Nike alumni association co-founder on keeping 800 ex-employees connected
Mar 7, 2023, 11:08am PST
Portland Business Journal
Staff Reporter: Demi Lawrence
Photo credit: Sam Gehrke
Jana Panfilio worked in many different roles at Nike’s World Headquarters for nearly 30 years. From negotiating corporate travel accommodations in the late 1990s to her last role as the senior creative producer for global sustainability in 2019, Panfilio loved the fast-paced and passionate environment Nike fostered. That’s why she and fellow Nike alum Stephanie Vardavas started 6453 Alumni, Nike’s first and only alumni network. The network — founded in 2020 named for how ‘Nike’ is spelled on a dial pad — aims to keep the thousands who worked for the company over the years in contact. Panfilio also hopes it can inspire a similar environment where people can innovate and connect in new ways. 6453 counts more than 800 members. According to Panfilio, more than 100,000 people list Nike on their LinkedIn accounts as a former employer. She hopes her organization can reach as many of those as possible.
In this edited interview, Panfilio talks about why she founded the network, its purpose and how it fits into the larger footwear and apparel landscape in Portland.
What was the inspiration to found an alumni network for Nike, and why was it important to you? During my nearly 30 years at Nike, I worked with so many amazing and passionate leaders, innovators, creators and doers all over the world. My Nike teammates were and continue to be my fuel, so after leaving Nike, it was important for me to remain connected. There are a lot of people I lost track of because of so many different reorganizations over time, I've wondered where everyone went. I know that everyone who worked at Nike has their own personal networks, but I thought there was an untapped potential in creating a broader centralized community from our shared experience at Nike.
A lot of alumni networks for corporations are sponsored by the companies themselves, but that isn't the case for 6453. What kind of funding sources does it have, and is there hope in the future for Nike to become a sponsor? Right now we are self-funded through individuals and alumni brands, sponsors, partners and contributions. We're pursuing other sponsorships from brands and people who have done a great deal of business with Nike employees over the years. Some of the most successful alumni organizations are supported by the brand, so ultimately our goal is to partner with Nike at some point.
From day one, we've been talking with people at the highest level at Nike about our goal to create this organization. We were in the middle of a pandemic the last time that we had a conversation, but hopefully we'll be able to revisit that soon.
What role do you think 6453 will play in Portland's larger footwear and apparel landscape, given that so many alumni go on to either start their own companies or join smaller companies here? As home to Nike's World Headquarters, the Portland metropolitan area has the single largest population of former Nike employees. They're continuing to create the future of the industry, whether that's teaching the next generation of industry experts or driving strategies in other brands, or starting their own companies in and out of the footwear and apparel industry.
So 6453 can serve as a resource for expertise, inspiration, talent and clients, but most of all connection. People have their own individual networks, but it's who you don't know sometimes. You can connect with people who wouldn't have necessarily been in your circle at Nike.
Nike has been in the news for several years for accusations of poor workplace practices, specifically for women. As an organization founded by two former female Nike employees, is there any thought put into 6453 for people, specifically women, who maybe had experiences at Nike that weren’t necessarily the most positive? Nike is Nike, and we can't change what Nike is or was, but we are building something new from the bottom up. There has been a great deal of thought put into what 6453 is and isn't.
6453 is designed to be a welcoming place for people that aren't at Nike anymore, for whatever reason.
We've created 6453 as a place for people to stay connected and be able to share their experience, regardless of what their experience might have been. I've had hundreds of conversations with people over the last two-and-a-half years, both women and men, who have had not so great experiences in one aspect or another. Everyone's experience is their own.
I would like to think 6453 is a safe environment to be able to connect, because what we're connecting about is ultimately the contributions everyone had to the brand, and that's something everyone should celebrate. I would hope that everyone feels good about that, because together we created a pretty amazing brand, but we're not going to be focusing our attention on the negatives. We want to stick to the positive aspects of Nike, like what did we learn, and how can we make a better world from here.
CLOSER LOOK: JANA PANFILIO
Co-founder of Nike's only alumni association, 6453
Previously: Nike's Senior Creative Director of Global Sustainability until June 2019
Hometown: Portland
Education: Business and marketing at Portland State University
Factoid: An avid photographer thanks to her parents, who were both photographers