Valkyries president Jess Smith rejects work-life balance

Golden State Valkyries president Jess Smith says she rejects the idea of work-life balance, saying she prefers to focus on gratitude and on the work she loves rather than on dividing her time into neat categories. Smith, who leads the WNBA franchise estimated to be worth $1 billion, made the comments to Fortune as the team played in the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream.

“I don’t subscribe to work-life balance, because it makes you try to set something up for failure versus I really try to live in gratitude,” Smith said. “How fortunate am I that the fix that I would want in this life is to actually be with my kids more, work more, be with my partner more, more time in self care. If that’s my biggest problem, that’s a great problem.”

Smith has spent decades working in professional sports. She has held roles across Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer and women’s soccer, including leading revenue at Angel City FC. She became president of the Valkyries in 2024, only months after the team was created, and has overseen its business operations and fan experience. The 41-year-old helped drive record demand, with the team selling 10,000 season tickets ahead of its inaugural season.

The Valkyries made history in their first season by becoming the first WNBA expansion team to reach the playoffs in its debut year. The team is now competing for the league championship, trailing Atlanta 2-1 in the Finals series, with game four scheduled in the afternoon and game five set for Monday night in San Francisco.

Smith said her approach to work and family took shape after she had her two children and began figuring out how to combine motherhood with a demanding career. “It’s been very freeing—especially in becoming a mom and having to figure this out—to just be honest like, ‘I love to work.’ And I tell my kids that I don’t apologize to them for that,” she said. “I tell them, ‘I love working, and someday you’re gonna love working, and it’s really fun. You get to come to the game.’ I explain it to them, but I’m not apologizing for what brings me joy.”

Smith does not separate her professional and personal lives. She said she enjoys free weekend days when she can attend her children’s soccer games and makes an effort to schedule vacation time. She is applying the same expectations to the roughly 88 full-time Valkyries staffers, from players to front-office employees. “You absolutely have to take care of yourself—period, full stop,” she said.

Balancing the schedule is difficult for a team that travels constantly and plays both during the season and in the offseason. Smith said making it work requires being deliberate about when and how she steps away. “That means the work that needs to be done, I’m committed to, I’m going to get done,” she said. “I’m going to be where I need to be, and I’m going to find those wins to make sure that I’m being a full human being as well for other constructs in my life.”

Smith has worked with other Valkyries leaders to make sure employees get the rest they need. She has asked people managers to remind staff that they receive two work-from-home weeks, and she pointed to the November and December offseason as a time to take a break. “I also expect them to take time off,” Smith said. “But that involves planning, looking forward, so you can really make sure that you can take some real space.”

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Caroline Mercer

World News Correspondent

Caroline Mercer covers public affairs, politics, business, culture and daily news for Core Memo. The role focuses on verification, context, and clear explanations for readers.

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