[00:00:00] ​ [00:01:36] Introduction and Setting the Stage --- [00:01:36] Dreena Whitfield: Okay, great. So let's dive in. I want you to think about this because I'm taking you back a bit. [00:01:45] Early Leadership Lessons at Penn State --- [00:01:45] Dreena Whitfield: So you are at Penn State, you are the captain of the track and field team, all that pressure, all eyes on you. Who were you back then and what did that season teach you about leadership before any of your titles came? [00:02:00] Laila Brock: Ooh, that is a really, really good question. I was interestingly, very insecure. Very introverted. And had to force myself to be a leader because other people saw me that way. And so I had to step into that role that other people saw in me really quickly. It was very uncomfortable for me, extremely uncomfortable. [00:02:21] Laila Brock: But what I realized was, is that if other people saw in me, that must mean it actually exists. And so, that Laila. Yeah, 20, almost 30 years ago at this point was I felt like I was living in a space that wasn't real for me. But then as I grew through my career, my track and field career, I realized that it was real for me because it was something that helped me to find my voice. [00:02:48] Laila Brock: It helped me to make strong and lasting relationships, and it really helped me to connect with other people in an authentic way which is not something that I had really been able to [00:03:00] do in my high school years and my, you know, formative years because I, you know, I was just very shy and introverted. [00:03:04] Laila Brock: And so it helped me to flex my muscle of being an introverted extrovert. [00:03:09] Dreena Whitfield: Oh that's hard. [00:03:10] Laila Brock: It's hard. It's hard. And I didn't realize like how many people have to do that every day. And so it, it really made me like I said, just use my voice and figure out who I was and, you know, do the things that other people thought that I could do. [00:03:24] Influential Figures and Personal Growth --- [00:03:24] Dreena Whitfield: When you think about that version of yourself, who were the people that poured into you during those early years? Like who shall, who helped shape the way you learned to lead and carry your. [00:03:36] Laila Brock: The first person that pops into my mind is my college coach, Carol Smith Gilbert. She is now at University of Georgia. She's the head coach there and is winning national champions ships and like doing the thing and just, I mean, doing exactly what God put her on this earth to do. But she was the one who told me. [00:03:53] Laila Brock: To every single day, wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and say, I love you. You are enough and you can do this. And I still do that. [00:04:00] To this day. Whenever I'm feeling really down or insecure, I, you know, I have to do that. We all have to do that. Is that the first person who can love you is you. [00:04:08] Laila Brock: And she told me that. I think that others were, you know, obviously my mom is. My rock, my best friend. She's, I mean, she's the homie. Okay. Like when I would feel like, you know, just coming home, whatever, she I'm from a very small town in Pennsylvania called Washington, pa. It's about as big as, I don't know, like a somebody's teeny tiny living room. [00:04:28] Laila Brock: And she always said to me, don't come back here. There's nothing for you here. Go out and see the world and do big things. And I think the third person back then was my grandma. It still is. She is 90. Six now. [00:04:40] Dreena Whitfield: Come on, grandma. [00:04:42] Laila Brock: I'm telling you, and we'll beat you in a game of spades if you put cards in front of her. [00:04:46] Laila Brock: Okay. She's crazy and I love it. But you know, she was also the one who just told me, listen, she told me from a very young age, she probably told me and all my cousins this is that. She's like, you're extraordinary. Go do extraordinary things. And so, you know, she [00:05:00] poured into me that, those types of things. [00:05:01] Laila Brock: But she also poured into me the competitive nature that I have. So she's always like, just go out there and win whatever winning looks like. So, [00:05:08] Dreena Whitfield: I love that. I love that. [00:05:10] Challenges and Triumphs in Operations Roles --- [00:05:10] Dreena Whitfield: As you moved from those college years into your career, you stepped into some huge sports environments, right? Like the Orange Bowl and the college football playoff. What did those early operations roles teach you about grit, problem solving, especially as a young black woman trying to find her own lane. [00:05:31] Laila Brock: Yeah. So those were really hard roles, but I absolutely loved them. And I loved them because they were a big challenge for me. I think, you know, going back to your first question is that, you know, what did being a team captain te teach me, it's