Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 2-4-22

Feature
De Anna Sheffield Ward Named Media And Communications VP For Tampa Bay Rays
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Staff Writer
Baseball is big in Tampa Bay. From the 1910s and 1920s, when the Tampa Giants were a traveling all- African American baseball team to Belmont Heights Little League, to stars like Dwight Gooden and Gary Sheffield, Tampa loves base- ball.
The Tampa Bay Rays began play in 1998 and were known as the Devil Rays until the end of the 2007 season. Based in St. Petersburg, the Rays have grown to be a powerhouse in Major League Baseball.
Despite the proliferation of Black players in baseball, executives in major league organizations still largely remain white.
The Tampa Bay Rays and Rowdies organization is looking to lead by ex- ample. In January, De Anna Sheffield Ward joined the Tampa Bay Rays as Vice President, Media, and Communications. She is the first Black female Vice President with the organization.
Notably, her boss is the first BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and peo- ple of color) woman in a Chief role, Rafaela Amador Fink, Chief Pub- lic Affairs and Communications Offi- cer.
Ward states, “I have only been on board for a short while, and the Rays organization has warmly welcomed me. I am looking forward to being able to tell powerful stories about the Rays and the community.”
“The Rays’ community outreach and their quest for diversity equity, and inclusion got me excited to work
DE ANNA WARD
... Vice President, Media & Communications at the Tampa Bay Rays
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay. She left as the Director of Mar- keting and Communications.
Before working there, she was an avid supporter of the organization and wanted to be a big sister, but her job and the travel required, made her hesitant. She decided to do it anyway, and the rest is history.
In all her positions, her emphasis is relationship building.
“For all the jobs I have had, the most crucial factor is connectivity. Connections with viewers, staff, clients, external partners, and the community are all important. It was a lesson I learned at JSU.”
Her focus in the first few months is ensuring her new connections are strong whether internally in the or- ganization or externally with partners and the community.
“I am the first in many cases in my career, but it isn’t about me. I think about all the people that paved the way for me. I want to be that person for people coming after me.”
“It’s an honor to have this position with the Rays, and I hope to add to the collective effort to build on con- versations and actions of inclusion that the Rays have already started.”
Ward spends time volunteering in the community as a member of the Greater Tampa Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and the Tampa Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She was named Tampa Bay’s Big Sister of the Year in 2013.
Ward, her husband Rodney, and two children, Payton, and Jack- son, are members of Love First Christian Center.
with the organization,” she continued. Ward was born in Kansas where she grew up with unconditional sup- port and strong values. The warmth of that upbringing helped her when
she left for college.
Even though an older brother had
attended Jackson State University (JSU) in the past, Ward was alone when she arrived on campus and did not know a single person. She said that the school adopted her and sup- ported her in ways that were funda- mental to her success.
“In my junior year, the local tele- vision station hired me as a reporter. I thank JSU for giving me the oppor- tunity to get the internship, and the assistance they gave me to explore my passion. It was amazing and unheard of.”
Ward earned her bachelor’s de-
gree in Mass Communications with a minor in Sociology from Jackson State, and has certifications in fundraising and diversity, equity and inclusion from the University of South Florida and Indiana University.
After college, she was hired for several anchor and reporting jobs, moving to larger and larger markets until she landed a job at WTSP Chan- nel 10 in Tampa.
Her biggest interview was with Linda Brown of the groundbreak- ing and landmark lawsuit Brown v. Board of Education, which effectively ended the legality of racial segrega- tion in schools.
Prior to joining the Rays, Ward spent 14 years in various marketing, communications, development and corporate partnership roles with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and
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