CAN YOU TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF?

I’m Alana and I went to school at Arizona State University, where I studied sports business. I graduated in 2019 and went to Barcelona, Spain for grad school, where I studied sports management and law at a school called Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economia. I was there for about six months and then I did a few internships with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Rising FC, the Arizona Sports & Entertainment Commission, and now I’ve been with U.S. Soccer since May of 2021.

WHAT’S YOUR ROLE AT U.S. SOCCER?

My role at U.S. Soccer is Fan Experience Coordinator. I touch every part of our Insiders program, which is the membership program we have for our fans. So, what that means is putting together the Insiders Lounge at our MNT and WNT matches that we have and put together virtual events so that our coaches can engage with our Insiders. I also put together newsletters. Overall, my role is to continue creating and fostering a community of U.S. Soccer fans. That’s what it’s all about and building that fan loyalty that we have and making sure our fans have a positive experience when they’re at matches and with the federation overall.

IS THERE ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN PARTICULAR THAT INSPIRED YOU TO PURSUE THIS CAREER?

I think the reason I decided to work in sports is because I grew up watching sports with my grandpa. I’m the oldest grandkid, so my grandparents kind of attached me to be like their fifth kid. That really grew my love for sports; I grew up watching soccer every weekend with my grandpa. We would wake up at like 6:00 a.m. to watch the World Cups that were happening in Europe or anywhere on the other side of the world. When the Diamondbacks started in Arizona, he was the reason I got attached to the team and to sports in general. It’s something that we bonded over every night at dinner and stuff like that, so that’s why I decided that I wanted to pursue sports. I also wanted to pursue a career in sports because it’s a universal language that everyone can enjoy. My grandfather doesn’t know much English but is able to understand a baseball game which I think made it fun and easy for us to enjoy together. Sports has the power to bring people together.

IS THERE ANY ADVICE YOU’D GIVE TO WOMEN OR YOUNG GIRLS WHO WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE A CAREER IN SPORTS?

I’m a huge believer that if you can see them, you can be them, and right now we’re in a place where more women are in sports roles, and you see them more on broadcasts or leadership positions, or on the field with equipment. I think that’s something that’s been recently developed in the last 10 years, and we’re seeing more women in more front-facing roles.

My advice would be that it’s possible, and even if you don’t see it, you can still do it. Women in the sports industry are always willing to help the next generation of women in sports, so if there’s anyone who inspires you, or that you’d like to learn more about, all it takes is a Twitter message or a LinkedIn message, and you never know what could come out of that. Continue always wanting to learn and be willing to reach out to people, because at the end of the day we want to see more women in sports.

YOU’RE THE FOUNDER OF LATINX IN SPORTS. CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT WHAT THAT IS AND HOW IT CAME ABOUT?

Latinx in Sports is an organization that’s been around for just over a year now, and our purpose is to build a strong community of Latinx across the sports industry to amplify our voices and grow our presence through mentorship, organic connection, and love for our culture.

It came about last year during the lockdown because we were all on social media and networking, and Hispanic Heritage Month was coming up. So, I wanted to create a Twitter thread that featured different Latinx and Hispanic sports professionals during that month -- that’s where I got introduced to Ilyanna actually, which is crazy, I featured her into the thread -- and I kind of saw this community of Hispanics and Latinx professionals out there, but I didn’t see any organization or anything like that that was helping us meet and unite in one place. There’s obviously a ton of organizations within the sports industry, and there’s ERGs within different companies and committees and things like that, but I didn’t see an external one where Latinx professionals could come together and network, have panels, etc. Again, I’m a huge believer that if you can see it, you can be it, and I wasn’t seeing any organization that was showing that to people. That was something I wish I would have had in college, and I know people who would’ve liked that when they were up and coming too, so after that thread took off, I saw there was a need for it, and that’s how it grew.

We had our first networking call last October, and in November we had our first-ever panel, which was Latinx in baseball, and it was great to see the turnout and support that we got. Since then, we’ve been putting together more networking calls, an in-person event for our board to meet, panels, and mentorship programs. So that’s how it came bout, but the best way to describe it is kind of like a community of Latinx in the sports industry who network, support each other, and are there to create a safe space and community for each other, and it consists of people who are still in college to people who have 20 years’ experience in the sports industry, who are VP’s and Directors, so it’s really cool to see the range that we have and how willing they are to support each other.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO IN YOUR CAREER?

That’s a great question. I have had such a great time being a fan at sporting events that I just want to give it back, and I mean that in the sense that I want fans – whether they’re kids, adults, elders – I want to make sure that they’re having a great time if they’re attending sporting events, just like I have going to soccer, baseball, football games, etc. A team is only as good as its fans are and I think that fans are what makes the team. The fans are a crucial component and a part of a team’s identity, so I would love to continue working in events, game presentation, game operations, and making sure that all fans have a great time at our events.