taught me that I can just do hard things, you know? And so, those operations roles, they were not. [00:05:50] Laila Brock: Originally meant for people who look like you and I, you know, especially at the highest level of college football. So, you know, I would often get the [00:06:00] question, you know, well, who's your boss? Like, can I just talk to him? And I had to say, I literally had to end up saying to people, I am the boss and you're talking to the person you need to talk to. [00:06:09] Laila Brock: You know, and so it was hard, but it was worth it because I feel like what I was able to do was open up the door for other women. Other black women to work in a space that was not created for them to succeed. And so it was really, really challenging, but it was. It was rewarding. I am the kind of person who loves to put a puzzle together, and that's all operations is. [00:06:32] Laila Brock: It's just a puzzle. And so it's a matter of thinking in a different way to just get to a solution really quickly. And just make sure that people are satisfied with the result. You know, working for the college football playoff was probably one of the greatest. Honors of my career because I was able to help build a brand from the ground up. [00:06:50] Laila Brock: It didn't exist. And then, you know, I got a call and I was employee number seven and they said, Hey, we want you to build [00:06:56] Dreena Whitfield: Number seven. [00:06:57] Laila Brock: number seven. [00:07:00] Yes. And so they said, you know, we want you to build out what our student athlete experience is gonna look like. We want you to build out what our events are gonna look like. [00:07:07] Laila Brock: So from nothing came. What you see today is what the student athletes do while they're on the ground at the national championship and the, uh, concerts, the fan festivals, the decor, all the major things that the fans get to experience too. I'm so blessed to say they have my fingerprints all over them, and I'm, I just, I love that. [00:07:29] Dreena Whitfield: Laila, I'm just gonna remember what we were just talking about and you were like, I was listening to some of the episodes and some of the women on there were so inspiring, and I'm like, you chose me girl. Your f you just said it. Your fingerprint is all over that. What is one, like what's one thing you would te you would tell young Laila today? [00:07:49] Dreena Whitfield: Young Laila that's walking in as employee number seven. What's one piece of advice you would tell her today that also maybe resonate? Maybe resonate with like an a young [00:08:00] black woman that's entering into a similar space currently? [00:08:04] Laila Brock: That you deserve to be in the room. And if you are the only black woman in the room, make sure that when you leave you that room, it does not look exactly the same as that when you came in. Meaning give other people an opportunity and, you know, make sure that the people who are coming in. [00:08:22] Laila Brock: Make sure that you are making them qualified. You have the responsibility to teach them the things that you know, so that they can be even better than you. One of the things that I always tell the people, the interns that work for me at the CFP was, listen, at the end of the day, I want you to be able to walk outta here and walk into any room that you want to, any ad's office, any football coach's office, and you know your stuff. [00:08:47] Laila Brock: Because you've been through the fire and there they will never doubt anything that you say. [00:08:53] Dreena Whitfield: Love that. [00:08:54] Laila Brock: Yeah. [00:08:55] Transition to Business Development --- [00:08:55] Dreena Whitfield: At some point you made the shift from operations into business development. What was [00:09:00] happening in your world that made you feel like you were ready to step into a bigger seat and own part of your career? [00:09:07] Laila Brock: So it's interesting. It was what I thought was a failure back then, but really it was a setup for something else, which is always what happens. We know that happens, right? You know, so I had interviewed to be the chief operating officer for an organization. I didn't get it. And I was devastated. [00:09:24] Laila Brock: 'cause I was like, I'm ready. I know I can do this. And I sat, I had to sit down and say to myself, okay, so what are you missing? Like you can do operations like nobody's business. Like the things that you do are industry standards Now. So I don't get it. But I looked at it and I was like, I've never raised a dollar in my entire life. [00:09:41] Laila Brock: I've never touched the profit side of the profit and law statement. So I was like, okay, well guess what? That's what you're gonna have to do. And so I started putting it out there to friends in the industry, mentors and folks like that, just saying, Hey, listen, this is something that I really wanna do. [00:09:56] Laila Brock: I