Breaking Boundaries in the Business of Sports: With XFL Legend Heather Karatz

Breaking Boundaries in the Business of Sports

10am PDT

From her days at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School to becoming the President of the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL, Heather Brooks Karatz is a model executive in sports and in life. As the LA Times reported, “She learned early on a girl can do anything a boy could do and lived every day of her professional life accordingly.”

Join this groundbreaker in conversation with Rabbi Sherre Hirsch about forging new paths for women in sports and breaking all boundaries.

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Heather Brooks Karatz was, most recently, the President of the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL. She was responsible for the team's fan engagement and business operations, including ticket sales, corporate partnerships, marketing, content, communications, community relations, and the game day experience.

Prior to joining the XFL, Heather served as the Executive Vice President & General Counsel of the Los Angeles Football Club, where she played a critical role in LAFC’s business development initiatives and was responsible for overseeing all legal matters related to management and operations, stadium construction, and ancillary businesses. Prior to joining LAFC, Heather was the General Counsel and SVP of Independent Sports and Entertainment, formerly known as Relativity Sports. In her role, Heather represented over 300 professional athlete clients across the NFL, NBA and MLB, and was responsible for negotiating and securing marketing deals, advising the Company’s Board, management and investors, leading civil and criminal litigation matters, and interpreting collective bargaining agreements and union regulations.

Heather also worked as an attorney for the NHL during the most recent work stoppage and in the management council of the NFL. She began her legal career as a labor and employment attorney at Hunton & Williams, LLP, a large international law firm. Heather earned her law degree from University of California, Los Angeles in 2009. She is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia. She graduated from Vanderbilt University magna cum laude in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and minor in Philosophy. She was recently named a Women In Sports and Entertainment (WISE) Woman of Inspiration for 2020. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Teddy and young twins Joelle and Abe.

Rabbi Sherre Hirsch is the Chief Innovation Officer for American Jewish University. Rabbi Hirsch made headlines as the first female rabbi at Sinai Temple, the largest Conservative congregation on the west coast. She served as Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hillel International, where she created and developed Hillelwell, an initiative for Hillels worldwide to become the recognized address for preventative mental health. A thought leader on spirituality and religion, Rabbi Hirsch has appeared on the Today Show, ABC News, Extra, and PBS, among other outlets, and has been a contributor to Time.com, Oprah Magazine, the Jewish Journal, the Hollywood Journal, and more. She is the author of “Thresholds, How to Live Fearlessly and Regret Free” (featured in “Hot Type” in Vanity Fair), and “We Plan, God Laughs, What to do When Life Hits You Over the Head” (recognized on Amazon’s Top 100 List). Rabbi Hirsch was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.