Pamela Wheeler
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, NFP
Q
I’m reasonably confident you’re the first person I’ve interviewed for Personal Lines who led the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. Tell me about that job and how it came to be.
A
I was the founding director for the WNBA players union. The WNBA players unionized in 1998, and they selected the NBA Players Association as their collective bargaining agent. The NBAPA then hired me to come on and run the WNBPA. I did that for 15 years.
Favorite New York City Restaurant: Nobu Fifty Seven
Favorite Dish at Nobu Fifty Seven: Scallops (“We usually go and just order the whole menu.”)
Favorite New York Spot to take Visitors: “We go to the food spots. My favorite spots are Nobu Fifty Seven, Avra, and Philippe Chow on East 60th Street. If someone’s never been to Harlem, I’ll take them to the Red Rooster, because that’s a Marcus Samuelsson spot, so you got to go there your first time coming to New York.”
Favorite Movie: The Godfather
Favorite Band: Earth, Wind and Fire
Favorite Book: The Bible
Q
Were you a basketball player?
A
I played basketball, but I certainly was not good enough to go to the WNBA or anything like that. Plus, I was too short. And, of course, when I was playing in high school, the WNBA was 20 years away.
Q
Tell me about growing up in New Rochelle, New York.
A
We knew we were in New York, but we also knew we were not quite in the city. I remember my first subway ride, when I was 17 years old. That’s when I felt like a real New Yorker.
Q
Who were your childhood heroes?
A
Dr. J. [Julius Erving]. I absolutely adored him. And then people like Anita Defrantz, who was the first woman of color on the International Olympic Committee. I looked up to people like Elaine Weddington Steward, the first black woman who was an assistant general manager with the Boston Red Sox.
Q
You got your law degree from Boston University. After law school, what were you thinking, career-wise?
A
When I was in law school, there were really three career paths. You either went to the DA’s office, you did community service work, or you went to a corporate law firm. I remember going into the career services office and telling them that I’m wanting to go into sports. They said to me, “Well, you know, good luck. Let us know how it works out.”
Q
You’re a member of The Council’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee. Joel Wood, The Council’s president, mentioned a recent committee meeting that you were at. A conversation came up about the mission of DEI programs. There was one side that said it was all about the bottom line, and others said it was all about making the workforce look more like the rest of America. Tell me where you are coming from.
A
I think sometimes we maybe oversimplify this thing. I think the conversation was, “Do we approach DEI from the position of a business imperative? Or do we approach it from it’s the right thing to do?” I don’t think that those are mutually exclusive. It is, indeed, the right thing to do. But it’s also a business imperative. How can entering into new markets be a bad thing, right?
Q
What is something your co-workers would be surprised to learn about you?
A
My co-workers would probably be surprised that I like horses. And actually one of my claims to fame is that I actually sat on Secretariat.
Q
Woah! How did that happen?
A
My grandfather was a groomsmen out at Belmont. My co-workers might
be surprised because I’m a little bit of a germaphobe.
Q
What’s the most interesting thing in your office?
A
My daughter’s specialty doll collection. Her godmother doesn’t have any kids, so she kind of goes out on the deep end with my daughter. She has actually started my daughter on a collectible Barbie doll collection. I have about 10 of them in my office. The Susan Johnson doll, Maya Angelou, Tina Turner, Ida B. Wells. So they’re all the black women collectibles from Barbie.
Q
What three words would your co-workers use to describe your management style?
A
I’d say fair and democratic and empowering.
Q
What gives you your leader’s edge?
A
I’m pretty practical, straightforward, to the point. You very seldom walk away from a conversation with me going, “What does she actually mean?”