know I can do it. I just need an opportunity. And that's when I moved on to JMI [00:10:00] sports where. I was in charge of all the sponsorships for the Pit University of Pittsburgh and had never done that before. But one of the things that, yeah, literally I was like. I, okay. I guess whatever. But one of the things that one of my mentors told me early, very early on, he was like, you know, you're smart. [00:10:19] Laila Brock: You can figure it out. And when I got the job, you know, one of the reasons I got the job was because I had done a really good job of building relationships, and that's all salesy is relationships, you know? And so they were like, well, you know how to talk to people. You know how to build relationships. [00:10:33] Laila Brock: You know how to make people feel good about what they're doing. You know how to. Activate on sponsorships. I had, you know, 'cause I had done all the activations on that side. That's all operations is, but I didn't, had never done the sales side of it. And I went into sales right before the pandemic, like the pandemic hit six months after I started a sponsorship sales role. [00:10:54] Laila Brock: I was like, well, that, that's great that this is fantastic. Great timing on my part. But [00:11:00] what I learned though was how to sell creatively. Because I had to, because you know, there was nobody in the stands at games. There was no, you know, live events. And that's what people wanted. They wanted people to touch and feel and see their brands, and I could, we couldn't do that. [00:11:15] Laila Brock: And so we had to get really creative and so I felt like that was probably the best training ground I could have gotten. In sponsorship sales because I had to do it differently and I had to figure it out. And that's why we were successful there, and that's why we increased revenue by x, y, Z amount, you know, even during a pandemic. [00:11:31] Laila Brock: So it was, you know, it was pretty special. So the short answer is that I got into the revenue side of sports because I knew that my career had stalled and so I had to challenge myself to do something I had never done before. I was scared to death, but I did it in anyway, and I was, I'm so glad that I did. [00:11:49] Dreena Whitfield: Yeah. I mean that's normally what happens when you approach something out of like. Right. And like just jump feet first. Like you end up like figuring out how to make it work and thrive. [00:12:00] Right. [00:12:00] Joining the Atlanta Dream --- [00:12:00] Dreena Whitfield: And so that path eventually brought you to the Atlanta Dream, right. At a moment when women's sports were rising in visibility and cultural power, what did joining the dream mean to you? [00:12:12] Dreena Whitfield: And how did that opportunity speak to the leader that you were becoming? [00:12:16] Laila Brock: Yeah, it was something that I had never thought that I would do. I will be the first one to admit that I never even watched A-W-N-B-A game because I was just like, I'm a college football girly, you know what I mean? I'm not, you know, I don't even like basketball, [00:12:30] Dreena Whitfield: pivot. [00:12:31] Laila Brock: you know what I mean? [00:12:31] Laila Brock: I'm like, I'm going from the grid iron to like. Women's basketball. Like what? But when I looked at the league and what they were trying to do and the way that they allowed women to be unapologetically themselves and authentic, I was like, oh, okay, this makes sense. And then when I really looked at it as well, I thought to myself, okay, so I've got all this knowledge and experience from the college football space, which, you know, there's just so much there. [00:12:59] Laila Brock: [00:13:00] And I was like, well, if I can apply that to women's basketball. There's a shot that we could do something really special, and we did. You know, and I think that it was just, it was a great opportunity for me to be in a different type of space. It was the first time in, in my entire career that I could walk into a space and feel like, okay, my voice is celebrated here among the W teams. [00:13:21] Laila Brock: And it like, so it just, it felt good. It felt really good. [00:13:25] Dreena Whitfield: Was there a moment during your time there that it clicked for you that your career could be both powerful and purposeful and that you really didn't have to change, choose between the two. [00:13:37] Laila Brock: Yeah, there was a really big moment. You know, so we as security, uh, a partnership with Cash App and a part of that partnership was that we were going to eliminate debt. In Atlanta, right? And so what we did was we took a hundred thousand of the sponsorship and applied it to debt relief. [00:13:57] Laila Brock: They matched that [00:14:00] and we ended up, uh, eliminating $10 million worth of debt through a company called for give code that buys bad debt and then can relieve it, but for pennies on the dollar. So we