COVER STORY

OFF THE COURT: A CONVERSATION WITH A GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS EXECUTIVE, ERIN DANGERFIELD

Interview by Black In HR

Erin 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 deep-rooted 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.

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?

Thank 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.

How and when did you become interested in sports? What steps did you take, ensuring you landed your dream job?

I 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.

What unique challenges have you faced being an executive woman of color, in a white and maledominated industry? Any tips and lessons learned you’d like to share?

I’m lucky that we have a diverse executive team at the Warriors, so it’s nice having people who look like me in executive meetings. The industry, however, is white male-dominated. My advice would be to hold your space, be unapologetic in who you are, and not let others define you.

Over the summer in 2020, we saw NBA players take stances decrying police brutality towards Black Americans. How did it make you feel to see the league support the players’ social engagement?

Our market has been overwhelmingly supportive of the players’ and the NBA’s stance on racial and social justice, but the same is not true for every other team and market. It’s easy to do what’s right when what’s right is easy. The players have inspired me, and I’m so proud of our league for taking a stance despite push back and blowback.

Following up on the current climate, how do you prioritize your mental health? In what ways have you communicated that focus as a priority for your organization and employees? am a big fan of meditation, and we offer all of our employees a subscription to a guided meditation app. Regular meditation has been a critical part of maintaining balance and mental health for me this year. At the Warriors, we focus on education, training, resources, engagement, and volunteerism in our mental health wellness strategy. We’re continually communicating opportunities and resources available to employees.

How much more does the NBA need to do to move the needle and keep hiring women of color such as yourself to executive leadership positions? What is the NBA doing to provide access to opportunity for the next generation of leaders?

You’d be hard-pressed to find many people

unwilling to acknowledge the need for more diversity in the sports industry. Each team operates as a separate employer apart from the NBA and each other. However, the league has been great about sharing resources and training with team personnel. We have access to tools to share diverse talent pipelines, and we frequently share best practices and resources on how to achieve more diversity and equity in hiring. Beyond just increasing diversity hiring, we’re all very focused on how to provide more opportunities through mentorship and sponsorship for women and people of color already working within our organizations. An example would be a recently launched league developmental program aimed at providing diverse talent with training, mentorship, and sponsorship opportunities in revenuegenerating roles.

How has your league and organization continued to push forward gender and racial/ethnic diversity during your time with the Warriors, ensuring diversity of thought and perspective?

The Warriors have always been committed to racial and social justice. Following the murder of George Floyd, however, we recognized that we needed to reinvigorate our efforts. Recently, we launched our four pillars: Heart, Tongue, Feet, Wallet, which are broad organizational initiatives focused on achieving racial justice within our organization, our community, and beyond. Most of the internal diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that the HR team is focused on fall under Heart, but we are fully aligned across the other three pillars in mutual support of our external and internal initiatives.

Regardless of political affiliation, what did it mean to you to see Kamala Harris elected Vice President? What do you think her achievement means to women of color?

Words cannot express how thrilled I am about Kamala Harris being Vice President. I grew up being told I could be anything I wanted to be but frequently didn’t see that reflected in reality. As a Black woman and parent of a Black boy, I am moved that my son is growing up to not only believe he can be anything but to also see he can be anything.

If you could go back 5 years, what advice would you give yourself during that stage of your career?

Five years ago, I made a few career decisions based on fear -- fear of being unemployed, being perceived as a job-hopper, taking a step back in my career, or choosing the wrong job/ employer and being unhappy. When I let go of fear, things started to come together for me. Operating out of fear is destructive to one’s overall wellbeing.

Thank you for the conversation Black In HR. I am honored.