Jessica Berman
{{Short description|American lawyer and sports executive (born 1977)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Jessica Berman
|image = 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final, 563 (Berman).jpg
|caption = Berman in 2023
|office = Commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League
|term_start = April 20, 2022
|term_end =
|predecessor = Marla Messing (acting)
|successor =
|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{birth year and age|1977}}
|birth_place = New York City, U.S.
|spouse = Brad Berman
|children = 2
|father =
|relatives =
|education = {{ubl|University of Michigan (BA) | Fordham University (JD)}}
}}
Jessica Berman (born 1977){{cite tweet|number=1563287071556456449|user=JessicaBerman1|last=Berman|first=Jessica|date=August 26, 2022|title=Looking for advice about whether turning 45 is a good or bad thing...}} is an American lawyer who has served as the commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) since 2022.
Early life
Berman grew up in a Conservative Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. She attended East Midwood Jewish Center. She was the manager of the boys' baseball team at James Madison High School. She then earned a bachelor's degree in sports management from the University of Michigan,{{cite news |last1=Gurvis |first1=Jacob |title=For National Women's Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman, growing women's soccer starts with Jewish values |url=https://www.jta.org/2023/09/07/sports/for-national-womens-soccer-league-commissioner-jessica-berman-growing-womens-soccer-starts-with-jewish-values |access-date=September 8, 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=September 7, 2023}} where she was an assistant manager of the men's hockey team. After Michigan, Berman attended Fordham University for law school, and graduated in 2002.{{cite news |last1=DeGregorio |first1=Erin |title=Alumni Spotlight: Jessica Berman '02, Incoming Commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League |url=https://news.law.fordham.edu/blog/2022/03/18/alumni-spotlight-jessica-berman-02/ |access-date=October 6, 2023 |work=Fordham Law News |publisher=Fordham University |date=March 18, 2022}}
Career
After graduating from Fordham, Berman joined the law firm Proskauer Rose as an associate working in the labor and employment department. At Proskauer Rose, she was a member of the team that negotiated an end to the 2004–05 NHL lockout and a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement between the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association.{{cite news |last1=Kuttler |first1=Hillel |title=NHL lawyer may become first female head of men's sports league |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/nhl-lawyer-may-become-first-female-head-of-mens-sports-league/ |access-date=September 11, 2023 |work=Times of Israel |agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=September 6, 2015}}
In 2006, Berman moved in-house to the NHL after more than 3 years at Proskauer Rose.{{cite news |title=Forty Under 40: Jessica Berman |url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2014/03/10/Forty-Under-40/Jessica-Berman.aspx |access-date=October 6, 2023 |work=Sports Business Journal |date=March 10, 2014}} Over her 13 years with the league, she rose to become the NHL's deputy general counsel and vice president of community development. Her responsibilities included the league's corporate social responsibility efforts and running the NHL Foundation.{{cite news |last1=Herrera |first1=Sandra |title=Jessica Berman hired as next NWSL commissioner ahead of new season |url=https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/jessica-berman-hired-as-next-nwsl-commissioner-ahead-of-new-season/ |access-date=September 11, 2023 |work=CBS Sports |date=March 9, 2022}} During Berman's tenure in the NHL, she was viewed as a candidate to eventually become the first female commissioner of a men's professional sports league, and she was named a "Forty under 40" by Sports Business Journal in 2014.
In 2019, she was named the deputy commissioner and executive vice president of business affairs of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), becoming the first female deputy commissioner of a men's professional sports league. At the NLL, Berman was responsible for the league's growth and legal affairs.
On March 8, 2022, Berman was named commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest professional women's soccer league in the United States, for a 4-year term that began on April 20.{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Kendall |title=Jessica Berman takes NWSL reins |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/04/26/jessica-berman-nwsl |access-date=September 8, 2023 |work=Axios |date=April 26, 2022}} The NWSL had been without a permanent commissioner since the resignation of Lisa Baird in October 2021. Berman's hiring process was the first to include player interviews, a demand in the wake of the 2021 NWSL abuse scandal.
On May 22, 2024, Berman won the Sports Business Journal's 2024 Executive of the Year award.{{cite web |url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/05/22/2024-sports-business-awards-executive-of-the-year-nwsl-jessica-berman |title=NWSL Commissioner Jesssica Berman is first woman to win SBA for Executive of the Year |last=Friend |first=Tom |publisher=sportsbusinessjournal.com |date=May 22, 2024}}
Personal life
Jessica Berman lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband and two children. Her family belongs to the Westchester Jewish Center. In 2023, Berman was awarded the David J. Stern Leadership Award by the UJA-Federation of New York.
References
{{reflist}}
{{National Women's Soccer League}}
{{North American sports heads}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Jessica}}
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:American sports businesspeople
Category:Jewish American sports executives and administrators
Category:Proskauer Rose people
Category:21st-century American Jews
Category:University of Michigan alumni
Category:Fordham University School of Law alumni
Category:National Hockey League executives
Category:National Lacrosse League