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ALUMNAE/I PURSUE CAREERS IN SPORTS
The Business of Sports
FOOTBALL
Touchdown: Looking Back on Two Decades With the NFL When Tara McCreery Wood ’84 accepted a job with the NFL in 2006, it was as a temporary, part-time leave replacement. Little did she know that she would spend 17 years working her way up the ranks to become an executive at one of the top professional sports leagues in the world. “I grew up with three brothers,” Wood says. “My father likes to say, ‘I always knew one of my kids would work at the NFL, I just never knew it would be my daughter!’” Throughout her career in law and human resources, Wood has often been the only woman in meetings — something she “never thinks twice about.” In addition to growing up with brothers, she credits the “undeniable value” of her Dobbs education for her confidence: “I learned not just that I had a voice in the world, but how to use it wisely.” Wood admits that when she first came to The Masters School as a junior in 1982, “I walked into a classroom with a conference table and chairs, instead of desks in rows, and I panicked! My nature was to hide in the back of the classroom, placing as much distance as possible between me and my teacher.” Although the seminar style of learning took some getting used to, “It has served me well in the long run,” she says. After graduating from Masters, Wood attended Vanderbilt, where she earned a B.A. in communications; she got her J.D. from Delaware Law School. She practiced law at Epstein, Becker & Greene, P.C. for three years before taking on a role at King World Productions, where she launched its human resources department. “Building a department from the ground up was a very challenging
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Tara McCreery Wood ’84
experience,” Wood says. “The strategic and managerial skills I was forced to develop in real time pushed me out of my comfort zone and remain with me today.” Wood describes moving from a law firm to a fast-paced, live television studio as “a fantastic pivot.” And HR was a good fit for her personality. “I prefer to work directly with employees to reach amicable solutions to workplace issues, as opposed to adjudicating disputes, sometimes years later, in a courtroom,” she explains. While at King World, she met and married her husband, Simon, and they welcomed three children to their family. “Over the years we have always worked together to prioritize and integrate our expanding careers and our amazing family,” Wood shares. When offered a temporary, part-time job at the NFL in 2006, Wood jumped at the opportunity. “I was absolutely thrilled to play even a supporting role in such a prestigious organization,” she says. “I never imagined I would remain and grow my career at the NFL for the next 17 seasons.”
I learned not just that I had a voice
in the world, but how to use it wisely.
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BULLETIN Spring 2022
As the league's head of employee relations for nearly a decade, Wood was responsible for “creating and implementing employment policies and practices to cultivate a positive, productive and diverse workplace.” She describes close consultation and collaboration with a number of departments, including HR, legal, compliance, audit and security to “help ensure the successful resolution of employee relations matters and workplace investigations.” She also oversaw annual league-wide workplace conduct trainings. She notes that, while many are familiar with the NFL’s social responsibility initiatives and their global impact, NFL leadership’s care for league office employees “although not publicized, is equally compelling. I was privileged to assist in the quiet channeling of resources, assistance and support given to a number of employees who were facing difficult personal situations. My file folder of handwritten thank you notes is a wonderful keepsake.” When reflecting on lessons she learned at Dobbs that she carried throughout her career, Wood is quick to mention that it was at Dobbs where she learned to “see my teachers as a valuable resource outside of the classroom.” Because day students couldn’t leave campus before 5:00 p.m. and teachers were often on campus until dinnertime, “When I had homework questions, I would simply pop in and speak one-on-one with my teachers,” she shares. “Those few extra minutes of individual help made all the difference in my effort to master a topic. Subsequently, in college and law school, I would wait after class or visit my teacher’s office for extra help. Even today, I never hesitate to circle back with my boss or colleagues to work through complex business issues — a lasting imprint from my Dobbs teachers.” As Wood looks back on her career path, her advice to those just starting out is simple: “Make the most of every opportunity you are given, no matter how trivial it may seem at the time. Be open to all possibilities and don’t be afraid to ask for what you need.”
