Prodigy Search Presents

Pamela Wheeler is an accomplished leader with nearly three decades of experience improving diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) outcomes for employees, clients, partners and communities. She works with leaders across NFP, building from the solid DEIB foundation in place, to move the organization forward with deliberate action, measurable results and continuous refinement. Prior to NFP, Wheeler consulted with National Football League Operations on their DEIB efforts. Prior to that, she led the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, where she accelerated DEIB in a number of areas for the players. She also served as director of Business Development for the Continental Basketball Association, and general counsel and marketing manager for Bob Woolf Associates/Arnold Communications.

Sukhi Sandhu is an accomplished international sports industry executive and program leader with 20+ years of experience helping organizations in planning, venue operations and competitions. Throughout his career, Sandhu’s experience includes event operations roles with some of the most iconic global events including International Champions Cup, the FIFA World Cup, Indian Premier League, Asian Champions Field Hockey, the Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games, among others. In 2013, he was appointed as Head of Events at the Aspire Zone Foundation in Doha, Qatar, one of the world's finest sporting destinations, which hosts many international competitions and training camps. During this time, he was delegated to lead the 2015 Doha GOALS Forum in Los Angeles, CA, highlighting the role of Sport as a driver for social change.

Mark DeMontis, working in Disability Policy over the past few years, is an emerging voice and visionary advancing accessibility for fans with disabilities in sports and entertainment. With over 15 years of lived and professional experience as a blind athlete, advocate and speaker, he is best known as a trailblazer in the Parasport of Blind Hockey. DeMontis continues to help brands and businesses remove barriers for consumers with disabilities and speaks on the benefits of embedding disability within diversity and inclusion efforts.

DeMontis currently resides in Toronto where he continues to contribute to the sport of hockey and has recently even started working with the National Hockey League to support their digital accessibility journey. Among many prestigious accolades in, DeMontis was graciously awarded the honor of being the torchbearer in the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Winter Games, and again in the 2015 Toronto PANAM Games. DeMontis is also a recipient of the 2005 Terry Fox Humanitarian Award.

Scott Rochelle serves as President and CEO of the National Basketball Retired Players Association since 2018, after serving in several senior roles, including Senior Vice President of Partnership Development / General Counsel, and Vice President of Membership, Programming and Chapter Development.

Amy Hever is an accomplished social impact executive with more than 20 years of progressive experience delivering measurable results to nonprofit and for[1]profit companies, across a range of industries. Her career journey has given her the opportunity to lean into some of the world’s most pressing and complex challenges through a variety of vehicles the arts and humanities, youth development, health and human services, disaster recovery, scientific research, and professional sports philanthropy.

Regina Ford is a strategic initiatives HR leader and certified PROSCI change management professional who helps organizations of all types to improve operational productivity by building diverse, inclusive, and equitable work cultures with highly engaged team members.  With more than 20 years of human resources experience and 15 years of DEI experience, Ford has worked across a number of industries - including sports, entertainment, gaming, hospitality, technology, science, and nonprofits. She also lived throughout Europe for 10 years managing complex international IT and business process reengineering projects as a consultant with Accenture, Ernst & Young, and Trintech Consulting.  Ford holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Harvard University and her MBA from Pepperdine, with a concentration in Finance.

Kyle Ellington is the first Director of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging for the Oakland A's. His role is to strengthen and build a comprehensive strategic strategy across all areas of the organization in the space of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.  

Ellington has 10 years of experience working in the sports and entertainment industry, most recently as the Director, Human Resources and Diversity & Inclusion for the Sacramento Kings. At the Sacramento Kings, he held the first D&I Title and implemented key D&I initiatives throughout the organization: Diversity Career Fair, Diversity Council, and robust Kings U Internship program which sourced diverse local talent. He has additional sports HR experience working with the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Falcons, and Levy Restaurants at the Georgia Dome. Kyle holds a Bachelor's Degree in Management and a Master's Degree in Human Resources and Organizational Development from the University of Georgia.

Tim Wise was named Senior Associate Athletic Director, Facilities, Events and Revenue at the University of Notre Dame in January 2022. In this role, Wise has oversight of facilities, game operations, capital projects and revenue generation. Prior to Notre Dame, Wise served as the Senior Associate Athletic Director, Facilities and Event Operations at the University of Miami.  Throughout his career, Wise has served on several boards, most recently in February 2017 he was appointed to the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association Board of Directors, and in 2019, he was named to the organization’s Executive Committee. In June 2021, Wise was appointed 2nd Vice President. He has participated in the NCAA Leadership Institute Continuing Education Series, the NCAA Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Males, the NACDA Mentoring Institute, the NCAA Diversity Education Training and the NCAA Achieving Communications Success Workshop. In 2009-10, Wise completed and graduated from the highly prestigious collegiate athletics executive leadership training program at the Sports Management Institute.  Wise is a 1996 graduate of the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and earned a Master’s Degree in Human Performance and Sport Studies from the University of Tennessee in 1998.

Natalie Rogers is the current Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Well-Being at American University. In this role she oversees the departments that contribute to the mental and physical well-being of student-athletes. In addition, Ms. Rogers oversees all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for the athletic department. She serves as the department’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletics diversity and inclusion designee (ADID). Prior to coming to American University, Ms. Rogers worked for United States Tennis Association, Mid-Atlantic section as the Senior Manager, Member Engagement Diversity and Inclusion.  Among her roles in higher education was a stint at Howard University as the Associate Director of Athletics and Compliance. She was well-suited to the job after spending the 10 previous years with the NCAA, first as an Assistant Director of Enforcement and then as the Associate Director of Amateurism Certification for the NCAA Eligibility Center.  A native of Grand Rapids, Mich., Rogers graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, and later earned her Master’s Degree in Sports Leadership from Duquesne University.

Prodigy Search Presents Episode 29 features Eric Foote, Chief Commercial Officer with PointsBet. With his 2 year anniversary coming up in January 2022, Foote shares insights on the tremendous growth,  strategic partnerships and brand positioning in an everchanging, competitive market.

More about Eric's Career 

Eric Foote joined PointsBet as the Chief Commercial Officer in January 2020. In his position, Eric oversees strategic partnerships, trading and sports analytics, business intelligence and operations, and assists with market access deals.  Before PointsBet, Eric served as VP of Business Development & Partnerships for CBS Sports Digital where he led strategy for CBS Sports’ entry into sports betting along with content acquisition for live sporting events for CBS All Access, securing deals with the UEFA Champions League, Mountain West Conference, WSOP, and more.  Following an initial run at CBS as Senior Director of Business Development – Sports, Eric was named Vice President of Business Development for Silver Chalice Ventures, now Stadium, where he spearheaded all business development and strategy initiatives, including opening a Boulder, CO office and securing deals with the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, University of Arkansas, Kansas State University, and University of Kentucky. His career began as an Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs at Pepperdine University where he oversaw the corporate sponsorship program, fundraising, media relations, digital media, live streaming, and community relations.  A native of Iowa, Eric currently resides in Denver. He attended Wartburg College, where he attained a B.S. in Business Administration and was a captain of the Knights basketball team. He received his Masters in Sports Administration from Western Illinois University.