were able to eliminate $10 million worth of debt in Atlanta through a sponsorship. [00:14:16] Dreena Whitfield: And that was what? That was a project led by you. [00:14:18] Laila Brock: It was. [00:14:19] Dreena Whitfield: Oh, okay. I'm just going back to like, you know, some of our conversations that we had. [00:14:24] Laila Brock: I see what you did there. Received. But it was and it wasn't just that it was debt relief and it wasn't that, that, it was just like, let's just, you know, do this thing and, you know, keep it anonymous. Whatever we told people, if you wanna tell your story. But then we also did it on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's. [00:14:43] Laila Brock: I have a dream speech. We did it purposefully because the dream is named after the I Have a Dream speech. So it was just that storytelling that we could do through this amazing program that was just absolutely amazing. And so what that really taught me was that [00:15:00] the ideas that I had in my head could come to fruition and people could actually benefit from it. [00:15:05] Laila Brock: And it was just, it was very empowering. It was probably the biggest moment in my career where I felt like, to your point. You can be a leader, but you can also change somebody's life. And it was just, it was really special. I get a little emotional thinking about it because it was just, it was an amazing day. [00:15:22] Dreena Whitfield: Aw. [00:15:23] Navigating Leadership as a Black Woman --- [00:15:23] Dreena Whitfield: So when you add being a black woman in sports leadership to all of that, it carries its own weight. How have you learned to navigate rooms where you might be the only one who looks like you might be the only one that has the hair like you, or dresses like you without shrinking yourself? [00:15:39] Dreena Whitfield: Because it can be very intimidating. [00:15:42] Laila Brock: Yeah. Yeah, it is very intimidating to walk into a room sometimes and know that my blackness walks into the room before I do. You know, because I'm unapologetic about who I am. And I had to get to that point though. I will say is that over the last five years that's when I started I call myself in my Michelle Obama era. [00:15:59] Laila Brock: 'cause I'm like I'm keeping [00:16:00] these bras in now. [00:16:01] Dreena Whitfield: Yes. [00:16:02] Laila Brock: like, if Michelle can do it, I can do it. But I think that, you know, for me it's always just been about putting both feet on the ground, making sure that I understand who I am. And just understanding that I belong in every single room that I enter. [00:16:18] Laila Brock: Because if I wasn't supposed to be there, God wouldn't have placed me there. And so, you know, I have found myself sometimes having to tell myself, Hey, you gotta speak up, you gotta use your voice. And I've off often also said to myself, you are not the spokesperson for the entire black community. 'Cause they will try to make you that way. But I also, so there's that balance between, you know. Speaking on behalf of everybody, or speaking on behalf of yourself. And every black woman has to have that balance sometimes because we know what happens is that, you know, they think that blackness is a that we're a monolith and we're just not. [00:16:51] Laila Brock: And every black experience is just, is very different and every black woman's experience in the workplace is different. And so I think that for me it's just a matter of. Understanding [00:17:00] who I am and understanding that I, you know, I belong in those rooms. I, you know, I often tell people also that if, as long as I'm prepared and hydrated, I can do anything seriously. [00:17:12] Laila Brock: You say, I got my water here because I learned that from track and field. As long as I, like, if I know what's going on and I know what's happening, whatever, and I'm have my water, I'm good. [00:17:24] Dreena Whitfield: I love that. Drinking your water, my, and being about your business. [00:17:28] Laila Brock: Moisturized. [00:17:32] Dreena Whitfield: you have sat across the table from some major partners and negotiated very meaningful opportunities and partnerships that impact our communities. When you were in those moments, who were you carrying with you? Who do you feel you are building for when you're making those decisions? [00:17:50] Representing the Ancestors and Future Generations --- [00:17:50] Laila Brock: I am representing the ancestors. I am representing every black woman who had never had the opportunity to sit across those tables. I am representing my grandmother [00:18:00] who graduated high school, and that was it, and is in awe of the places and things and plate and opportunities that I've had. I am representing the young Laila. [00:18:12] Laila Brock: You know, who used to sit in my backyard and watch planes fly by and see and figure out where they were going and say, one day I'm gonna be that person on that