Season 3, Episode 16- Paul Walderman, Digital Content Specialist at MLSE

In this episode of the podcast, the squad welcomes Paul Walderman, a Digital Content Specialist at MLSE, to this week's edition of the show!  Paul starts off the podcast by detailing his mindset, based on a positive attitude and a commitment to hard work (9:03). He talks about his tenure at George Brown College and Ryerson University, where he talks about the skills he took with him when he made the decision to fully commit to a career in sports business (10:53). Paul then talks about his first role in the industry- an internship with Toronto FC and TFC II- and talks about the real value that networking and honest, hard work can bring to the table when working in the industry (15:36). Additionally, Paul talks about his time with the Toronto Argonauts working as a Special Products Coordinator in Marketing and in Ticket Sales. Throughout that time, Paul talks about his strategies to adapt and embrace a difficult scenario, where doing so led him to his current role that he works at within Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (22:05).  More importantly, Paul sheds some light on an extremely important article put together by himself and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) team at MLSE to detail life as a sports professional on the autism spectrum. He talks about a certain connection with Doug Flutie, one of the Argos' all-time greats, that motivated him to put that piece together, which ended up getting attention worldwide (32:47). The article addresses crucial aspects such as what living on the spectrum can entail, the complexity of the disorder, certain challenges individuals may face, the benefits of including autistic people in the workplace, and meaningful steps that should be taken to create a more equitable environment, such as new hiring practices (35:34). Paul also elaborates on the ways that he is trying to impact the community, one of which is his Board of Directors position at the New Haven Learning Centre (43:40). Thank you to Paul for joining the show! A huge shoutout to Amanda Benitez, who made her podcast cohosting debut! Keep up with the podcast on social! Follow us on Instagram and TikTok using the handle @spmacouncilpodcast, and subscribe to our audio/video feeds on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, and YouTube! #MaximizeYourMindset