Category: Elizabeth Dunning

How learning every position on the field prepared me to take on every role off of it

Take it from a washed-up high school softball player, being versatile is underrated.

I started playing softball around age 10, which, in the travel ball world, is considered late. Most of the girls I played with had already been in hitting lessons and traveling across the country by the time they were 8. Meanwhile, I was just learning how to throw. So when I finally joined a team, I played wherever I was needed. Outfield, infield, catcher, you name it. Not because I asked to, but because I had to. Coaches told me where to go, and I went.

Turns out, that built something more valuable than a perfect batting average. It built adaptability.

I wasn’t the best player on the field, but I was fast, taller than most, and scrappy. That combination made me useful just about anywhere. Over time, I built strength at the plate and sharpened my field awareness. My value wasn’t in being the best at one thing. It was in being reliable at many.

That didn’t always feel like a strength. For a while, I felt insecure about not having a go-to position. When people asked where I played, I’d rattle off a list: I catch, I rotate across the middle infield, play third, left and right field, and sometimes center. It felt like I was grasping for credibility. But as I got older, I realized that my long-winded answer wasn’t a weakness. It was proof of my range. My coaches trusted me in multiple spots. I had built a reputation not for fitting into one box, but for showing up wherever I was needed and getting the job done.

That shift in mindset took time. It’s hard not to compare yourself as a teenage girl, especially when others are getting recruited or winning awards. But I began to take pride in being a utility player. At least I wasn’t warming the bench. I was putting in extra reps, arriving early for catching drills, staying late to hit in the cage, and constantly learning more than one version of the game.

Then came the injuries. My playing days ended before I was ready, but the work ethic stuck. The utility mindset, the ability to adapt, step up, and find value wherever you are placed, carried me through the transition from athlete to aspiring professional.

That same drive led me to join Oregon’s campus radio KWVA, DuckTV Sports, Oregon Women in Sports Communication, Oregon Accelerator, the University of Oregon athletic department, and the Orange County Riptide. I didn’t have a clear career path. I just knew I wanted to stay around sports. So I tried everything.

At first, it was out of uncertainty. But looking back, I realize it was instinct. My athlete mindset had trained me to jump in, fill a gap, learn fast, and hustle harder. That mindset has shaped my work in media, marketing, operations and public relations. Whether it’s planning a gameday script, producing a highlight reel, managing a student-athlete’s NIL story, or running an on-field activation, I’ve embraced every opportunity. Not because I already knew how to do it, but because I was willing to learn.

Being a utility player taught me how to show up, pivot, and perform, even in unfamiliar territory. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned since hanging up my cleats, it’s that that skill set is just as valuable off the field as it ever was on it.

What two summers with the OC Riptide taught me about telling stories in sports

There is something special about summer baseball. Maybe it is the scorching heat radiating off the turf, the long bus rides to nowhere towns, or the late nights chasing stories and burgers with fellow interns. Whatever it is, there is nothing quite like it.

For the past two summers, I have had the chance to work with the Orange County Riptide, a summer collegiate team in Southern California. I started out wanting experience in any area I could get my hands on, but what I found was a space that pushed me creatively, helped me grow professionally, and gave me a front-row seat to what it means to work in sports.

In my first summer with the Riptide, I worked as a sports media and communications intern. At the time, I was a journalism student who had just finished a year of reporting at my college radio station. I applied for just about every role on the application, including public address announcer, broadcasting, and digital marketing. I was eager for any opportunity that would help me break into the world of sports.

Since I joined the team later than others because of the quarter system, I jumped in quickly. I was writing game recaps on deadline, live tweeting game coverage, producing interviews for the team’s podcast, and capturing social media content. I even filmed a series of casual player interviews while playing catch or grabbing In-N-Out. It was a hands-on learning experience that taught me how to tell stories, manage multiple assignments and represent a brand on the fly.

The next summer, I returned to the Riptide as a digital media and marketing intern. My role shifted more toward strategy and execution. I managed our social media accounts, created an editorial calendar, built out email campaigns, and updated our website regularly. I focused on increasing engagement across platforms and developed content tailored to each audience. This role gave me the chance to combine creativity with planning, and I saw firsthand how digital storytelling can shape fan relationships and boost visibility for a team.

The beauty of summer baseball is that everyone is there to grow. The players are working on their game, the coaches are building relationships, and the interns are learning by doing. For me, it was the perfect training ground. I learned how to problem solve on the spot, adapt to changing situations, and bring ideas to life under pressure.