plane. I'm representing that little girl who thought about the possibilities but didn't even know that they were, you know, what was ahead. [00:18:27] Laila Brock: I'm representing all of them. I'm representing the young women who are in college right now and they say that they wanna work in sports. They have no idea how to get there. I'm representing them so that. I know that once I do it right, once they will have the opportunity to do it over and over again. [00:18:44] Dreena Whitfield: Mm-hmm. [00:18:46] The Rise of Women's Sports --- [00:18:46] Dreena Whitfield: Speaking of like female athletes, we're watching women's sports. Rise in a way that is like, feels very cultural, not just athletic. From where you sit, what is really driving that shift and what do you think people on the outside still do not fully understand? [00:19:03] Laila Brock: I think the people on the outside still don't understand that it's not that it's women's sports, that it's sports. It is really good. Athletic competition. And I think that people finally started to see it with the W this year or last year and the year before. And you know, obviously we. Caitlyn Clark, she opened the door. [00:19:24] Laila Brock: You know, that's the way it's gonna be. I get it. And you know, the competition between her and Angel Reese. I think that storyline was fantastic and hurtful all at the same time. But I think that what people people are starting to realize is that this is really, really good entertainment, and that's all sports is. [00:19:39] Laila Brock: It's just entertainment. You know what I mean? And I think what they're also on trying, figuring out is that. It is giving young girls the same type of opportunities that young boys have had forever, and that is to be leaders. That is to build relationships, that's learning how to be a good teammate and all those things translate so well into the workplace, into life in general. [00:19:59] Laila Brock: So I think that people are [00:20:00] finally understanding why it's important to have good role models for young girls too in sport. [00:20:07] Dreena Whitfield: I, yes, I agree. You've had some really incredible wins across your career. Right? [00:20:15] Reflecting on Career and Personal Identity --- [00:20:15] Dreena Whitfield: What is, because I'm going back to our earlier conversation what is, what the moment that has made you pause, take a breath, and really look at how far you've come. [00:20:26] Laila Brock: Yeah. [00:20:27] Laila Brock: I think I'm at that point right now. You know, I think that. I have achieved a lot in my career over the last 25 years. But I also realized that I was burning out. I was at a point where I was like, you know what, uh, if I keep going at the pace that I'm going. I don't know that I'm gonna be able to look myself in the face into my husband in the face and say, I'm okay. [00:20:56] Laila Brock: And I think that what we often do is we think, I gotta keep going. I [00:21:00] gotta keep grinding, I gotta like this hustle mentality. It, but that's not always the case. That's not always what you need to do. Sometimes you need to take a step back and take a break. And then sometimes when you don't. Decide to take the break it comes to you, you know, and something will sit you down. [00:21:16] Laila Brock: But so I will say is that, you know, for me right now, I'm at a point in my career where there's two things happening. I needed to take a break and just sit down and just regroup with myself. But also I need to realize that my whole personality is not where I work, and it's not who I am. Because what I had been doing for the last 25 years is that when I introduced myself to somebody, I'd say, hi, I am Laila. [00:21:44] Laila Brock: I work for the college football playoff. Hi, I'm Laila. I work for the Orange Bowl. Hi, I am Laila. I work for the Atlanta Dream. And it was like that's, [00:21:50] Dreena Whitfield: Who are you? [00:21:51] Laila Brock: I became, right? And then, but this, right now, in this time where I'm just, I'm consulting for some folks and I'm just doing my own thing.[00:22:00] [00:22:00] Laila Brock: I'm realizing is that I'm okay just being Laila Brock. And that's okay. And I've never really taken that time to just say, okay, who am I outside of this sports executive? And just who am I as a person? And I'm just really thankful for this opportunity and this time. [00:22:17] Dreena Whitfield: Because you know what it is? We get, we spend so much time throughout the day focusing on our professional career that it, it consumes us and we ultimately think like. We are not successful or we are not doing great things if we don't have a title. We're not in like showing up in front of the spotlight. [00:22:38] Dreena Whitfield: Our professional careers really do define a major part of who we are, but it's up to us to, like you said, to take a break and be like, well, who am I outside of this? Like, and I think a lot