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OFF THE COURT:
Interview by Black In HR
ERIN DANGERFIELD E A CONVERSATION WITH A GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS EXECUTIVE,
rin Dangerfield is in her third season with the Golden State Warriors as Vice President, Human Resources. A native of Oakland, California and lifelong Warrior’s fan, Erin has a deeprooted passion for the Oakland community. Erin brings years of human resources experience to the role including a background in wholesale distribution, real estate, agriculture, non-profit and now sports and entertainment. Erin earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in business administration with an emphasis on economics from University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she ran track as a scholarship athlete. Prior to joining the Warriors, Erin worked at the contracting company ALCAL Industries, Inc., overseeing the human resources, information technology and business operations functions of the company. Erin has also worked for Bently Enterprises where she led the human resources, information technology, marketing, security and design teams across three business units, through an acquisition and period of rapid growth. Erin sits on the board of the East Oakland Youth Development Center, where she participated in the Center’s programs as a youth and first worked there as a Youth Leader in their Summer Cultural Enrichment Program. We sat down with Erin to learn about her time with the Warriors and her experience as a Black woman in professional sports.
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Erin, thank you for joining us today. Our readers are thrilled to learn about your background and how you achieved your current status. Can you share with us what accomplishments are you the proudest of in your career? hank you Black In HR for the opportunity to share my background with your readers. Being a part of the team that opened Chase Center has been the highlight of my professional career. I started with the Warriors in March 2019, and we opened Chase Center in September 2019 with a concert. Over my first six months, I built up our HR team, hiring generalists, labor specialists, and talent acquisition team members. Together, we hired, onboarded, and trained over 1,800 new part and full-time team members. It was the hardest thing I’ve done in my career, but I am so proud of what our team accomplished and how cohesive our group remained.
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How and when did you become interested in sports? What steps did you take, ensuring you landed your dream job? started running track in elementary school, and my dad coached basketball, so sports have always been a big part of my life. Still, I never imagined I’d end up having a career in sports, let alone with the Warriors, my hometown team. I’d worked with the Warriors’ Talent Acquisition Manager, Sergio Martinez, in a prior role, and he recruited me for the VP, HR role in 2016. I was a finalist but didn’t end up getting the job. In 2019, the position opened again, and he encouraged me to throw my hat into the ring. I prepared, and the second time I interviewed, unlike the first time, I walked in confidently believing I would get the job, and I did.
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