Working in summer baseball means wearing a lot of hats. Sometimes literally, depending on the sun. But it also means learning how to collaborate with others, stay flexible, and make the most of limited resources. I did not just leave with a stronger portfolio. I left more confident, more capable, and more excited than ever about working in sports.

If you are trying to break into the industry, do not overlook summer ball. It is gritty, fast-paced, and unpredictable. But it is also where some of the best lessons are learned. And for me, it was worth every second.

How Viral Content Works When it Connects Story to Purpose

In 2014, over 17 million people dumped ice water on their heads and donated to an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) organization.

The “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” raised awareness of the disease, a degenerative illness with no known cure, but action for Lou Gehrig’s disease as well. It raised over $115 million in donations to support the ALS Association’s mission “to make ALS livable and cure it.”

I remember the excitement and the anticipation of Ice Bucket Challenge nominations when I was in fourth grade. While I personally was never nominated (I was 10 and had no social media so it adds up), my parents and their friends organized a pool party during the summer so we could participate. They nominated us, and we accepted the challenge, pouring buckets of ice water on our heads and then jumped in the pool.

But take away the ice and the buckets from this campaign and the subsequent cause marketing that followed, and you’ll learn that the story begins a lot earlier, and on a baseball field.

Lou Gehrig, known as the “Iron Horse,” played 17 seasons with the New York Yankees. Known for his consistency and toughness on the field, Gehrig hit 493 home runs and held the record for most consecutive games played (2,130) until 1995. But in 1939, Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS and shortly after, he chose to retire from baseball. There was little known about the disease at the time, but Gehrig’s retirement and moving farewell speech changed that.

July 4, 1939 is designated as “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day” at Yankee Stadium, to honor the former first baseman. Around 62,000 fans listened on that summer day to hear Gehrig give that famous retirement speech, as he deemed himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

The ALS Association continues to fight for a cure and to raise awareness through cause-driven marketing and community driven-storytelling. It is able to do this because

Eleven years later, in spring 2025, the bucket of ice returned, only this time it to spread mental health awareness. This campaign, started at the University of South Carolina by the Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) club, wasn’t expected to have the significant reach that it did. The students launched the #SpeakYourMindChallenge on Instagram in late March, with the goal to raise a few hundred dollars to “empower minds and erase stigma” around mental health.

Only, this video went viral. It caught on quick making national news and had celebrities participating. Instead of raising a few hundred dollars, the challenge has raise approximately $414,454 as of May 4, 2025, with the goal now elevated to $500,000 for Active Minds.

This proves once again that social media storytelling, packed with authenticity and emotion, can spark a national movement, and hit it out of the park like these two campaigns did.

The evolution of the ice bucket challenge campaign reveal the enduring power of public relations when anchored in legacy and community. Whether it’s honoring Gehrig’s courage, confronting mental health stigma, or giving people a tangible way to take action, viral content works when it connects story to purpose.

People care about people, and when you empower them to do something about it, it’s magical and (or little cold if you’re doing the ice bucket challenge).

Click here to donate to the ALS Association: https://www.als.org/get-involved/ways-give

Click here to donate to Active Minds: https://support.activeminds.org/fundraiser/6221101

“To educate, inspire, and challenge.”

– The Jackie Robinson Foundation’s mission

Started in 1973 by Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s husband, the Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF) has established itself as a “public, nonprofit organization that administers one of the nation’s premier scholarship and leadership development programs for talented college students.” Today, JRF is a public relations powerhouse for cause-based storytelling and a case study in how sports institutions can honor legacy while investing in the future. All while honoring Robinson’s legacy of equity and excellence.

The JRF serves its mission through the JRF Scholars Program, the JRF Impact Program and since 2022, the Jackie Robinson Museum. The foundation has done an outstanding job with Robinson’s legacy—not just telling his story, but by building on it and turning that history into meaningful action.

A Legacy Rooted in Action

But before the foundation, there was Jackie Robinson: UCLA’s first four-sport letter winner, a U.S. Army Veteran and the first African American player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947, where he would go on to have a Hall of Fame career.

When his time as a Bruin came to an end, he served in the U.S. Army in World War II. His service recently garnered national media attention after President Trump’s initiatives to remove what his administration considers “DEI”, led to the Department of Defense removing its webpages honoring a Black Medal of Honor winner and Japanese American service members were taken down. With them, a “webpage describing baseball and civil rights icon Jackie Robinson’s military service was restored Wednesday after it was missing earlier in the day.”

