Sheridan Blandford

Associate Consultant

support@122consultinggroup.com

Sheridan Blanford is an associate consultant with 122 Consulting Group. Sheridan is also the Director of Inclusion & Engagement for the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department. As one of the few in her role, Blanford assesses and leads all current Division of Intercollegiate Athletics programming, initiatives, policies, and procedures regarding diversity issues that facilitates a diverse and inclusive culture for student-athletes, coaches, administration, and campus and community constituents. Sheridan oversees the strategic plan which has developed assessment tools to measure the athletic department's effectiveness related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and has established and maintained 100+ first ever partnerships with community influencers and campus partners. In addition, Blanford serves on various committees across campus, and has facilitated workshops and educational sessions covering topics surrounding leadership, privilege, unconscious bias, intersectionality, etc.

In addition to her role at Wisconsin, Sheridan also works as a freelance as a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consultant providing actionable strategy for companies, organizations and departments, who are deploying plans that institute inclusive organizational culture. 

In 2019, Blanford was named as one of Wisconsin’s 49 Most Influential Black Leaders by Madison 365. Blanford has attended the Learfield Minority Academy each of the last two years, serving as an alumni ambassador at the 2018 event. Women Leaders in College Sports also selected Blanford as a 2018 Rising Star Award winner in 2018.

Prior to being elevated to the Director, one year into her tenure, Sheridan served as Inclusion and Engagement Coordinator for Wisconsin Athletics, her work focused heavily on enhancing the student-athlete experience through the lens of diversity. Among her responsibilities, Blanford served as a co-facilitator for various inclusion courses and training, and established various student programs and partnerships including the Badger Affinity Groups, study abroad, etc., that has since increased minority student-athlete engagement. She also worked with Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, University of Wisconsin-Madison staff members, and community partners to develop and improve programming, mentorships, and other opportunities related to issues of inclusion and diversity to enhance the overall student-athlete experience that had never been done before.

Blanford previously served as the Assistant Director for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). In the MIAC, Blanford oversaw the conference's strategic plan, which involved fostering and maintaining strategic partnerships with all stakeholders, from President’s to student-athletes, to ensure the organization was establishing realistic goals and objectives, which were consistent with the conference's mission. She also worked closely with the Gender, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion subcommittee, which allowed her to create, purpose and facilitate programs and initiatives that expanded the support and investment of students from diverse, ethnic and cultural backgrounds across 13 different institutions. She was also given the opportunity to develop programming and training for the MIAC membership that set out to articulate the importance of inclusivity of different cultures, ethnicities, lifestyles and beliefs. In addition, Blanford served as the advisor to the Conference's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and assisted with various areas of athletic administration including championship and event management, membership educational service, and brand development.

Blanford graduated from St. Olaf College in 2015 where she played basketball and earned her Master's degree in the University of Washington's Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership program the following year.