of young women right now are going through that, right? They'll look at your journey and they'll see what's possible. [00:22:56] Dreena Whitfield: And they're like, Hey, I wanna get like Laila. I wanna be like Laila. I wanna like, [00:23:00] follow her career trajectory. [00:23:02] Advice for Young Women in Sports --- [00:23:10] Dreena Whitfield: But what do you wish someone had told you early on about working in sports or stepping into leadership with clarity and purpose? So you don't ultimately like work all these years and forget who you are outside of your day-to-day role. [00:23:18] Laila Brock: Oh, that's such a good question. I wish somebody would have told me to have a better relationship with. With my time. Because when you work in sports, really in any industry, but I can only speak from sports 'cause that's where I've been for so long, is that your time is not your own. I've, and I've said it, your time is not your own. [00:23:34] Laila Brock: We're on the clock for these football teams, for this basketball team, for these fans, for this sponsor. You know, you gotta be on call all the time. That's a lie. And that's very, very hurtful and it can be detrimental to somebody who's young in their career. Right now, I keep saying to people, I'm, I have such a different relationship with time because I realize from 5:00 PM until 5:00 AM in the morning, there's [00:24:00] so much you can do. [00:24:01] Laila Brock: Like besides work. It's amazing. [00:24:03] Dreena Whitfield: sleep. [00:24:04] Laila Brock: Like sleep, like cook, go on a date with my husband, like, hang out with the dog. Like what? Like go, go have wine with my girlfriends. Like who knew? You know, and so I would tell them, I would tell myself, have a better relationship with time. And then I would also tell myself, don't make your career your personality, because it can go away just like that. You know, I went to a dinner about two or three weeks ago, you know, a bunch of C-suite women, you know, state senators and whatever. [00:24:40] Laila Brock: 'cause I'm just like, okay, you know, I'm just gonna go to this dinner. It was great. I was invited and I'm like, all right, great. I was so nervous. Because I was like, well, people are gonna ask me where I'm working right now. And you know, anytime somebody says, oh, I'm a consultant, you know, people are like, okay, yeah, whatever. [00:24:55] Laila Brock: But I was introducing myself to people. Not a single [00:25:00] person asked me where I worked, not a single person. I realized that I had been leading with that. I was the culprit and I need to make sure that I'm. Like you said, just being a whole person outside of the job. So I would say to people, make sure you're a whole person outside of the job. [00:25:15] Laila Brock: The last thing I would say is make time for the things that are important for you. You know, I was guilty of being that woman that I was like, oh, I'm all about my schooling. I'm all about getting all these degrees. I'm all about making this money. And then I found myself 40 plus by myself and I was like, oh, the job can't love you back. [00:25:37] Laila Brock: It cannot. And it will not. And it wasn't until I moved back to Pittsburgh that I made time to start dating and that's where I met my husband and I was just like, oh this is spectacular. And so whatever your journey is to like find whoever your person is, make time for. Now do I regret, you know, not getting married earlier? [00:25:58] Laila Brock: No, because then I wouldn't be married to [00:26:00] my husband. I found him at the right time whenever I was supposed to find him. And listen, lemme tell you something, he's so special. He's fantastic. So that's my boots key. But yeah, so I, you know, just make time for the things that you know, that are important to you and for the people that are important to you. [00:26:16] Dreena Whitfield: How do you, what's a tip you would give around like setting those boundaries? Because when you are a young woman in a, like a fast paced industry. Like you said for you, you're like, I didn't realize there's so much you can do between five and 5:00 AM 5:00 PM and 5:00 AM But when there's a young black woman in a role in this, in a room with people that don't look like her in a very fast paced industry, whether it be sports, politics, whatever, you're sometimes on 24 hours. [00:26:45] Dreena Whitfield: How, like what's a tip you would give around setting boundaries or making time for yourself when you're on like such a 24 hour work clock? [00:26:55] Laila Brock: Yeah. [00:26:56] Dreena Whitfield: it may seem like you're on a 24 hour work clock. [00:26:59] Laila Brock: Yeah, [00:27:00] that's exactly right. I would say that fortunately this next generation I found, like, I sound like the old lady now, this next generation, but there's so much better at [00:27:10] Dreena Whitfield: They really are. [00:27:11] Laila Brock: They are, I'm telling