ilisa kessler
Chief Operations Officer at Special Olympics Northern California & Nevada- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Matthew Chan
I had the pleasure of working with and reporting to Ilisa when I was with the FC Gold Pride. I learned many valuable lessons from her that helped me understand what it takes to become a better professional. She is an extremely hard worker and I admire her determination and willpower. She would do whatever it takes to run a professional sports franchise seamlessly. She treated every employee equally and always knew how to get the best out of her staff. Ilisa worked with her team side by side and "down in the trenches" if needed. I fully and genuinely recommend Ilisa without any reservations. She was an incredible General Manager!
John Hooper
I had the pleasure of working for Ilisa as VP of Marketing and Sponsorship at FC Gold Pride (FCGP) of Women’s Professional Soccer. Ilisa is not only a great leader and business person but is a terrific person and a great friend. At FCGP Ilisa had less than six months to get the team up and running when the other WPS teams had at least a year. She had to hire and develop a staff, secure a stadium to play in, negotiate contracts to build a roster of players, market the team and a million other things. Ilisa’s game-day and event operations, sports management, and financial management experience was invaluable to the team and the league. She did a great job of providing leadership and direction to not only get everything done but to get everything done right. In year 2 of the franchise, Ilisa had the time to reshape the player roster. She put together arguably the best women’s soccer team ever and led the team to the WPS Championship. Ilisa is a great manager and leader and the next organization that gets her will be very lucky. I hope I have the opportunity to work for her again.
Matthew Chan
I had the pleasure of working with and reporting to Ilisa when I was with the FC Gold Pride. I learned many valuable lessons from her that helped me understand what it takes to become a better professional. She is an extremely hard worker and I admire her determination and willpower. She would do whatever it takes to run a professional sports franchise seamlessly. She treated every employee equally and always knew how to get the best out of her staff. Ilisa worked with her team side by side and "down in the trenches" if needed. I fully and genuinely recommend Ilisa without any reservations. She was an incredible General Manager!
John Hooper
I had the pleasure of working for Ilisa as VP of Marketing and Sponsorship at FC Gold Pride (FCGP) of Women’s Professional Soccer. Ilisa is not only a great leader and business person but is a terrific person and a great friend. At FCGP Ilisa had less than six months to get the team up and running when the other WPS teams had at least a year. She had to hire and develop a staff, secure a stadium to play in, negotiate contracts to build a roster of players, market the team and a million other things. Ilisa’s game-day and event operations, sports management, and financial management experience was invaluable to the team and the league. She did a great job of providing leadership and direction to not only get everything done but to get everything done right. In year 2 of the franchise, Ilisa had the time to reshape the player roster. She put together arguably the best women’s soccer team ever and led the team to the WPS Championship. Ilisa is a great manager and leader and the next organization that gets her will be very lucky. I hope I have the opportunity to work for her again.
Matthew Chan
I had the pleasure of working with and reporting to Ilisa when I was with the FC Gold Pride. I learned many valuable lessons from her that helped me understand what it takes to become a better professional. She is an extremely hard worker and I admire her determination and willpower. She would do whatever it takes to run a professional sports franchise seamlessly. She treated every employee equally and always knew how to get the best out of her staff. Ilisa worked with her team side by side and "down in the trenches" if needed. I fully and genuinely recommend Ilisa without any reservations. She was an incredible General Manager!
John Hooper
I had the pleasure of working for Ilisa as VP of Marketing and Sponsorship at FC Gold Pride (FCGP) of Women’s Professional Soccer. Ilisa is not only a great leader and business person but is a terrific person and a great friend. At FCGP Ilisa had less than six months to get the team up and running when the other WPS teams had at least a year. She had to hire and develop a staff, secure a stadium to play in, negotiate contracts to build a roster of players, market the team and a million other things. Ilisa’s game-day and event operations, sports management, and financial management experience was invaluable to the team and the league. She did a great job of providing leadership and direction to not only get everything done but to get everything done right. In year 2 of the franchise, Ilisa had the time to reshape the player roster. She put together arguably the best women’s soccer team ever and led the team to the WPS Championship. Ilisa is a great manager and leader and the next organization that gets her will be very lucky. I hope I have the opportunity to work for her again.
Matthew Chan
I had the pleasure of working with and reporting to Ilisa when I was with the FC Gold Pride. I learned many valuable lessons from her that helped me understand what it takes to become a better professional. She is an extremely hard worker and I admire her determination and willpower. She would do whatever it takes to run a professional sports franchise seamlessly. She treated every employee equally and always knew how to get the best out of her staff. Ilisa worked with her team side by side and "down in the trenches" if needed. I fully and genuinely recommend Ilisa without any reservations. She was an incredible General Manager!
John Hooper
I had the pleasure of working for Ilisa as VP of Marketing and Sponsorship at FC Gold Pride (FCGP) of Women’s Professional Soccer. Ilisa is not only a great leader and business person but is a terrific person and a great friend. At FCGP Ilisa had less than six months to get the team up and running when the other WPS teams had at least a year. She had to hire and develop a staff, secure a stadium to play in, negotiate contracts to build a roster of players, market the team and a million other things. Ilisa’s game-day and event operations, sports management, and financial management experience was invaluable to the team and the league. She did a great job of providing leadership and direction to not only get everything done but to get everything done right. In year 2 of the franchise, Ilisa had the time to reshape the player roster. She put together arguably the best women’s soccer team ever and led the team to the WPS Championship. Ilisa is a great manager and leader and the next organization that gets her will be very lucky. I hope I have the opportunity to work for her again.
Credentials
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Nonprofit Tech Readiness Certificate - Data Empowerment
NTENApr, 2021- Nov, 2024 -
Box Certified Professional (BCP)
BoxNov, 2019- Nov, 2024
Experience
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Special Olympics Northern California
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United States
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Non-profit Organizations
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1 - 100 Employee
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Chief Operations Officer
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Dec 2013 - Present
Part of the senior leadership team driving strategic planning for the organization. Responsible for overseeing Office Administration, IT, and Government relations and funding. Work with our Board of Directors on various initiatives that drive value to our organization. Previously oversaw Marketing & Communications, the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR), and the annual Polar Plunge Fundraising campaign. On an interim basis: corporate partnerships, execution of national partnerships in our region, volunteer operations, Nevada operations and HR.
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VP Marketing and Strategic Initiatives
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Aug 2011 - Dec 2013
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University of San Francisco
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United States
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Higher Education
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700 & Above Employee
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Adjunct Professor, Sport Event Operations, Sport Management Graduate Program
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Jan 2012 - Apr 2016
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General Manager
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Oct 2008 - Mar 2011
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ABC7 News Bay Area
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United States
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Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
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1 - 100 Employee
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Business Operations Manager
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Feb 2004 - Oct 2008
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University of San Francisco
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United States
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Higher Education
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700 & Above Employee
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Adjunct Professor, Sport Event Operations, Sport Management Graduate Program
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2004 - 2006
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Director of Operations
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2001 - 2003
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Sr. Manager Sports Business Development
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1999 - 2001
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Staffing and Accreditation Manager
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1999 - 1999
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Education
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University of San Francisco
MA -
University of California, Santa Cruz
BA -
University of California, Santa Cruz
BA