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NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2020 – The Major League Players Association today announced the additions of senior executives in financial operations, human resources and communications.
Joining the staff to fill leading roles in their areas of expertise are Tatia Mays-Russell as Chief Financial Officer, Michael J. ONeill as Chief Human Resources Officer and Silvia Alvarez as Associate Director, International and Domestic Communications.
Mays-Russell is a finance and operations executive known for effectively partnering with leadership to achieve strategic initiatives and drive innovation across diverse industries including media, publishing, and manufacturing organizations. Before joining the MLBPA, Mays-Russell served as Deputy Chief, Strategic Initiatives at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Mays-Russell is also a former Chief Financial Officer for the National Lacrosse League and brings a wealth of experience in financial operations with previous employers, including Deloitte, Pfizer, Inc., the National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Scholastic, Inc. Mays-Russell received her Bachelor of Science from Cornell University’s College of Engineering and her Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
ONeill, a graduate of the New York Law School and lifelong New Yorker, has used his extensive legal and human resources training and skills for a variety of companies, including leading roles with finance firms Warburg Pincus and Guggenheim Partners, LLC. Most recently, ONeill was chief human resources officer for one of the leading law firms in the country, Wilson Elser, LLP. He also teaches human resources and finance-related classes as an adjunct professor at both Villanova University and Penn State University.
Both Mays-Russell and ONeill will report to Chief Operating Officer Xavier D. James.
Alvarez has a wide range of experience in media relations, brand management, crisis communications, strategic messaging and positioning. With degrees from Colgate University and Middlebury College, Alvarez followed her interests in policy, politics and multicultural engagement to serve as a strategic communications counselor and spokesperson in both the campaign and government offices of U.S. Sen. Cory A. Booker and former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Before joining the MLBPA, she was a senior vice president and director of corporate communications for First Horizon National Corp. Earlier in her career, Alvarez was director of multicultural & charitable communications for Major League Baseball. She was born in El Salvador, emigrated to the U.S. as a child during the Salvadoran Civil War and became a U.S. citizen in 2015.
Alvarez will report to Director of Communications Chris Dahl.