Sports Management Events

Chris, a San Francisco native, is the Senior Director of Community Impact and has been with Angel City FC since March 2022. Previously, Chris was the Chief Program Officer for Coaching Corps (now Positive Coaching Alliance) where he worked for 14 years overseeing national afterschool, government and professional sport partnerships. Coaching Corps focused on serving under-resourced communities across the United States, using sports as a vehicle to create transformative experiences for youth, and believed that coaches were the driver to make that change possible.

In Chris’s current role, he leads Angel City’s community impact efforts. In Angel City’s first year, they granted over $1.1M to the community across the greater Los Angeles area, impacting over 65,000 adults and youth. Angel City leverages sport and entertainment to drive for equity by providing essentials and education with a focus on girls, women, and gender expansive individuals.

Chris has played many sports, but to say that he is passionate about soccer is an understatement. Playing through college and into his adult life, soccer has given him the opportunity to play both domestically and internationally. Chris has a gold medal from the 2018 Paris Gay Games and most recently won the world championships in Sydney, Australia in February 2023.

For Further Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cfajardo9/

Artis Twyman serves as vice president of communications for the Los Angeles Rams. In this position, Twyman oversees the media relations staff and directs the Rams’ communication efforts.

With more than two decades of experience, Twyman previously served nine seasons as senior director of communications and three seasons as the team’s director of media relations after spending six years as assistant director of football media.

Following the 2018 season, Twyman and the Rams communications department won the Pro Football Writers Association’s Pete Rozelle Award. The award recognizes the NFL public relations staff that consistently strives for excellence in its dealings and relationships with the media. It marked the first time since 1997 the Rams have won the award and only the second time in franchise history.

Prior to joining the Rams in 2003, Twyman spent two years as a public relations assistant for the Seattle Seahawks. He broke into the NFL in 2001 as a public relations intern for the expansion Houston Texans. From 1995-2001, he worked in the Tennessee State University Public Relations Department, serving in many capacities, including three years as public information officer.

In 2012, he was one of only two public relations officials throughout the 32-team league chosen to work the Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii. He also received this honor in 2011, 2009, 2008 and 2006. Twyman also was part of public relations staffs for NFC Championship games, as well as several Super Bowls.

He serves as the chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council at California Lutheran University.

Twyman earned his undergraduate degree in speech communications from Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tenn., and a master’s degree in mass communications from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. 

For Further Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artis-twyman-0259556/ 

Evan launched a new venture, Reach Capacity, in October of this year to help teams acquire new customers and drive revenue from distressed inventory. Prior to that, he spent 15 years on the team side of professional sports and intercollegiate athletics where he was tasked with maximizing revenue from ticket sales and enhancing the fan experience. Most recently Evan served as Senior Director, Memberships and Group Sales at the LA Kings. Evan was responsible for generating revenue through new membership and group sales initiatives. As a member of the Kings' leadership team, Evan played an instrumental role in the strategic planning and execution of key business initiatives aimed at enhancing the fan experience and maximizing revenues. Evan oversaw a team of twenty five staff members between the FSE, B2B and Group Sales teams, and is deeply invested in the professional development of those who work with him.

For Further Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-flagg/

For Further Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-isaacson-772835/

Kevin Rider, born and raised in Bridgeton, NJ, grew up playing sports in one of the smallest towns located in Cumberland County. Attending school in Bridgeton, Kevin was a straight A student all the way through high school, landing him several scholarships heading into his undergraduate studies.

A 2012 graduate of Delaware State University, Kevin originally came into college as a sports management student. Until his junior year, he would study to become a sports agent before realizing his true purpose lived in the public relations & advertising industries, where he dreamed of doing more creative writing and designing for sports organizations. Throughout college, Kevin would teach himself how to shoot sports photography and graphic design through Adobe Creative Cloud Suites.

After graduating from Delaware State University, Kevin began working in the non-profit space as a Benefits Coordinator for Oaks Integrated Care. During his time there, he would also pursue a Master of Arts in Strategic Communications at Rowan University, which is located right outside of Bridgeton where he grew up. During this program, Kevin learned the true definition of robust communications while also realizing he had a deeper passion to work in sports. His final two semesters at Rowan actually consisted of him doing a Communications Internship with the Philadelphia Union, a Major League Soccer team, while also conducting his thesis studies on how social media and new technology enhanced the college football recruiting process.

