to educate and empower the sports community into programs for varying audiences and contexts. He has worked in the business sector for over 10 years leading the implementation of organizational development initiatives and developing performance management along with training and development strategies. He’s also worked both within the United States as well as internationally helping various organizations to design and implement sport initiatives that build life skills and character.

Before RISE, he worked at Michigan State University's Institute for the Study of Youth Sport as a Research and Teaching Assistant. Andrew has also spent time working in Detroit assisting with the development of evaluation systems for youth sport programs and with the design and facilitation of training programs for coaches and mentors.

Dr. James Borchers is a repeat guest. Dr. Borchers is the President and CEO of the U.S. Council for Athletes’ Health, as well as the Chief Medical Officer for the Big Ten Conference, and the Director of Sports Medicine at the Ohio State University. He joined us to discuss mental health for administrators and how mental health education can help in preventing burnout among athletic staff members.