Her Story
About Joni
I'm currently the Corporate Communications Coordinator for the Cleveland Cavaliers, where I focus on social impact, equity, and youth sports. I touch everything that we do out in the community on the Cavs side, including scholarships that we grant out from the Cavs Community Foundation and any of the youth outreach events that we do out in the community. I help to publicize those and make sure Cleveland knows that we are a lot more than just basketball that happens on the court. This includes things like court openings, financial literacy camps, and graphic design camps. Even regionally, when we go out to Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh, we help to make sure that the news is covering all the awesome stories that we have outside of the arena. When I was originally brought on to the Cavs, I kind of did a little bit of everything since we're a small team, and for a while I focused on venue communications and things we were doing inside of the arena, but it evolved into social impact and equity, though I've been doing most of that work the entire time I've been here. My most notable professional achievement is leading Arise at the Cavs and Rock Entertainment Group, which stands for Asians Representing Inclusion, Strength, and Equity. It's our team member resource group, and I lead a group of 7 to 12 people coming together for community, professional development opportunities, and anything in between, whether it be going out in the community and volunteering at the Cleveland Asian Festival every year or gathering to create a sense of community and experience something like the Guardians API night.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Joni
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My first boss out of college, Brittany, really helped me understand that even though I was young and new, my opinions and the thoughts and knowledge that I came in also had value, and really made me feel like I belonged in the rooms and belonged in the space that I was taking up. She showed me the ropes and helped me understand how I can really dive into event planning, and the training that I've gotten from the open arms of people in this organization helped me understand what the voice of the Cavs would sound like and the voice of our social impact and equity team would sound like.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If somebody was looking to get into sports, to get into social impact and equity, I would say that there's always a space for them, and to ask the right questions and continue to outreach to people. I think that it can be really intimidating to reach out to those who are already in the positions that you want, but a lot of times they're really open and willing to meet with you, give informational interviews, and help you learn things that you didn't even know you needed to learn before getting into the industry. Women can be really open and welcoming and help you understand what the right next move is to take a big leap forward.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Since college, I've really been interested in being involved in the community. I was involved in the Office of Multicultural Development and a peer mentor with them, and ever since, I've known that I was really interested in helping people understand what their pathways and options look like in life, even if it wasn't college. I realized that through the corporate work, I can continue to shine a spotlight on the work and resources that companies like the Cavs provide for their community members. I think just trying to really use what we can in each other to uplift one another is a really awesome opportunity.
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