The USTA has named Kevin Clayton as Chief Diversity Officer, USTA.  In this role, Clayton will be dedicated to increasing the diversity initiatives throughout the entire organization, encompassing professional and community tennis, the Sections and Community Tennis Associations, as well as all other internal and external business relationships.  Clayton will work out of the USTA’s national headquarters in White Plains, N.Y., and report to Gordon Smith, Executive Director and COO, USTA.


Clayton brings to the USTA more than 20 years of experience, including service as a diversity officer in both the non-profit and private sectors.  Prior to joining the USTA, he most recently served as the National Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion of the American Cancer Society.  Before a one year reprise as President of Axxis Consulting, a company which Clayton founded in 1991 and ran for 12 years, he served for three years as the Corporate Vice President of Diversity for the Russell Corporation.  There, he was credited with creating a “Diversity Profit Center,” a unique and innovative program which used profits and losses as a success metric for the diversity department.  He has additionally served on a number of diversity advisory boards and committees, including the Women’s Resource Center, the Anti-Prejudice Consortium, and the Diversity Best Practices Diversity Council.


“The USTA remains committed to making diversity an embedded part of the USTA culture in both the sport of tennis and the USTA itself,” said Smith.  “Kevin’s extensive experiences in diversity work, consulting and business relations make him the ideal person to lead us in our continued implementation of this important organizational strategy.”


Clayton, 49, received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Psychology from Wilmington College in Ohio, and is relocating to White Plains from Atlanta.