Karina Herold

Chief Operating Officer

Karina Herold is a sports business executive, event operations expert, mentor, and teacher who values the development of students and young professionals through the unique power of the sports business. Herold specializes in building high performing teams and systems through relationship-building and operational efficiency and leads through a culture of trust, creativity, and collaboration. Herold is strategic and detail-oriented, and she manages multiple complex and cross-functional projects that drive economic, social, and community impact.

Herold currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at the Bay Area Host Committee, a 501c6 non-profit corporation focused on bringing world-class sports and entertainment events to the Bay Area that drive economic vitality, community-wide engagement, civic pride, and global recognition. Herold is responsible for all business operations of the company as well as event operations functions for the major sports events committed to the area including the 2025 NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center, 2026 Super Bowl LX and six matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Levi’s Stadium.

In her previous role as Vice President of Major Events at the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC), Herold was responsible for operations, special events, legacy programming, workforce development, and impact programs. During her time at LASEC, she worked on several high-profile major events like Super Bowl LVI, College Football Playoff National Championship, and WrestleMania at SoFi Stadium and the 2023 USGA U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club

Prior to joining LASEC in 2020, Herold served as the Deputy Director of Athletics at Pepperdine University and was responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the athletics department including external operations, facilities operations, business operations and compliance as well as the student-facing units of academic support, leadership development, sports medicine, sports performance, mental health and diversity, equity and inclusion. As the department’s senior woman administrator (SWA), Herold served as one of Pepperdine’s representatives on the West Coast Conference’s Executive Council. Herold has proudly served as Tournament Manager for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball West Region Championship at STAPLES Center/Crypto.com Arena in 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2024 (as a consultant).

In 2016, Herold was named the Division I Administrator of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA). The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management at UMass Amherst named Herold an Alumni-on-the-Rise Award winner in 2017. She is an adjunct professor in the Sports Management Department at California Lutheran University and serves as the Executive Director of her family’s philanthropic foundation, the M3K Foundation.

Herold graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Sport Management and the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development, and an Undergraduate Certificate in Business where she was a member of the women’s basketball team. Herold and her husband, Glen, have two children. Herold enjoys riding her Peloton, coaching her children in various sports (especially basketball), and teaching and mentoring college students interested in pursuing a career in the sports industry.

Christina Jefferson M.S., HRM

Senior Director of Inclusion and Culture

San Francisco 49ers

Christina is the first-ever Senior Director of Inclusion and Culture at the San Francisco 49ers. She leads inclusion and diversity efforts across the organization, including overseeing the team's five employee resource groups and creating the team's internship program. She is also responsible for managing the team's recruitment and hiring activities and internship and fellowship programs.

Jefferson earned her B.S. in Ceramics 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 Jews of Color Initiative, Repair the World, Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, and Better For You Wellness.

Belynda Gardner

Senior Director of Diversity Equity & Inclusion

National Football League

Belynda Gardner is the Senior Director of Diversity Equity & Inclusion at the National Football League (NFL), focused on improving and amplifying leaguewide efforts across the 32 NFL Teams.

Belynda created the Coach and Front Office Accelerator Program, a league wide, invite only career development incubator for NFL job candidates to engage directly with all 32 NFL owners and club executives for exclusive networking opportunities. To date, the program has placed numerous high profile, diverse coaching and general managers in executive roles.

Additionally in June 2024, Belynda successfully led the creation and launch of the League’s first procurement program, NFL Source, focused on increasing economic mobility and exposure to local and diverse-owned businesses. To-date, those efforts have contributed to the success of the 2024 Detroit Draft and attributed $170+ million to diverse-owned banks to drive economic opportunity in underserved communities.

Prior to her current role, Belynda was an experienced operations professional overseeing the digital execution of some of the League’s most prominent licensing and distribution deals – and has worked at companies like Comedy Central, Michael Kors, AKQA, and theSkimm.

Outside of work, she loves to travel and spend time with her husband and dog in her beloved borough of Brooklyn.

Myisha Boyce

Founder & President

M.Y.S. FIRM

Myisha Boyce is the founding member and president of M.Y.S. Firm, a Nevada-based, women- and minority-owned professional services organization that provides strategic consulting and community engagement services to clients in both the public and private sectors. Established in 2014, M.Y.S. Firm’s work is deeply rooted in Boyce’s passion for service and advocacy, focusing on fostering economic empowerment for disadvantaged businesses and cultivating relationships that positively benefit corporations and the communities they serve.

Boyce, who has directed high-stakes community programs for more than a decade, has held several leadership roles spanning civic engagement and corporate social responsibility. Notably, she served as the Chief Community Engagement Officer for Las Vegas’ first Super Bowl in 2024, where she provided operational and fiduciary oversight for several NFL and Host Committee programs, ensuring Super Bowl LVIII’s impact extended well beyond game day. Following the Super Bowl, the NFL engaged Boyce’s M.Y.S. Firm to lead supplier diversity for event programs, NFL Source, which seeks to increase and standardize how local and underrepresented businesses are engaged for tentpole events.

Boyce’s commitment and advocacy for economic and community development is further displayed through her recent involvement as Chair of the Community Advisory Board for Allegiant Stadium. She will also contribute to shaping Las Vegas’ budding film industry as a member of the newly formed Summerlin Production Studios Community Advisory Committee whole continuing to serve on the Board of Directors for two nonprofit organizations: Access Community Capital’s Community Development Financial Institution and StartUpNV, a statewide business accelerator and incubator focused on stimulating entrepreneurship in Nevada.

Furthermore, Boyce has held several titles over the course of her career, including:

Legislatively-appointed Commissioner and Chair of the Legislative Subcommittee within the Nevada Department of Business and Industry's Commission on Minority Affairs

Appointed by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak to the Community College Workforce Training & Programs Committee

Served on the Nevada Governor’s office of Economic Development’s Southern Nevada Infrastructure working group

Nevada Forum Chair for the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council

MBE Ambassador for the Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council

Chair of the Business Council for the Las Vegas Urban Chamber of Commerce

A lifelong learner and educator, Boyce holds a post-secondary degree in Education from the University of California, San Diego. Through her work, Boyce continues to exemplify a commitment to service, empowerment, and collaboration, working tirelessly to create opportunities for growth and inclusion within a national business landscape.