The Women of the NFL: Minnesota Vikings Director of Inclusion Anne Doepner

"Come to the table knowing what you’re asking for and why."

Diandra Loux | Nov 18, 2020

Anne Doepner started her career with the Minnesota Vikings in 2006 as an administrative assistant. 14 years later, she’s now the Director of Inclusion and Employee Investment with the organization.

Doepner graduated from a liberal arts college with a degree in French, so football wasn’t the original plan. As her time with the organization went on, she knew this was the route she wanted to take. Doepner worked in Football Operations, where she negotiated player contracts and was responsible for salary cap compliance for the team. At the time, she was one of only two women in the NFL negotiating player contracts.

Coming from a liberal arts college, Doepner battled with imposter syndrome along the way. “Most people who are negotiating have law degrees and MBAs," she said. "Many times they would ask where I went to school, and for a long time, I didn’t want anyone to know.”

Over time, she realized that the more authentic she was about her story and where she came from, the more it inspired others. Doepner believes that regardless of the path taken, if you hire the right people, you can teach them the skills. “Negotiating is a matter of understanding the system and the rules. Agents who were the most ruthless were my favorite to negotiate with. They’re smart and won’t waste your time.”

As one of the only women in her field, Doepner was eager to learn every aspect of the business and find ways she could contribute.

“I was rewarded with promotions along the way as I demonstrated my worth and values," she said. "It was hard at times because I didn’t have a woman at the senior level to look to and say ‘She’s doing it, so can I.’”

As her personal life changed, the barriers got even more intense. Doepner learned how to excel in a male-driven industry while also adjusting to new life as a mom. “That’s why I want to represent for women and be there for them,” she said. Doepner prefers to use the word 'integration' instead of 'balance' when discussing her professional and personal life. “The experience really opened my eyes to the fact that I had a lot to offer from what I had learned and that those experiences could be helpful to other women," she explained. "That started to take over for me.”

In 2019, Doepner became the Director of Inclusion for the Vikings. Her job is to remove barriers that might be there for people to fulfill their personal and professional development. She currently works with a diverse internal council of eight employees as her sounding board. Together they discuss ideas, the temperature of the organization, what needs to be done and in what order. The council was formed in January and had it's first initiative in February where it began teaming up with local Black-owned businesses. This first step offered the potential for staff to connect with each other and listen to shared experiences.

In late May, the killing of George Floyd just a couple of miles from the Vikings' home stadium rocked the city and the organization to their cores. “It happened right near the Boys & Girls Club where our guys volunteer," Doepner said. "This is our community.” In the aftermath, she knew her role was more important than ever. The Inclusion Council spoke out immediately for the Vikings to release a statement.

The importance of her role in a league like the NFL is not lost on Doepner, who also founded the Twin Cities chapter of Women in Sports and Events (WISE) in 2017.

“We have the vehicle for a diverse group to band together, support each other and then collectively have their voices amplified up to leadership," she said. "We’ve seen that what we do externally matters deeply internally. It’s not the responsibility of our Black employees to raise their hand and say they’re devastated or to carry this emotionally on their own. There’s a path to ownership now. This was absolutely within my job description to listen, support and amplify and that’s exactly what happened.”

In 2018, the Vikings became the first NFL team to host an LGBTQ Summit that included a panel discussion and fundraising event. This October, the NFL launched a series of initiatives designed to engage the LGBTQ+ community, support allyship and expand partnerships with GLAAD and The Trevor Project. Additionally, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent penned an op-ed on NFL.com. As the league evolves, Doepner sees these conversations becoming more normalized. She’s working to create a safe environment for all employees to fully be themselves and credits the NFL league office for the diversity being shown.

“This whole generation of young girls is seeing women on the sidelines, in the booth, female referees and trainers," she said. "It’s not going to be a thought for them and that puts the biggest smile on my face. They won’t see the barriers and that’s really exciting.”

Her advice to young women looking to create a path for themselves is to lift each other up and to look at other women as your allies. There might only be one or two seats right now, but that’s not how things are going to stay.

“Make sure you’re lifting each other up. Come to the table knowing what you’re asking for and why. Always know your why. As long as you know where you stand and why you stand there, it’s hard for anyone to chip away at that. You deserve to be in that room.”

Anne Doepner was recently honored with the 2020 Women in Business Award from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

For more Women of the NFL Features:

This is a special report for Inside The Vikings by Diandra Loux.

Published Nov 18, 2020

DIANDRA LOUX