Odessa "OJ" Jenkins
Pronouns: She, Her, Hers
Odessa L. Jenkins (Los Angeles, CA) is a former American world-class athlete turned coach/executive leader.
Jenkins is a successful start-up tech executive and the founder of the Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC). An in-demand global speaker/coach, Jenkins is also the founder of multiple nonprofits (Got Her Back). She is a recognized market leader in B2B SAAS tech, DE&I, and Team Dynamics with multiple years of executive leadership experience in privately funded start-ups, and fortune 1,000 public companies. Jenkins recently served as President of the e-learning company Emtrain and previously served for several years as an executive leader at YourCause, a start-up that helped to revolutionize the Corporate Social Responsibility industry (exited to Blackbaud).
As a disrupter in sports, Jenkins has built one of the premier sports leagues in the country, creating opportunities, inclusion, and equity in football for women and girls.
She was an inaugural participant in the NFL’s first Women’s Career in Football Forum and is one of the first women to obtain the coveted Bill Walsh Diversity Internship in an on-field position (Running Backs Coach – Atlanta Falcons). Featured on Fox, Sport Illustrated, CBS, ESPN, Yahoo Sports, NFL Network, The Undefeated and more, Jenkins was recognized as one of the most influential and powerful women in sports by Sports Illustrated (Unrelenting) and voted as Culture in Sports 2022 Sports Leader of the Year and is a 2023 Recipient of The 2023 Leigh Steinberg Denicola Humanitarian Award.
Often called the "Belichick" of women's football. At 72-2, Jenkins is the winningest Head Coach in women’s tackle football history. She is a Hall of Famer, a 7x National Champion, a 2x USA Football Team captain, and a 3x Team USA Gold Medalist.
Heralded as one of the top inclusive leadership experts in the country, she is determined to create equity in the world for all.
OJ IN THE NEWS
2023 Leigh Steinberg Denicola Humanitarian Award Winner
Odessa Jenkins was selected as the 2023 Steinberg Denicola Humanitarian Award Winner for her work in creating opportunities and promoting the welfare of women and girls ...
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Introducing The Unrelenting
A former professional football player, Jenkins cofounded the Women's National Football Conference in 2019 with the hopes of building a long-standing, professional women's tackle football league with worldwide...
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In partnership with Adidas and Riddell, Women's National Football Conference unveil 2020 uniforms
The Women's National Football Conference (WNFC) had to cancel their spring season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that didn't stop the Dallas-based organization from boosting...
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Women's National Football Conference Hopes to Turn an Adidas Grant Into a TV
Last week, the adidas + IFundWomen campaign selected 15 women-led sports organizations to help fund and promote as part of an International Women's Day initiative...
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Media
Testimonials
Odessa is an insanely talented leader. When she joined Emtrain as President, my role changed in ways I did not like. But she earned my trust, and my respect, and I learned so much from her incredible abilities: to bring focus to the chaotic, to bring energy and enthusiasm to every interaction (actually - every one), to listen incisively, to create safety and camaraderie, to plan the work and work the plan. She also has a preternatural ability to enter a room/zoom on no notice and be who she needs to be to move things forward and build connection. Real talk.
"Every time I see Odessa, two things come to mind. 1. Rockstar 2. Amazing person I'm lucky enough to work with Odessa and always look forward to tackling complex projects with her. If you ever get the chance to work with her, take it."