Up2Us Sports announced this week that Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC) Co-Founder, former NFL Coaching Intern/Team USA (USA Football) Gold Medalist, Championship coach, Odessa Jenkins has joined the organization as an Ambassador.
Jenkins is the Co-Founder and CEO of the WNFC, and Director of Business Development for Parity. A sought-after national speaker, Jenkins is also the founder of multiple nonprofits (Got Her Back, Elite Women’s Football Alliance of Dallas). She was an inaugural participant in the NFL’s first Women’s Career in Football Forum and is one of the first women to obtain the coveted NFL Bill Walsh Diversity Internship in an on-field position (Running Backs Coach – Atlanta Falcons). Featured on Fox 4, CBS, ESPN, Yahoo Sports, The Undefeated and more, Jenkins was recently recognized as one of the most influential and powerful women in sports by Sports Illustrated (Unrelenting). In November, the WNFC was awarded a grant by American Express as part of their 100 for 100 Program, making Jenkins one of the 100 Black women entrepreneurs awarded.
“I believe in the life-changing power of sports, and I am honored to join Up2Us Sports in their mission to engage, train, and support coaches. I want to amplify these programs so that more women and girls see coaching as a way to impact their communities, make a living, and change the world.”
She is a market leader in SAAS technology with multiple years of leadership experience in private funded start-ups, joint ventures and fortune 100 public companies. Jenkins has 22 years of coaching and playing experience, is a Hall of Fame Running Back, a 5X National Champion, 2X USA National Team captain, 2X Gold Medalist, and member of the International Federation of American Football All World Team (IFAF). Jenkins believes that through sports, she can transform the world, and she wants the world to continue to transform for women and girls.
Just last week, Jenkins participated in Up2Us Sports’ Social Justice and the Power of Sports virtual event. Sitting on the panel entitled Increasing Opportunities for BIPOC in the Sports Industry, she spoke candidly about living authentically, being excellent at what you do and navigating spaces as a Black woman in the predominantly male space of tackle football.
Follow Odessa on her website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
