C. Keith Harrison
Keith Harrison is Professor of Business, HipHop, and Sport at UCF and has served as Associate Unit Head/Chief Academic Officer of the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program in the College of Business and founding director (2006-2014) of The Minor That’s Major™ Sport Business Management Undergraduate Program. Harrison has held faculty positions at Washington State University, the University of Michigan, Arizona State University, and UCF. A former NCAA ScholarballerÒin football at Cerritos College and West Texas A & M (WT) where he started at center for four years as well as graduate along with making the honor roll twice at (WT), Harrison went on to earn his graduate degree at Cal-State University, Dominguez Hills, and his doctorate in higher education from the University of Southern California. Harrison has published numerous peer-review articles, academic book chapters, and has co-edited three books with one on sport data analytics, another on education, HipHop and sport, and a third book on HipHop innovation and entrepreneurship. He is Senior-Editor-in-Chief of the academic outlet the Journal of Higher Education Athletics & Innovation. He is the president and co-founder ofscholarballer.org and researcher for the NFL’s good business diversity and inclusion series. Harrison has also consulted for over two decades with several universities, corporate brands, and professional sport organizations. In 2020-21 Harrison earned the prestigious Harvard University Hutchins Center for African and African American Research Nasir Jones HipHop Fellowship in Cambridge, MA. Harrison grew up in Gardena and Cerritos, California and is the proud Godfather of Tre Harrison a Scholarballer at Serra High School (CA), a three sport athlete and honors student.
Kaia W. Forget
Kaia W. Forgét is the Vice President of Community Impact & DEI for Orlando City SC and Orlando Pride. She joined the front office of the Club in 2015 as the former USL franchise played their first season in Major League Soccer, added a NWSL professional women’s team in 2016, and built a downtown soccer-specific stadium in 2017. She currently leads the Club’s corporate social responsibility strategy which is focused on creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture of belonging across the enterprise and beyond. She also serves as the Executive Director of Orlando Soccer Foundation, Inc., whose mission is to leverage the popularity and reach of professional soccer to support efforts that advance the well-being of youth, promote health and wellness, and assist, encourage, and enrich the lives of those in need in the Central Florida community.
Originally from New Hampshire, Kaia attended Canisius College in Buffalo, NY on a Division I soccer scholarship where she earned a B.A. in Communication Studies. After graduation she played one year for the Buffalo FFillies USL W-League team while completing an AmeriCorps service year working in the Buffalo community. Kaia moved to Orlando to attend the University of Central Florida where she earned an M.A. in Mass Communication. She spent seven years working for Orange County Public Schools, three years with the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, and seven years at the Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership (EBI), a Center of Excellence at Rollins College’s Crummer Graduate School of Business.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for The Institute, Kaia is a Member of the Institute for Diversity Certification (IDC), serves on the Corporate Equality Council for The Pride Chamber, is a Special Olympics Florida – Race For Inclusion Committee Member, 100 Women Strong – Central Florida Member, Heart of Florida United Way – Women United Member, and a WISE – Women in Sports & Events – Member & Mentor. Outside of her professional commitments, Kaia has two daughters, enjoys sports and the outdoors, and loves to travel.
