Joelle
TERRY
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS, SACRAMENTO KINGS
JOELLE TERRY WAS AMONG the crowd of 240,000 in Chicago
as Barack Obama gave his presidential victory speech. “I will
never forget standing in Grant Park in November 2008 and
feeling this incredible sense of history being made,” she says.
Having worked on the former president’s campaign, she says
she felt proud of her role in creating that moment of change.
That same desire to make a difference also drove Terry to
her current role as senior vice president of communications
for the Sacramento Kings. “The Kings serve as a model for how
NBA franchises and sports teams can serve their community
for good,” she says. She supervises 40 staff members across five
departments that cover media and public relations, content,
production and game entertainment.
The Sacramento-native grew up as a Kings fan, but it wasn’t
in her game plan to one day work for the basketball team. In-
stead she pursued a career in politics, working on both John
Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign and Obama’s presidential
campaign, along with other stints for a consulting firm and
Comcast-NBCUniversal.
Terry joined the Kings in December 2015, as it was gearing
up to open the Golden 1 Center downtown after a hard-fought
battle to keep the team in Sacramento and fund the new arena.
She was promoted to her current role in July 2017.
“My job on any given day is to spotlight stories [of the Kings
organization] and share them,” she says. But even the stories
of a professional sports team can be complex. Terry points to
the March 2018 death of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man
fatally shot by police officers in his grandmother’s yard. The
incident shook the city and subsequent community protests
closed down the arena. With demonstrators and many fans
outside, Kings owner and chairman Vivek Ranadivé responded
with what Terry calls “a message of unity” from center court, in
which he committed the Kings to working with the community
on preventing future tragedies.
In the weeks and months following, the Kings announced
a multiyear partnership with the Build.Black. Coalition; estab-
lished an education fund for Clark’s two children; participated
in STEM workshops and writing forums for local youth; and
hosted a co-ed basketball league for underserved youth. Terry
was responsible for leading the organization’s public response
to the protests and for partnering with Build.Black to develop
the community programs; her efforts helped garner the Kings
the 2019 NBA Inclusion Innovation Award. “I am incredibly
proud to be part of an organization that did not hesitate to do
the right thing,” Terry says.
Terry attributes her career success to her passion, attention
to detail, a willingness to do what’s needed to get the job done
and a sense of urgency. She credits her mother for instilling in
her a sense of strength and resiliency.
“There are challenges in any job every day,” Terry says. “It’s
whether or not we see them as opportunities.” n
– Sena Christian
Words of Wisdom: Trust your gut; bring solutions, not problems; and you don’t ask, you don’t get.
March 2019 | comstocksmag.com
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