Safe Play: Creating Inclusion in Sport

Pride House SF and Commonwealth Club World Affairs are proud to assemble three hour-long events designed to showcase the importance of celebrating self and sport. Using the backdrop of this summer’s global soccer event—and the significance of Bay Area representation on the world stage—each program will feature local experts convening around a designated theme. In our first program, meet leaders on and off the field who are changing sports and acceptance. Christina Jefferson is the first-ever senior director for inclusion & culture at the San Francisco 49ers. Jefferson leads inclusion and diversity efforts across the organization and created the team's internship program. She is also responsible for managing the team's recruitment and hiring activities and its internship and fellowship programs. Jefferson earned her B.S. from the University of Southern Indiana and her Master's in human resource management from Golden Gate University. Christina has been a coach for Resetting the Table since 2021, and is a member of several boards, including the chair of the Jews of Color Initiative, Repair the World, and Resetting the Table. She is also a 2025 Sports Business Journal Woman of Influence. Roscoe Mapps III is a strategist and social impact leader working at the intersection of sports, culture and systems change. As chief diversity officer for the San Francisco Giants in his eleventh season, he oversees diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across workforce, culture, business practices and community impact—focused on turning aspiration into execution and building systems where belonging is experienced, not just stated. Across a 25-year career spanning corporate talent, global advocacy, and civic leadership, he has consistently advanced equity through coalition-building, narrative change, and large-scale initiatives, including the Mission Rock development, which secured historic voter approval while embedding housing, workforce and economic inclusion commitments. Meghan O’Leary is the founding owner of LOVB San Francisco and Olympic rower. Meghan O’Leary is a two-time Olympian, founder, investor, and sports media professional with more than 20 years of experience helping leaders and teams perform under pressure, navigate transition and lead with purpose. A seven-year member of the United States Rowing National Team, she represented Team USA at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, earning multiple World Championship and World Cup medals. A longtime advocate for athlete empowerment and gender equity, O'Leary served eight years on the US Rowing Board of Directors, helping shape the organization’s commercial strategy, governance and commitment to advancing equity and the growth of the sport. As an angel investor and startup advisor, she partners with early-stage founders and funds shaping the future of sports, media, healthtech and wellness. This program is made possible by the support of Pride House SF, San Francisco LGBT Center, Spikes and San Francisco 49ers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices