Blocking and tackling for women
Odessa ‘OJ’ Jenkins gave a glimpse of her fighting spirit during.a recent interview with Essence magazine.
“The idea that football isn’t for women,” Jenkins said, “is as crazy as the idea that football isn’t for kids. The idea that you can quantify who a sport is for defeats the whole purpose of sports.”
She’s the founder of the Women’s National Football Conference, among many other accolades and accomplishments, and she’ll be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Top Women in Hardware & Building Supply gala in Chicago Nov. 10-11, hosted by HBSDealer.
Her presentation: Breaking Ceilings, Building Legacies: The Blueprint for Women Who Lead promises to deliver practical tools to help executives build confidence, amplify their voice, and turn challenges into fuel for growth.
Jenkins brings experience in all of the above.
She is an in-demand global speaker/coach and the founder of multiple nonprofits, including Got Her Back. She also served as the CEO of Bonfire, a leadership development company dedicated to empowering women leaders through transformative programs and experiences.
Nominate Top Women here
HBSDealer continues to encourage nominations for the 2025 class of Top Women in Hardware & Building Supply in two categories:
• Rising Stars and
• Business Excellence.
Submit nominations for yourself or someone you know here.
As a disrupter in tech, Jenkins was a member of the Executive team for YourCause, a Texas-based tech and philanthropy company that exited to Blackbaud for $157 million. In addition to her tech background, 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 Careers in Football Forum and is one of the first women to obtain the coveted Bill Walsh Diversity Internship in an on-field position.
Featured on Today Show, NBC, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, NFL Network and more, Jenkins was recognized as one of the most influential and powerful women in sports by Sports Illustrated, voted as Culture in Sports’ 2022 Sports Leader of the Year, and is a 2023 recipient of The Leigh Steinberg Denicola Humanitarian Award.
In 2024, she was recognized by Essence as one of the top 25 Black women changing the world of sports. Heralded as one of the top inclusive leadership experts in the country, Jenkins is determined to create equity in the world for all.
“We are thrilled to have Odessa joining us and coaching us in Chicago in November,” said Amy Grant, associate publisher of HBSDealer. “Her experience is unique, and applies perfectly to our mission of inspiring authentic leadership.”
HBSDealer’s Top Women in Hardware & Building Supply Awards gala, now in its fifth year, will take place at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk Nov. 10-11. Learn more at HBSDTopWomen.com.
