Filling a Great Void

In this week’s blog, we welcome three new Advisory Board members, Keena Turner, Yoyo Chan, and Joey Nevin — representing the San Francisco 49ers, the Golden State Warriors and the San Francisco Giants, respectively. We are thrilled to enlist these three individuals to our team, and look forward to the work they will accomplish with our Center.

In the words of our Board’s Nomination Committee Chair, Larry Simi,  “Sports recently have been a force for the common good. I think it’s also important to remind ourselves that that hasn’t always been the case, but it has always been the case at USF. Going back 70 years to the USF undefeated and untied football team when they were invited to the Cotton bowl in Dallas and the Sugar Bowl in Louisiana and were told, ‘You’re welcome to come but leave the two black guys behind’, the team and the university said no, that doesn’t work. What a lot of people don’t know about that team is that they would visit regularly the prisoners in Alcatraz. These Jesuit values go back a long way.”

An example of these Jesuit values can be seen in Keena Turner, a USF alum and the Vice President and Senior Advisor to the General Manager for the San Francisco 49ers. As an outside linebacker for the Niners for eleven years, he earned four Super Bowl rings and was the “Len Eshmont Award” recipient for his courageous and inspirational play. After the NFL, Keena continued his association with the 49ers, working in Player and Community Relations. Keena also worked for 15 seasons as the color analyst for 49ers’ preseason games on KPIX Channel 5 as well as co-host of the 49ers Preview Show.

Joey Nevin, our second mew board member is also an embodiment of our Jesuit values. He is the Vice President of Giants Enterprises, the venture arm of the San Francisco Giants, and has been with the organization since 2007.  In his role, he is responsible for leading the sales, marketing and development efforts related to year-round programming throughout Oracle Park and ancillary venues. Additionally, he currently serves on the Global Board of Trustees for the Meeting Professionals International Foundation, San Francisco Travel Tourism Council and a Past-President of Meeting Professionals International, Northern California Chapter.  A native San Franciscan, Nevin is a graduate of the University of San Diego and received a Master’s degree in Sport Management from the University of San Francisco.

Our mission of community service is exemplified in Yoyo Chan, who serves as Vice President of Government and Community Relations for the Golden State Warriors and Chase Center. She is also responsible for all government and external relations efforts for the organization, including the opening and development of Chase Center in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood. A native of San Francisco, Chan also serves on the San Francisco Grants for the Arts Advisory Panel and the Board of California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce. Chan most recently served as Legislative Aide to San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen, where she was responsible for providing political and policy analysis on issues related to land use, development, and the City’s budget.

Larry Simi concluded his welcome to our new board members, saying “We are really lucky to have representatives from our three teams. The work that the 49ers do with their Academy and the Giants and the Warriors with their incredible youth outreach and community outreach, I think we are so fortunate. I really am so honored to bring these three people onto our board because I think they fill a great void. So welcome to all of them.”

To learn more about the rest of our board members, visit here.