On March 31, 2022 as part of the Sports Business Journal’s ALL IN conference, WMFDP | FDP Global co-founder Bill Proudman joined Denver Broncos VP Diversity, Equity and Inclusion China Jude in discussing why and how White men need to get off the sidelines and into the game when it comes to genuine DEI work.

Bill and China’s talk would become SBJ’s most-viewed video. Watch it here or below:

All In The [White Male] Elephant in the Room from Sports Business Journal on Vimeo.

SBJ’s ALL IN

The Sports Business Journal’s ALL IN is a year-long series of events dedicated to amplifying and elevating conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion in order to activate change in the sports industry. Learn more about the conference here.

The series is anchored by a two-day virtual conference that is complimentary and open to all. The virtual conference provides compelling perspectives – from inside and outside of sports – on how progressive organizations are developing human capital and building enterprises that better serve employees and customers while achieving long-term growth.

March 31 @ 2 pm ET | Noon ET
The [White Male] Elephant in the Room

In order for DEI initiatives to effectively impact workplace culture, white male leadership must actively and intentionally be involved. Many white male leaders feel like they don’t have anything to add to the discussion or are afraid they will say the wrong thing, so instead of embarking in uncomfortable conversations, they sit on the sidelines. This session examines why and how white male leadership need to participate in the process.

About the presenters:

China Jude, VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos on Monday announced the hiring of Dr. China Jude as Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion on April 26, 2021. In a newly created role for the organization, Jude works closely with football, business and community leadership on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy. She also works directly with the human resources and community development departments, focusing on recruitment, hiring processes, overall workplace environment and external outreach. In addition to leading the organization’s overall DEI strategy and representing the team as an external ambassador on social justice initiatives, Jude will guide the team’s internal DEI committee as it hosts regular organization-wide programming.  Jude has more than 23 years of collegiate athletic administration and coaching experience, most recently worked as the University of Wyoming’s Senior Associate Athletics Director for Administration/Senior Woman Administrator (SWA). During her three years at Wyoming, she oversaw sports medicine, sports performance and nutrition, strategic planning, gender equity and diversity and inclusion initiatives, and the volleyball and soccer programs.

At Wyoming, Jude created strategies on addressing sexual assault/violence, served as Chair of the University Wide Black 14 Commemoration Week and coordinated the celebration of women who competed prior to Title IX. She also strengthened Wyoming’s diversity and inclusion recruitment and professional development programming, leading to an eight percent increase in ethnic minority and female staffers in under-represented areas. In addition, Jude served on the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Committee and is the President of the Minority Opportunities Athletics Association (MOAA). She is also the former Chair of the NCAA Minority Opportunities Interest Committee (MOIC) and founder of the Women of Color (WoC) Athletics Director Network.

She was named to the 10th annual Sports Business Journal (SBJ) Game Changers: Women in Sports Business Class of 2020 and was named the 2019 Women Leaders in College Sports Nell Jackson Administrator of the Year.

Bill Proudman, Co-Founder WMFDP | FDP Global
Bill Proudman pioneered workshops for white men in the mid-90s after repeatedly noticing that white male leaders disengaged from diversity efforts. His provocative work led to the firm’s focus on guiding leaders to a place of deeper understanding and awareness, heightened cultural competence, and transformative and courageous leadership.

WMFPD is based in Portland Oregon with almost 20 staff and 35 consultants.  Some of the firm’s current clients include Lockheed Martin, BAE, S&P Global, Abbvie, Mass Mutual, Applied Materials, National Hockey League, Parexel, P&G, Engie and Amazon Web Services. For over 40 years, Bill has served as a consultant, coach and facilitator on issues of team effectiveness, cultural competence, diversity, inclusion and equity and leadership development.

He is also co-author of a three-volume field guide on diversity partnerships. Bill leads our international client work, having developed and led learning in most parts of the world. Bill is working toward the day when all people view a diverse and inclusive work environment as vital to maintaining a company’s competitive edge and is in everyone’s self-interest.