Muhammad Ali Center Daughters of Greatness: Victoria Russell

Muhammad Ali Center Daughters of Greatness: Victoria Russell

Throughout the year, the Daughters of Greatness breakfast series features prominent women engaged in social philanthropy, activism, and pursuits of justice to share their stories with the Louisville community. The Daughters of Greatness series provides a place for dialogue and discussion on current issues of justice, community engagement, and social movements within the Louisville area and beyond.  

Victoria Russell was named the first Chief of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Papa John’s International, a global brand of 120,000 team members. A 13-year passion for the Papa John’s brand, Victoria is committed to using her voice to bring change and stepping up to the challenge of ensuring Diversity Equity & Inclusion is in the DNA of the company. The DE&I vision at Papa John’s is to enable Papa John’s team members, customers, supplier, partners, and franchisees of all backgrounds to feel included and a part of the Papa John’s family and to allow the brands diversity to be their strength and competitive advantage. Much like BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA., people are the key ingredient to a better company. Prior to this role, Victoria was named Head of Diversity & Inclusion and was voted chair of the newly formed Diversity, Equity & Inclusion committee by her peers. Victoria spent most of her career at Papa John’s in marketing analytics where she gained valuable insights into the business, and the customers and communities they served.  Before to joining Papa John’s, Victoria spent time at Brown Forman and Humana in Human Resources compensation. Victoria earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and Management and a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Kentucky. Victoria serves on several non-profit boards including Leadership Louisville, Fund for the Arts and the YMCA.  Louisville Business First recently named Victoria, “Woman Making A Difference” through their 2019 Business Women First program as well as the 2019 Class of Louisville’s Forty Under 40. She was also selected to The Business Journals’ Influencers: Rising Stars, a national list of influential young executives.  Her other recent accomplishments include Leadership Louisville Class of 2020, University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics’ alumni recipient of the 2019 Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence Award and founding member of the Adweek Diversity and Inclusion Council.  Victoria was also just named to the 2020 Class of the Executive Leadership Council.

The Daughters of Greatness event will begin with a hot breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and the program will follow from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Tickets are $20 for Ali Center members, $25 for non-members, and $200 for a table of 10. Seating is limited. 

About the Muhammad Ali Center

The Muhammad Ali Center, a 501(c)3 corporation, was co-founded by Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The international cultural center promotes the Six Core Principles of Muhammad Ali (Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality) in ways that inspire personal and global greatness and provides programming and events around the focus areas of education, gender equity, and global citizenship. Its newest initiative, Generation Ali, fosters a new generation of leaders to contribute positively to their communities and to change the world for the better. The Center’s headquarters also contains an award-winning museum experience. 

For more information call 502- 992-5340 or visit alicenter.org