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Team work

Senior Vice President of Community affairs for the Arizona Diamondbacks helps the team give back

Diane Aguilar

Dianne Aguilar didn't seem bothered by the piercing whistle of a cargo train outside her second-story office at Chase Field. And less than a minute later, the roar of a commercial jet, recently departed from Sky Harbor Airport (visible out the window) had not fazed her either. Rather, Aguilar enthusiastically carried on about some of the projects that she has been involved with in the twelve months since she was named Senior Vice President of Community Affairs for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 “I guess I’ve just stopped noticing things outside the window,” said Aguilar, after a reporter pointed out the din from the airplane. “The other day a friend of mine was sitting down in my office and she was confused by the sound of the train, and it took me a while to figure out what she was talking about.” Aguilar then paused, and added, jokingly, “I guess I’ve been working here too long"

But that focused, flexible frame of mind is to be expected from one of the highest-ranking women on the corporate side of professional sports in Arizona. Aguilar has occupied the same office inside Chase Field since it opened in 1998, three years after she began working for the defending National League West Division champions, in the area of ticket operations. Before that, she held a similar position with the Phoenix Suns, from 1990 to 1995. She also worked in ticket operations for the athletic department at Arizona State University, from 1983 to 1990; she graduated from the school with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work.

Aguilar, who was born in Phoenix and raised in Tempe (and is a graduate of Tempe High School) explained that her career working in sports came by way of chance. “I never played sports in high school or college,” said Aguilar. “When I was a student at ASU, I was looking for a part-time job with the school and someone had recommended me for a position as an assistant with the athletic director’s office. And from there, I just kept working in that area.”

Aguilar said that her work in ticket operations – which at times dealt with hiring sales staff to work in the ticket booths and at other times had her responsible for making sure online ticket sales were transacted with ease – was rewarding, but that her current position in community outreach is more in keeping with her degree in social work.

For instance, she beamed with pride when she spoke about the “Diamonds Back” Field Building Program, a joint venture with various Diamondback players, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and APS, which transforms empty lots into youth baseball facilities, named for the Diamondbacks player that provides some of the funding. In all, there have been 11 of these fields built in Arizona. The most recent complex, with four fields, was built in 2007 and named after current Diamondbacks players Brandon Webb and Chad Tracy, is the first that allows players using wheelchairs easy access on and off the playing field. “Making sure that these baseball fields can be enjoyed by everyone is a huge step forward,” said Aguilar.

At every opening of these facilities, the Diamondbacks player the playing field is named after is asked to speak about their experiences in youth baseball. “To see the looks on the faces of these kids when their favorite baseball players come out and talks to them about their first playing experiences, realizing that these experiences aren’t all that much different from their own, that’s quite a sight to see,” said Aguilar.

And when you’ve got that on your mind, the sounds made by trains and airplanes outside your office seem to not make too much noise.