Testimonial
Rich Henderson, Director of Marketing

“During a 2-month Advisory Workshop, Lea-Ann assisted us in creating a true brand identity, market differentiation, and alignment with our experience and offerings. She challenged us to think outside of our comfort zone, pushing us to consider new market opportunities and giving us powerful insights into our true value-add for clients. One of the most valuable things that Lea-Ann worked with us on is a well-designed path for future growth and changes.”

- Rich Henderson, Director of Marketing

“I Believe My Yankees Dream Can Become A Reality”

Posted on Sep 10, 2013
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Follow-up to #theDreamInitiative with Jayme Epstein — When I was little, I wanted to be a Sportscaster.  I remember the first time I watched a Yankees’ game on television with my dad; though, at that point I did not understand the game, I knew I loved it and wanted it to be a part of my life.  Also as a child, I was quite the little diva and dreamt of being on TV myself, so a sportscaster was only fitting.  Although this is no longer a realistic dream, being a Strategic Marketer in the sports and entertainment industry is, and that is exactly what I want to do.

In High School, I took my first Marketing class and right away I knew I loved it.  I joined DECA (an association of marketing students) and began participating in marketing competitions at the local and state levels.  In college, I decided to major in Marketing and minor in Exercise Sport Sciences with the hopes of one day going to Law School and becoming an agent.  When that didn’t pan out, I turned back to being a Strategic Marketer, and that is the path I am trying to get on now.  When I graduated with my marketing degree in May 2011, I was having trouble finding a job and I found out that I was only 19 credits shy of an accounting degree.  I thought maybe marketing wasn’t the path for me, so I stayed in school another year and graduated again in May 2012 with an accounting degree and that is now what I am doing.  Working in accounting has only made me realize more how much I want to be in marketing and that I will now do whatever it takes to get into that industry.

My dream is to move to New York and launch a career in marketing with ESPN and ultimately end up working for the New York Yankees.  In order to get there I have begun working with Lea-Ann to gain as much knowledge and experience as I can.  I also continue to work at Walt Disney World (who owns the majority of ESPN) to grow my network and maintain support from my leaders within the company.

My dream is to connect more fans with the world of sports. Many women view sports as “a man’s thing,” but that simply is not true.  Sports are for everyone and they are a wonderful thing for friends and families to bond and connect over.  Being a sports fan teaches dedication, loyalty, passion, as well as many more traits, and I want to help show that to the world and bring them closer.

My two biggest fears would be failure and disappointing my family.  New York is a very tough place to live, very fast paced, very busy, and most of all very expensive.  I am scared that I will not be able to support myself living in New York and am not a fan of asking for help.  I also fear that I will finally land the job and then be utterly horrible at it.

I believe that if I keep working at it and being open to new teachings, my dream can become a reality.  I am not one to give up easily and am very willing to put in the effort necessary to achieve my goals and I believe that working with and learning from Lea-Ann is going to be the biggest help/factor to getting me to my dream career.  I hope that by January 2015 I will be living back home in New York working for ESPN and continuing my journey to working for the Yankees.