Richie is the recipient of numerous awards, including the YMCA’s Black Achiever’s Award and Ebony magazine’s Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications Award. Richie also was named one of the 25 Influential Black Women in Business in 2011 by The Network Journal. She’s a graduate of Dartmouth College.
Here, the veteran marketing and brand-management executive and the first black woman to be in charge of a professional sports league shares what excites her most about her new “dream job” and offers tips for aspiring leaders. –yvette caslin
Why did you decide you wanted to join the WNBA organization?
The best way I can describe my interest in the WNBA is my 13-year-old niece’s analysis. She said, “Auntie Laurel, you do all of that girl stuff.” I looked at her and sort of smiled, and I realized actually she’s right. I really enjoyed my work at Girl Scouts and have always felt it’s important to be a role model and facilitate opportunities for women and young girls. I love the WNBA. I love the athleticism. We are living in the time of almost an epidemic of childhood obesity. I think about the women of the WNBA who play good basketball and leave their heart on the court in every single game. One of the benefits and byproducts of that is young women get to see strong, beautiful women who are competing in a top-of-the-line sport’s league. I want to make sure that I am doing my part to contribute to the success of the league.
How does the WNBA’s mission align with your personal philosophy?
On a couple of levels. First and foremost, it’s great basketball. As hard as we work everyday, we deserve to have things in our lives that bring us joy. The opportunity to go and attend a WNBA game and have a great experience is really important. We are coming up on the 40th anniversary of Title IX, and the WNBA league has been around for 15 years. We are the longest running professional women’s sports league in the country. I feel that’s important. The class [of] rookies that came in this year, many of them referenced that they would attend a WNBA game or watch it on TV. That gave them a sense of possibility – that if basketball was their love, [there] was a place for them to do that professionally. I am happy to support that.
Are you athletic?
I was a synchronized swimmer and cheerleader. I am a fan. I love to watch basketball, football and tennis.
What are some tips that you can offer up-and-coming professionals climbing the career ladder?
Find something that you love to do. If you love what you are doing, your chance at being good at it is dramatically increased. You don’t feel like you are working. You are following your bliss instead of slogging. Find something that you love, and stick with it. There were many times in my career where I felt challenged or overlooked or that I wasn’t getting opportunities that I wanted. I felt that if you continued to do good work that, eventually, you would be recognized even if it wasn’t recognized in the time frame that you wanted to be recognized. The other thing that I have a much greater appreciation of now than I did early on in my career is networking, in the sense of connecting with people, helping other people and letting other people help you. I think networking helps you to take a broader view of things rather than a narrowly-focused and myopic view.
Who inspires you?
My parents. My dad and mom were trailblazers, very accomplished and never took no for an answer for anything that they wanted. They had great love for each other and were focused on family. I am blessed to be their child.