Upon graduating, Kevin would then move to Los Angeles, where he would land his first full-time public relations opportunity, working for KCSA Strategic Communications as a PR Account Executive. During his time as an Account Executive, Kevin also served as a Media Relations Intern for USA Triathlon. This led him to also receiving an opportunity to run game day marketing activations for the Los Angeles Clippers.

After leaving KCSA, Kevin continued working for the Clippers before landing his first full-time sports job with Loyola Marymount University (LMU) as an Assistant Sports Media Relations Manager, where he ran all communications for six different sports including Women’s Basketball, Softball, Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Indoor Volleyball, and Beach Volleyball. Although this would lead Kevin to resigning from the Clippers game day role, he would then go on to pick up another game day role as a PR Associate for the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) , a Major League Soccer team.

While with LAFC, Kevin continued his role at LMU before receiving a major opportunity to transition into a Public Relations Manager role with Angel City Football Club, a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team, ahead of their inaugural season as an expansion club. Since then, Kevin has run all player announcements, media credentialing, away press conferences, and all administrative duties for the PR department at Angel City. He has just completed his second season with the club, while recently becoming an Adjunct Professor in the Sports Management Department at California Lutheran University where he teaches Business of Sports and Sports Analytics.

For Further Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-rider-jr-m-a-270a90b8/ 

Hailing from the Bay Area, Hannah Plackowski grew up playing competitive soccer. She closed out her soccer-playing years at Cañada Community College before transferring to the University of California, Santa Barbara, to pursue a degree in Economics. During her time there, she was involved in the Sports Management Program. That experience inspired her to seek a job in sports after graduation.

In June 2021 she began her career with the San Diego Padres. She started as a Representative in Inside Sales and, after five months, was promoted to the Membership Development team as an Account Executive. During her first year, she sold over $1,000,000 in season tickets and was part of the first-ever Padres sales team to sell out all the club’s season tickets and launch a season ticket waitlist. In recognition of her efforts, she was named the department’s Rookie of the Year.

At the end of the 2022 season, Hannah made a lateral move to the Group Tickets & Hospitality team. During her first year, the department finished #1 in Major League Baseball, selling more group and hospitality tickets than every other team.

For Further Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-plackowski/

Alex Ross, born in Miami, Florida grew up outside of New York City in Westchester County. Alex played tennis and basketball in high school having two state championships to his name.

A 2021 graduate of the University of Michigan, Alex went to school to study sport management. Having completed internships with the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Guardians, Alex realized his passion for the sports industry and wanted to make it a career. 

In June 2021 he began his career with the San Diego Padres as an Inside Sales Representative and shortly after was promoted to the Group Sales teams. Alex spent two seasons selling groups while producing over $1,000,000 each year in revenue for the company. He recently was promoted to the premium sales team where he looks to continue to drive revenue and have an even larger impact in the organization. 

For Further Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ alex-ross-783b9414b/

Artis Twyman serves as vice president of communications for the Los Angeles Rams. In this position, Twyman oversees the media relations staff and directs the Rams’ communication efforts.

With more than two decades of experience, Twyman previously served nine seasons as senior director of communications and three seasons as the team’s director of media relations after spending six years as assistant director of football media.

Following the 2018 season, Twyman and the Rams communications department won the Pro Football Writers Association’s Pete Rozelle Award. The award recognizes the NFL public relations staff that consistently strives for excellence in its dealings and relationships with the media. It marked the first time since 1997 the Rams have won the award and only the second time in franchise history.

Prior to joining the Rams in 2003, Twyman spent two years as a public relations assistant for the Seattle Seahawks. He broke into the NFL in 2001 as a public relations intern for the expansion Houston Texans. From 1995-2001, he worked in the Tennessee State University Public Relations Department, serving in many capacities, including three years as public information officer.

In 2012, he was one of only two public relations officials throughout the 32-team league chosen to work the Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii. He also received this honor in 2011, 2009, 2008 and 2006. Twyman also was part of public relations staffs for NFC Championship games, as well as several Super Bowls.

He serves as the chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council at California Lutheran University.

Twyman earned his undergraduate degree in speech communications from Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tenn., and a master’s degree in mass communications from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. 

For Further Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artis-twyman-0259556/ 

For Further Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-moeller-2a88581b6/ 

Sports business executive, mentor, and teacher who values the development of students and young professionals through the unique power of the sports business. Specialize in building high performing teams and systems through relationship-building and operational efficiency and lead through a culture of trust, creativity, and collaboration. Strategic and detail-oriented - manage multiple complex and cross-functional projects that drive economic, social, and community impact.

For Further Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kherold/