Cesley Tafoya is a mission-driven sports executive with over a decade of experience leading high-impact initiatives across professional sports, intercollegiate athletics, and the nonprofit sector. She currently serves as the Associate Commissioner for Development & Partnership Strategy for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), where she is a member of the Commissioner’s Executive Leadership Team and leads strategic partnerships, social impact initiatives, and development efforts supporting the MEAC Foundation, while advancing the conference’s brand, revenue growth, and community engagement.
Prior to returning to the MEAC in her current role, Tafoya served with the National Football League (NFL) as Director of Football Pipeline Development. In this role, she led league-wide initiatives focused on expanding career pathways and strengthening diversity across coaching and football operations. She managed flagship programs including the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship and the Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowship, increasing participation through direct collaboration with NFL head coaches and general managers. Tafoya developed the NFL Future Leaders in Football Fellowship, strengthening pathways for HBCU students into professional football, and launched the NFL Women’s Community Steering Committee, guiding development programming and expanding opportunities for women across the NFL ecosystem.
Tafoya also brings senior nonprofit leadership experience from her tenure with the American Cancer Society, where she served as Strategic Director of Regional Sports & Entertainment for the West Region. There, she led sports and entertainment partnership strategy across six states, built relationships with major professional franchises, and oversaw regional revenue portfolios while positioning sports and entertainment as a key driver of organizational growth and community impact.
Tafoya’s leadership is deeply rooted in the MEAC, where she has served the conference in progressively senior roles spanning partnerships, marketing, multimedia, and community engagement. Her contributions include leading a full conference rebrand, securing multi-year corporate partnerships, launching nationally recognized diversity and inclusion initiatives, and developing programs that expand access, engagement, and opportunity for student-athletes and member institutions. A native of Oxnard, California, Tafoya is a proud alumna of Bethune-Cookman University, where she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and was a standout Division I softball student-athlete. During her collegiate career, she helped lead the Wildcats to multiple MEAC championships and NCAA Regional appearances. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and an active member of Women Leaders in Sports and LatinX in Sports. Tafoya remains deeply committed to advancing equity, leadership, and social impact across the sports industry.