Speaker Profile

After a championed career spanning three decades and regarded as the world’s premier point guard, Sue Bird has left her mark on the WNBA and the world of women’s sports. The league's All-Time Leader in Assists retired in September of 2022 and has since tapped into her progressive entrepreneurial spirit. 

Bird dominated at every level in basketball. She is one of only seven women to win: an Olympic Gold Medal (she’s won five), a World Championship Gold Medal (she’s won four), an NCAA Championship (she’s won two), and a WNBA Championship (she’s won four – the last just weeks before her 40th birthday). Sue is also a five-time EuroLeague Champion, a thirteen-time WNBA All-Star, 2021 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year, and was voted by the fans as one of the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All Time. Following her retirement in 2022, her jersey was retired by the Seattle Storm, making her only the second player in franchise history to have received that honor. 

In 2021, Bird co-founded Togethxr – a woman-centered media group – alongside Alex Morgan, Simone Manuel and Chloe Kim, to further the progress, culture, representation, and coverage of all women and girls in sport. Through Togethxr, Sue produced Power of the Dream, a documentary from director Dawn Porter on the WNBA and their fight for social justice which had a major impact on US politics in 2020; and the successful six-part podcast series, “Summer of Gold,” about the American female athletes who dominated in the 1996 Atlanta games. It was recently announced that this podcast series will be adapted into a television limited series with Bird as one of the executive producers on the project. 

Earlier this year, Sue hosted “Sue’s Places,” a take on Peyton Manning’s signature ESPN+ Original series, where she explores the history and traditions of college basketball; over the past several years, she and best friend Diana Taurasi have hosted their popular ‘alterna-cast’ “The Bird & Taurasi Show” with their coverage of the Women’s Final Four; and Sue Bird: In the Clutch, a documentary on her historic career premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is currently available on Netflix.  

At the end of 2022, Sue and her fiancé and soccer legend, Megan Rapinoe, launched A Touch More, a production company focused on promoting narratives around revolutionaries who move culture forward. The company will amplify stories focused on identity, activism, and underrepresented groups. Their first TV scripted series, “Playing the Field,” (based off the best-selling novel, Cleat Cute) is currently in development. “Playing the Field” is an ensemble show set in the world of women’s soccer and a contemporary romance that follows a young soccer player as she juggles being the rookie, her goals of making the national team and a budding romance with the team captain. 

Additionally, Bird and Rapinoe recently re-launched their podcast, A Touch More: The Podcast, this year. Initially an Instagram Live series originating during the height of the pandemic, A Touch More: The Podcast (originally titled A Touch More) quickly garnered a large following for its honest and wide-ranging conversations, which has continued since the re-launch of the show. Sue and Megan also serve as EPs on the podcast via their A Touch More production banner. 

Sue has quickly established herself as a true trailblazer as a former athlete segueing into the mainstream media business with an unparalleled perspective. Her vocal stance on racial, gender, and LGBTQIA+ equity has made her a cornerstone in athletic representation and allyship. She is an outspoken and visible activist advocating for Black Lives, equality, health and wellness and expanding opportunities for girls and all marginalized people. Bird currently resides in New York and Seattle.