More than a decade ago, looking to reinvent her career, Shana Renee Stephenson took an approach that eventually led to her current top-level marketing role with fan-favorite WNBA team the New York Liberty.
What was it that made the difference? Authenticity. Being herself, refusing to conform. “That’s when so many opportunities and doors started to unlock for me,” Stephenson said.
She told her story on Wednesday at Fordham’s 10th annual Women’s Summit, speaking on a panel about building and promoting one’s personal brand. Her appearance arose out of Fordham’s new partnership with the New York Liberty, begun in August to foster career development for students and joint service to the New York community.
‘My Power and My Strength’
Stephenson, senior vice president and chief brand officer for the team, has led an upsurge in the team’s brand visibility since joining the Liberty in 2019. The team thrilled New Yorkers this year with their sweep of the Minnesota Lynx, the first time in WNBA history that a No. 8 seed team upset a No. 1 seed team in the postseason.
As for elevating her own brand, Stephenson said, she found that she had to do some unlearning during a pivot point in her career.
After leaving a job at ESPN, working as a writer and consultant in a “male-dominated and predominantly white” sports industry, she found a competitive advantage in tapping into her authentic self in a way that was freeing and energizing for her career.
“My power and my strength” was to stop conforming, she said. “As women, we’re often taught … how we should dress, how we should lead, how we should look and show up in every room and space. But that always doesn’t fit us,” she said.
“Once I was able to really own my identity and own my style and even my hair, my nails, whatever it was, that’s when I really started to do my best work,” she said. “That’s when I was my most confident, when I didn’t feel that I had to erase parts of who I am to enter spaces, and I could feel safe in those spaces, showing up exactly as I am.”
Serving Students in Partnership
Her appearance came about two months after Fordham officially launched its partnership with the New York Liberty. Its benefits for Fordham students include access to career development events like the virtual workshop in resume writing and other skills that was held today by Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, parent organization of the WNBA team. A Fordham student has also been hired as an intern with the Liberty, with more internships to follow as part of the partnership.
Careers were a main theme of the Women’s Summit, along with the importance of giving back. In a fireside chat with Fordham President Tania Tetlow, JPMorgan Chase executive Teresa Heitsenrether ’87 spoke about the value of helping one’s coworkers and how it affects an organization’s culture.
“It doesn’t matter where you sit on the org chart in terms of the impact that you can have on the world around you and certainly the people around you,” said Heitsenrether, executive vice president and chief data and analytics officer at the company. She was one of four women inducted into Fordham’s Pioneering Women in Philanthropy at the summit.
‘Advocating for Ourselves’
During the session on personal branding, Stephenson emphasized the importance of knowing oneself to gain confidence and establish one’s own brand. She tries to help her own team members do that by setting the right tone. “I want everyone to feel comfortable and feel like the space and the culture that we’ve created is safe for them to thrive in,” she said.
The panel’s moderator, Fordham senior Madison McCarthy, asked about how to square authenticity with “sharing what you bring to the table” and not seeming boastful. “How can we get more comfortable advocating for ourselves, sharing our accomplishments?” said McCarthy, president of the Fordham Marketing Association and head team manager for the women’s basketball program at Fordham.
Panelist Aniko Delaney, advanced lecturer in the Gabelli School of Business, replied that sharing what you’re learning and doing provides valuable information to your network—and to recruiters. “I always like to reframe it as ‘educate,’” she said. “If you’re going to events, publish. Your network is going to rely on the insights that you’ve gained.”
