Employee Spotlight: Arizona Coyotes Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month officially kicked off on Sept. 15, and the Arizona Coyotes are excited to recognize and honor their employees of Hispanic descent and celebrate the contributions and influence they have had not only within the organization, but society as a whole. As the month begins to wind down, we will share their stories throughout the week and highlight what their heritage means to them as we work to continually increase diversity, equity, and inclusion both within the team, and sports overall. Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo, the son of Cuban immigrants, was born in New York City and became the NHL's first Latino owner when he purchased the team in July 2019.
Today's edition highlights Lydia Love, Manager of Executive Operations for the Arizona Coyotes Hockey Club.

Working for a professional hockey club in Arizona wasn't something Love expected to be doing growing up in Wichita, Kan, but when the opportunity first presented itself to take a job with the Arizona Coyotes, she knew it was the right move to make.
After all, trailblazing runs in her Latino family lineage.
She's always been around hard-working family members, which is a big part of how her heritage has shaped her. Love's father emigrated from Mexico to Kansas when he was in grade school, and her maternal great grandfather immigrated to Kansas to help build America's growing railroad infrastructure.
Witnessing that set the stage for some of the values she holds closest: family, character, and work ethic.
"You can't separate me from the culture, or the culture from me, because we are intertwined," Love said. "I couldn't imagine living my life not being a Latina. Although we face challenges as people, we are a great group of people, and we genuinely care about others."
That resonated so much that she became the first member of her family to both graduate college and earn a graduate degree. She's highly competitive, having run track in college, and knew when she was approached about working for the Coyotes it was an opportunity she couldn't turn down.
It wasn't just a chance to make a living in professional sports. It was a chance to show the impact hard work, dedication, and commitment to family can have.
"I took this job because I knew it would provide my sons with opportunities to see people of color hold positions of power," Love said. "As a mom, I can tell my kids that every day, that you can do anything you want to do."
With that, Love left her job at a law firm in Kansas and moved with her family to Arizona to join the Coyotes in June 2021. She wasn't overly familiar with hockey before her relocation to The Valley, sans the occasional game watching the ECHL's Wichita Thunder.
The Coyotes didn't take long to make her feel welcome, though. The club has the first majority Latino owner in the NHL in Alex Meruelo, the first Latino President and CEO in the NHL in Xavier A. Gutierrez, and they both have made a conscious effort to promote diversity and inclusivity within the organization.
That's something that not only resonated with Love individually, but it's also something that is meaningful for her family to see.
Her son, JP, attended as many Coyotes games as he could last season, and the lessons he's able to take from that, even at such a young age, will stay with him throughout his life.
"He's seeing all of these Latino executives, and he's talking to them, and it makes it very real," Love said. "So for me, I knew no matter what I do in the future, this is something real for [my kids] to see."
The impact goes beyond her family, too. She has seen what the Coyotes organization means to the community, as well. Whether it's the various volunteer opportunities that the team participates in collectively, or the events that the Arizona Coyotes Foundation spearheads, it's something that Love said she's proud to be a part of.
"We strive to be inclusive, and we're willing to have uncomfortable conversations, and that's when change really happens," Love said. "We are intentionally putting people in positions to make real change and have an impact in the community. When you have people who really care about things, that's what it means to be a Coyote."
In the end, those aforementioned values of family, character, and work ethic are exactly what have helped Love earn all of her accomplishments to date. Her heritage is something that she lives every single day, and in true selfless fashion, it's something she also channels into helping others.
"The biggest thing is doing whatever it is I can do to make opportunities -- or help create and connect people with opportunities -- especially people of color," Love said. "I hope I can make a difference in somebody's world, I can connect people, and I can inspire Latinos particularly to go out and follow their dreams."