you the things that the two things that these, this generation has brought us that I'm just so thankful for is boundaries and sneakers with dresses. [00:27:19] Laila Brock: I'm so thankful for these girls 'cause. Lemme tell you something, it's great. But I would say is that just as you can tell, I'm pretty silly. But I would say just, you just have to be thoughtful and steadfast in putting yourself first. And that's just the way it is because at the end of the day, any employer, you, I mean, you walk outta that desk, you walk outta that office, they're gonna some find somebody to replace you faster than you can even blink. [00:27:47] Laila Brock: You know what I mean? And so. Do what you gotta do for yourself. You know, and protect your time. I think that you also have to figure out, like when you're in a position where you're working for somebody, figure out if you actually really wanna work for them [00:28:00] because their behavior and the way they treat you has a direct impact on your life. [00:28:05] Laila Brock: And so you've gotta figure those things out and, you know, it's easier obviously when you're, you know, a little higher up on the org chart, but. You, at the end of the day though, you're still a person and you still have the right to just, to live your life the way you wanna live it. And that does not mean you have to be chained to the clock all the time. [00:28:22] Dreena Whitfield: Yeah. Yeah. [00:28:23] Legacy and Impact in Sports --- [00:28:29] Dreena Whitfield: When people say your name years from now, or talk about the spaces you've helped shape what do you hope they say? What do you want your legacy in sports and community to be? [00:28:34] Laila Brock: Yeah I really want it to be that. I, when it comes to college sports is that I always put the student athlete first. That I have been a fierce advocate for the things that they need. Not just the things that they want, the things that they need to be successful, competitive, and to walk out on the other side of it, better human beings. [00:28:55] Laila Brock: I want people to think about my community work as. [00:29:00] Something that was truly impactful for a good reason and not just for a good story. I want people to think that I used every single one of my gifts that God gave me and that I made sure that there was a pipeline of young women, young black women who can look and say, look at me and say she was the North Star and. [00:29:25] Laila Brock: Like, she made sure that I was ready. I'm, I wasn't just there. I was ready because she helped to get me there. [00:29:31] Dreena Whitfield: Aw, I love that. [00:29:33] Laila Brock: Thank [00:29:33] Quick Fire Questions and Closing Remarks --- [00:29:33] Dreena Whitfield: Okay, so next we're gonna go into some quick fire questions. So I want you to just think of the first thing that comes to mind. Doesn't have to be overly thought out, very like just casual. [00:29:46] Laila Brock: Me, let me hydrate now I'm ready. [00:29:51] Dreena Whitfield: okay. Court side or behind the scenes, [00:29:55] Laila Brock: Ooh, courtside. [00:29:58] Dreena Whitfield: a woman in sports, past a [00:30:00] present you would love to have dinner with. [00:30:02] Laila Brock: Oh, uh, Jackie Joiner. Ey. [00:30:06] Dreena Whitfield: Hmm. First word that comes to mind when you think about the future of women's sports. [00:30:12] Laila Brock: Ooh, that's a good one. Ugh. I'm not supposed to think. Fairness. [00:30:16] Dreena Whitfield: Ooh. Okay. So that's it for quick fire. [00:30:19] Dreena Whitfield: Laila, thank you so much for making time to speak with me today. [00:30:22] Dreena Whitfield: Just know the work that you're doing is amazing. I'm very excited for what's ahead for you and let folks know where they can follow or support your journey. [00:30:31] Laila Brock: Well first of all, thank you so much for doing this. Uh, we talked about it before we started recording, but the work you're doing is absolutely amazing. It's so important and it's so empowering. So I'm glad to know that you are out there and you know, anything I can do to help more people find you, please [00:30:46] Dreena Whitfield: Oh, [00:30:46] Laila Brock: because you are [00:30:47] Dreena Whitfield: you. [00:30:48] Laila Brock: So if no one sold you today, you are amazing. So you can follow my journey on LinkedIn and on, uh. Instagram. I'm not very good at the socials, but you know, I'm out there. I'm, yeah, [00:31:00] I'm not, I don't, what is it, X or Twitter? I don't do all that, but I'm on Instagram and LinkedIn. [00:31:05] Dreena Whitfield: Is Link, is LinkedIn, like your primary, you know, platform that you're on. So there you go. Just follow or reach out to her on LinkedIn where it makes sense y'all. Okay? [00:31:15] Laila Brock: yes, [00:31:15] Dreena Whitfield: Brock, thank you so much for your time today. Truly appreciate you sharing how you got here. [00:31:20] Laila Brock: Thank you so much.