Roy Kessel is the Founder of From the Bench.
Roy Kessel
Roy has been actively involved in the sports industry since the late 1990′s. He is the founder of the Sports Philanthropy Foundation (SPF) which strives to use the power of sports to create programs that provide Education, Opportunity and Empowerment for youth.
SPF launched the Sports Philanthropy Association which is an initiative that brings together various sports organizations, universities, athletes, teams and sponsors to help them understand how to be more effective and efficient in their philanthropic efforts.
Roy has been an instructor in Northwestern University’s Masters in Sports Administration Program, teaching a course in the “Legal and Ethical Issues in Sports Management.”
Roy served for many years as the Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Sports Law Committee. He is active in the National Sports Marketing Network, Sports Lawyers Association, National Sports Law Institute and American Bar Association Sports and Entertainment Forum.
Roy was previously certified as Contract Advisor for the NFLPA and the CFLPA. He attends numerous sports conferences each year including the IEG Sponsorship Conference and The Giving Back Fund’s Sports Philanthropy Summit.
Roy received his BBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Wisconsin and his JD from Northwestern University School of Law where he was the Note and Comment Editor for the Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business.
Roy has created, managed and operated numerous celebrity, charity and corporate golf events including the first golf tournament ever sanctioned by the Tournament of Roses in conjunction with the 2000 Rose Bowl game between Wisconsin and Stanford.
Roy was licensed as an attorney in 1991 and has represented business in the industries of finance, real estate, sports, education, health care. He has worked with many entreprenuers and helped guide their initial goals and business strategies and is currently advising businesses and non-profits in education, nutrition, sports, philanthropy and health care.
