Natalia Steffen
Natalia Steffen is a Director of Branding and Promotional Products and operations leader with more than 10 years of professional experience in the sports, nonprofit, and global brand industries. Since graduating from Georgetown University in 2013 with a Master of Professional Studies in Sports Industry Management, she has built a career centered on product development, creative strategy, project management, and large-scale operational execution. Currently, she leads branding and promotional product operations with merchandise at Spartan Race, headquartered in Boston, where she partners cross-functionally across creative, marketing, procurement, and executive leadership teams as well as global partners to transform concepts into tangible brand experiences for racers across U.S. and international markets. She is especially passionate about creativity in product design and enjoys working with teams to develop innovative merchandise and packaging that strengthens brand connection and enhances the overall customer experience.
Natalia began her career in large-scale live event operations, serving as a Credentialing Manager for high-profile sporting events including Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, and NFL regular season games at major venues such as Ford Field and M&T Bank Stadium. This experience helped build her foundation in high-pressure logistics, compliance management, and workforce coordination for events involving thousands of staff and participants. She later transitioned into nonprofit leadership roles with Special Olympics chapters in Maryland and Massachusetts, where she served in sports operations, development, marketing, and participant fundraising leadership roles. In these positions, she managed sports programming, donor engagement initiatives, and community-based athletic programs, further expanding her expertise in mission-driven operations and stakeholder collaboration.
Throughout her career, Natalia has become known for her ability to create clarity within complex environments by building systems, workflows, and scalable operational processes that allow teams to focus on creativity and strategic execution. She is a collaborative, solutions-driven leader who excels at connecting creative, marketing, procurement, and business operations to drive efficiency and impact. Her professional philosophy centers on delivering seamless behind-the-scenes operations that support innovative brand experiences, global team collaboration, and sustainable organizational growth. She continues to leverage her diverse background across sports, nonprofit, and global brand environments to drive meaningful experiences for athletes, customers, and partners worldwide.
• Georgetown University - MPS, Sport Industry Management
• Mercyhurst University - BA, Sports Business Management and Communications
• Special Olympics Maryland
• Special Olympics Maryland
• Special Olympics Massachusetts
• Erie BayHawks
• Erie Seawolves Baseball
• Erie Otters Hockey Club
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my family. They've supported me and continue to support me every day, and even though it's crazy and everything, they're always there for me. They support me through everything.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was from a good friend of mine from Special Olympics Maryland who had done a lot in his career. He told me to be a duck on water - be calm, cool, and collected on the top, but underneath, you're fighting like hell to keep up off the surface. Don't let anybody see what's going on below. You don't see the duck's feet moving crazy at the bottom to see a calm, cool, collected duck on top. So he always told me, be a duck on water, and I still live by that to this day.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Never back down and be a duck on water.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Sports is still a very male-dominated industry, so it's tough to be competitive as a woman. But it's all about networking and meeting people. While it is challenging, the biggest opportunity is to network and to get to know the people, because the people are wonderful and they're great. If you know the people and the right people, they'll help you. They'll bend over backwards for you.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Loyalty, honesty, transparency, hard work, determination, and motivation.