For Betsy McCann, nurturing the authentic self must be at the center of all diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

“There’s no way that you can be a different person from nine to five than you are from five to nine,” said McCann, the new senior vice president of people and culture at Utah Jazz. “As soon as you start doing that, you feel this pull inside that tells you you’re not your authentic self.”

McCann started her role in 2022 and has spent the last year pouring herself into making that approach not just a possibility, but a commonplace.

Lori Prichard, anchor and reporter for Utah’s KSL, interviewed McCann during From Day One’s March conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Establishing that McCann herself is from out of state, Prichard asked what it’s like to build a team with different backgrounds.

“This particular area of the country isn’t necessarily known for being as diverse as some other regions,” Prichard said. “How are you transparent with people who are coming to the organization from outside about [some of] the obstacles or challenges that they may face?”

When it comes to feeling as though you can be your “authentic self” at work, McCann asserts that it all starts in your company’s hiring practices.

“As the human resource function has evolved, we have a diligence and a duty to our candidates to provide them more of the real picture,” she said. “I promise most of you have gotten a job and been like, ‘Alright, when is the other shoe going to drop?’”

The Jazz’s response was a program for the Black community, where current employees and prospective candidates can use confidential meeting time to talk about their experiences. The hiring manager, other employees, and even McCann herself aren’t involved—it’s an entirely safe place to have a real heart to heart. 

McCann says candidate feedback has been “incredible.”

“This is something I’ve shared with the NBA, that I think other teams are figuring out how they would incorporate something like it,” she said.

But you can’t hit the brakes after the hiring interviews. Consistent reminders that team members are seen and heard are key to maintaining a sense of belonging.

Last year, for Día de los Muertos, “we had an ofrenda on the concourse,” she said. “We had incredible performances by Latinx and Hispanic artists, and we took the time to connect to that community in a meaningful way.”

The Jazz will also be hosting their second pride night this year.

“The night after I accepted [this] job, our chief experience officer took me to a Jazz game. It was our first ever pride night, and as a queer person sitting there, I felt like they’d done it before. It’s something that they’re proud of.”

But while its foundational and second-story levels of inclusivity efforts are massive, what seems to make the Jazz’s impact uniquely successful is its ability to reach far outside of the core organization.

“Seeing the reach of the Jazz into the [larger] community, particularly in schools is so critically important. What are some strategies that you use as an organization to make sure people know in the state that we care about diversity, equity, and inclusion?” Prichard asked.

McCann immediately pointed to Junior Jazz, the largest youth-focused basketball program in the NBA. Currently, over 60,000 students in six states participate every year.

“I grew up in a very small town where no pro-athletes [came to] show me how to play basketball,” McCann said. “[When you participate in] Junior Jazz, your family, and you as an individual, start paying attention to the work that the Jazz does, how we interface with the community and the events we build.”

All of these efforts combined make the Jazz’s employees, players and fans feel connected not only to the game, but to each other.

“The first time I went to a game, [I felt] the sound in my body,” McCann said. “This is something special. To be able cultivate the next generation of [the Jazz] is incredible.”

Jacqueline is a writer and Master of Accounting graduate from the University of Utah. Specializing in tax, she's interested in business, government, and the intersection of the two. When she's not in Excel or writing, she loves to run, play Candy Crush, and read novels.