In response to this, David Robinson, Jackie’s son and a board member of the JRF, said, “We were surprised to learn that a page on the Department of Defense’s website featuring Jackie Robinson among sports heroes who served in the military was taken down. We take great pride in Jackie Robinson’s service to our country as a soldier and a sports hero, an icon whose courage, talent, strength of character and dedication contributed greatly to leveling the playing field not only in professional sports but throughout society. He worked tirelessly on behalf of equal opportunities, in education, business, civic engagement, and within the justice system. A recipient of both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, he of course is an American hero.”

This demonstrates exactly why nonprofits like the JRF are essential. They ensure the fight for justice doesn’t fade from public memory.

Connecting Nonprofit Strategy to Public Relations

With Major League Baseball’s full-fledged support of Robinson’s legacy, every year on April 15th, in honor of Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947, the league has designated it as Jackie Robinson Day, ever since 2004.The MLB “honors Robinson’s legacy by celebrating his life, values and accomplishments.” The larger audience and outreach the MLB has, helps amplify the messaging that the JRF aims to spread.

MLB’s Support:

• Retired Robinson’s number, 42, in 1997
• Request that all players and on-field personnel wear his number during games on Jackie Robinson Day since 2009
• Stadium-wide tribute across all 30 teams
• Full-day social media takeovers highlighting Robinson’s values
• Branded partnership campaigns to drive awareness and donations

This campaign and the work that the JRF does, exemplifies how strategic partnerships can amplify mission-driven work. It demonstrates how sports can preserve a legacy while engaging new generations. It’s not just a ceremonial nod, it’s integrated purpose-driven storytelling at an exceptional scale.

I encourage you to check out the JRF’s website and witness for yourself the beautiful storytelling of Robinson’s legacy. Personally, I know I’ll be booking a trip to the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York, to experience first-hand how the JRF continues to educate, inspire and challenge future generations.

Thank you, #42.

Visit https://jackierobinson.org/ to learn more.

“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.” – “Field of Dreams”

For over 186 years, baseball has been a constant. Ever since I can remember, baseball has been a part of my life, too. From falling asleep after a long day listening to Jon Miller broadcasting for the Giants in the car with my Dad, my Angels rally monkey or having to choose between “mommy’s team” (the Angels) and “daddy’s team” (the Giants) when it came to choosing which napkins to set the table with. To the family rivalry between the Dodgers and Giants, being a baseball sister and playing softball for 10 years myself – it’s true that a diamond is a girl’s best friend, my best friend.

Fast forward 20 years—I’ve grown up and so has my love for the sport. Even though I took off my cleats for the last time my senior year of high school, I’ve realized that I never really could leave the game behind. Since then I’ve taken my passion for sports and channeled it by working in sports. I’ve become quite the woman in sports so to say, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve hit the ground running doing everything I could to get involved in the sports world. I started as a sports reporter for our campus radio station and later joined the student-led NIL organization, Oregon Accelerator. I also became a founding member of Oregon Women in Sports Communications, where we created a space for women to network and learn from industry professionals. Through my internships with the University of Oregon Athletic Department and the collegiate summer ball team, Orange County Riptide, I’ve seen how much more there is to baseball beyond the scoreboard. Game promotions, fan engagement strategies, media relations and player branding—these are the stories behind the stories.

This blog, “The Business of Baseball PR”, will dive into the fascinating intersection where baseball, business and communication meet. I’ll explore how effective public relations strategies fuel attendance, drive fan loyalty, shape player narratives and impact team brands—from the major leagues down to collegiate and summer ball. Drawing from my hands-on experience learning by doing—planning game-day promotions, leading NIL-focused campaigns for student-athletes and creating marketing strategies for summer league baseball—I aim to share a real-world perspective from someone who is growing in the industry, not just studying it from afar.

In this blog, you can expect real examples, insider insights, breakdowns of trending campaigns, and commentary on where baseball PR is headed next. Whether it’s the latest MLB social media trend, a creative collegiate marketing strategy, or the impact of NIL deals on player branding, I’ll break it all down with a voice that’s professional, honest and passionate about the game.

Baseball has always marked the time. Now, it’s time to pull back the curtain—and see how public relations helps keep the magic alive. It’s time to play ball.