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Cal Poly Development

Mustang Athletic Fund

Meet Jody Tatro

Jody’s involvement as a Mustang started in high school when she was recruited to swim at Cal Poly. However, once Jody got acclimated to the student-athlete life, she realized that she would rather put her energy into academics and her social life during college. Jody graduated with a Bachelor of Science in economics and still is best friends with her Cal Poly roommates. Like many alumni, Jody fondly reflects on her time at Cal Poly.

“You don’t really realize how special it is until you step back,” Jody says.

Once Jody became an alumnus, her life didn’t intertwine with the school anymore but was drawn back years later when her eldest daughter, Nicole, committed to play soccer for Cal Poly. Her daughter’s commitment to be a Mustang is what launched Jody’s involvement at Cal Poly, specifically within the athletics department.

Jody started driving down from the Bay Area, where she currently resides, to watch her daughter play at Spanos Stadium. In 2019 her alma mater and family collided again when her other daughter Allie was pursuing an MBA at Cal Poly while also assistant coaching for the Beach Volleyball Program. Jody would make trips to San Luis Obispo to visit Allie and watch the beach volleyball team compete.

Jody, besides being a Cal Poly graduate, mother of two daughters, and wife to husband Richard Wheeler, is also a successful businesswoman.

Jody’s business expertise and entrepreneurial spirit has propelled her to excel in the fields of marketing and customer experience.

For the past 30 plus years, Jody has been the CEO of ProExhibits, an award-winning advertising service which specializes in designing and producing exhibits, events, and architectural environments worldwide. Jody is also the CEO of ProGlobalEvents, a sister company to ProExhbits.  

Jody’s portfolio doesn’t stop there, as she is also the co-founder of BeyondLive, a company focused on helping clients elevate their digital portfolio.

Jody Tatro Family

A ‘Learn by Doing’ Mentality and Giving Back

Having a significant role in three different companies has allowed Jody to give back to the organizations she cares about, one of those being Cal Poly Athletics.

As she learned more about the Cal Poly athletic department through her daughter Nicole’s experience on the women’s soccer team, she increasingly became aware of the resources needed to better support the student-athletes at Cal Poly.

Jody started her experience as a donor by “putting toes in the water,” but as she saw continued needs, she decided to give more.

A monumental project during the onset of Jody’s involvement as a donor was the renovation of the training room in 2016. Jody helped to fund the renovation, which was completed in September 2017 and named the Slover Center for Sports Medicine, after Kristal Slover, who served as the athletic trainer for Women’s Soccer while Jody's daughter Nicole was an athlete.

Through her significant contributions, Jody is continually making a positive impact in athletes' lives. The training room is a resource that Cal Poly student-athletes use daily and is an essential tool for their health and recovery.

Jody’s purpose behind her generosity is greater than just helping athletes be their best at their sport. She believes that athletics is a way to become a better human and gain experiences by introducing athletes to a multitude of different elements through traveling, competing, and meeting different people.

She also says that athletics resembles real life and teaches many great lessons which are important for college-aged people to learn.

“You learn a lot when the chips are down,” Jody says.

Jody believes this lesson will stay with athletes in their jobs and other important aspects of their lives down the road, far past their athletic careers.

It is Jody’s hope that her two daughters can use the lessons they learned during college sports in their everyday lives. As a donor, it is her hope that her contributions will help Cal Poly athletes have the “full experience,” which includes learning lessons that will be carried on past their time as an student at Cal Poly.