Seattle Seahawks Announce Karen Wilkins-Mickey As First VP of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The Seattle Seahawks have hired Karen Wilkins-Mickey as the organization’s vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, a newly created role.

“I am thrilled to welcome Karen to the Seahawks family as our organization’s first vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Chuck Arnold, president, Seattle Seahawks and First & Goal, Inc in a written statement. “Our organization is guided upon core values of acceptance and understanding that help us create a culture of respect, equality, and inclusiveness both on and off the field. Over the past year, we’ve looked to take additional meaningful steps to directly address inequality and social justice efforts and felt it was critical to add this position to our senior leadership team. We look forward to Karen’s vast expertise in this area to further strengthen our organization as we strive to continually make a lasting impact both internally and in our community.”

Wilkins-Mickey, who will report to Arnold, will lead the Seahawks’ overall diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy. She will also act as a liaison for the team, its senior management group, players, and the community to drive strategic DEI initiatives and programs. She will oversee the team’s internal DEI Council and will represent the Seattle Seahawks as its liaison for all NFL social justice initiatives. She will also act as an internal consultant to department leaders across the team’s football and business operations to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion are part of the decision-making process throughout the organization.

Wilkins-Mickey brings more than 20 years of DEI leadership experience to the Seahawks. She was director of diversity and inclusion for Alaska Airlines, and held diversity and inclusion leadership roles within Expedia Group and Microsoft. Wilkins-Mickey recently completed the first McKinsey Black Executive Leadership Program and is a founding member of the DEI Community of Practice, a network of professionals committed to establishing and enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion practices within Seattle-area organizations.

A native of New York City, Wilkins-Mickey has a bachelor’s degree in dommunications from California State University Chico. She lives in Bothell, WA, with her husband and two children.