Women are making big moves in the sports industry, and Nellie’s journey is a perfect example. Starting in school administration, she unexpectedly found her way into professional baseball through a summer job with the Everett AquaSox. Now, as Community Relations and Merchandise Director, she blends her love for sports and her community to create memorable fan experiences. With support from mentors and a strong network of women in baseball, she’s organized charity events and exciting promotions like Harry Potter night and a VIP (Very Important Princess) tea party, proving that baseball is about more than just the game—it’s about building lasting memories!
SCSC: Tell me about your journey into the sports industry! What inspired you to pursue a career in this field?
NELLIE: I think I took an unconventional route, but here I am. I was born and raised in Marysville and went to school at the University of Washington. After I graduated school, I started working in administration for a school, teacher and which I really enjoyed. I loved working with kids and families, after about 6 years I started thinking that it was maybe not for me. While I was working for the school, during the summers I would work AquaSox games in the concessions stand to have fun and make some extra money. In 2021, I quit my school job and was planning on taking some time off, but I ended up back with the AquaSox that summer in concessions and from there, a full-time job opened up. I got to know Danny, their GM, well at that point and he offered me the position and here I am today! I quit my job thinking I was going to take a little break and then ended up working crazy hours and starting on this journey and I have not looked back since!
SCSC: Tell me about your current role and what you enjoy the most about it!
NELLIE: My current title is Community Relations and Merchandise Director. Basically, I do anything that is merchandise related, including inventory, setting up the team store and running it both during and off season, our online store, player gear, stuff like that all get handled on my end. On the Community Relations side, that’s all about getting our brand into the community. Also thinking about what ways we can serve our fans and everyone who supports us, how can we use baseball and really give back to the community, making sure that we’re present and a part of everything going on here in Everett. That includes bringing Webley to events, taking players to go to help in the community and anything that’s related to fundraising or charity work. I love all the work I do. Merch is fun because it’s kind of like my own little fashion line, but I love the community relations part of it. I grew up in this area and I went to the games all the time, so I have distinct memories being a part of everything here and how fun it was for my family. For me, being able to have a job that is giving back to the place I grew up and creating memories for other families that they can give their kids can kind of grow, makes me feel really good and I think I can say that that’s obviously the best part of the job.
SCSC: Have you always been passionate about sports or did that interest develop over time?
NELLIE: I always played sports with little. I’m an only child and sports were always mine and my dad’s thing when I was growing up. We have always been season ticket holders for the Silvertips and we would go to Storm games and Mariners games. It’s always been in the background of my life. I’m a big hockey fan. I like baseball, but I really love hockey. I enjoy working in baseball and I’ve learned a lot of stuff about baseball that I never thought I would learn.
SCSC: Do you have any mentors or role models who have helped guide you in the industry?
NELLIE: Danny, our GM, has been so amazing and he has put so much trust in and faith in me and has guided me along in this role, so I appreciate all his support over the years. Sports is a small community, and baseball is an even smaller community. All the teams in Minor League Baseball get together once a year for a summit and they’re always great about doing Women is Baseball seminar, which is a really nice chance for us to all get together. I’ve met so many amazing women from other teams across the country and I have all sorts of friends who I can call up and bounce ideas off each other. It’s always been nice to connect with them and support each other in that way.
SCSC: What has been your proudest moment or greatest achievement in your career so far?
NELLIE: We hosted a Hot Stove Banquet in January of this year which was something we had been talking about for a long time. It was basically a charity dinner, and we had a keynote speaker. People could purchase tables to come and support, and all the money that we raised went to our charities. Dan Wilson was our speaker, which was amazing! We sold out the entire thing and it was overall a fun event. We had a great dinner, some cool auction items and amazing people that were in attendance including fans, the Mariners and others. It was a lot of work to put on that event, but I remember spending the night thinking about how awesome it was that we were able to do it.
SCSC: What advice would you give to young women aspiring to work in the sports industry?
NELLIE: Sports is such a fun industry to work in. Bring the energy every day because it’s a fun place to work and everybody that comes to the ballpark wants to have fun and be happy. Having a positive attitude is always a great place to start. Don’t close yourself off to anything and be open to different roles within sports. There are some parts of my job that I never expected myself to do that I’m great at, so keep an open mind.
SCSC: What can we look forward to this season?
NELLIE: There are so many fun things coming up this this season! I am a big part of planning our promotion schedule and this is where my whole heart is. I love planning fun things in the ballpark that people can get excited about that aren’t necessarily baseball. This year, we have Bluey coming, so you can go and meet her. We have our first ever Harry Potter night and the activations we are planning for this are amazing. If you ask anybody in the office, I’m the resident princess, and we are doing our second princess night and well have seven fairy tale princesses here, meeting with our fans. I am planning a little VIP (Very Important Princess) tea party which will be a separate add-on. All that and so much more is in store!
To stay tuned in to the AquaSox Season and purchase tickets to the games, visit Everett AquaSox Baseball Club | MiLB.com.