Keynote Speaker
NFL Executive, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, People Magazine’s 25 Women Changing the World, Host NFL & iHeart Radio podcast, Sports Illustrated Most Powerful, Most Influential, Most Outstanding Women in Sports, Fortune’s 40-under 40
20 year veteran within the NFL organization, bold executive leading Diversity, Equity and Inclusion during unprecedented times, Sam Rapoport shares with teams and organizations how a more diverse environment can change the world.
Sam Rapoport is the Senior Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with the National Football League with over 19 seasons working in football. Rapoport has dedicated her career to creating innovative business models aimed at enfranchising marginalized populations in sport. With this focus, she has worked to shift and progress diversity hiring in football. Rapoport is also a retired quarterback who played in the women’s professional football league.
Rapoport catalyzed a movement for women in sports by creating a new diversity platform for the NFL, that has since been replicated by other professional sports leagues. Through this effort, 200+ female coaching, scouting and operations candidates have been hired since its inception in 2017; a record number.
Rapoport is host of the NFL’s groundbreaking new podcast called “Earnin’ It: The NFL’s Forward Progress” with iHeart Radio which premiered in November 2021.
Rapoport was recently named one of Sports Illustrated Most Powerful, Most Influential and Most Outstanding Women in Sports and was included in The Athletic’s NFL 40-under 40. She was also awarded the NFL Commissioner’s Award selected by Commissioner Roger Goodell, Fortune 40 Under 40, Outsports’ Hero of the Year, and was recently named one of People Magazine’s 25 Women Changing the World. Rapoport has played football since the age of 14 as quarterback of several women’s tackle and flag football teams. She is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada and resides with her wife, Rebecca and her children, Jordy and Tobin in the New York area.
Sam provides the blueprint for how the NFL went from no women in coaching, scouting and officiating positions to rapid progress and record numbers. These strategies can be implemented to help any organization advance in this space.
Sam explains how she struggled and overcame adversity as an NFL executive who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. She provides an inspirational look and actionable plan on how organizations can create the most inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ employees bringing out the very best of an organization.
Sam delves into her experience in professional football to provide actionable take-aways to help women and gender non-conforming employees thrive in male-dominated industries. Sam has over two-decades of success rising through the ranks of the NFL and powerfully shares her experience in an effort to help others lead and significantly contribute in industries they may not see themselves visible in leadership today. Sam is an inspiration and powerful storyteller motivating audiences to become the change agents of tomorrow.
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