There is a common situation where young women working in the NFL sometimes show solidarity with each other.
The topic of where they work comes up during small talk with a stranger or when requesting a taxi driver, and the typical assumption that they are a cheerleader comes up. Jokes about this also surfaced a few times when Patriots.com interviewed five of the team's female employees for this story.
Stephanie Burnham: “I remember walking onto the field at an NFL stadium and hearing someone say over me, 'Oh, look, there's a cheerleader.'
Cassie Epstein: “That happens to me all the time. If I ever find myself in a situation where my job or profession is at stake, I always ask myself, 'Oh, are you a cheerleader?' That's definitely a role, but it's not the only role. There are so many other ways you can get involved.”
Rarely are these comments made or taken as insults.
Women haven't always worked in football, and many outsiders don't realize how much it takes to run a professional sports franchise or how many very different roles make up the support team that contribute to a team's success.
Their skills are unique, as are the individual journeys they took to get where they are today.
Cassie Epstein: “There's certainly still a lot of work to be done, but it's so amazing that there are so many different roles that young women can see other women in that aren't just a cheerleader or a sideline reporter. These are great roles, but not the only ones.”
Every organization has so many facets that you can find your niche. There's so much going on here.
Epstein joined the organization in 2008 from Boston College.
Epstein completed two internships with the organization and never looked back, rising through the organization to her current role as Business Development and External Affairs Manager for Gillette Stadium. In this role, she oversees all major events in the building, including the summer concert series.
This career wasn't necessarily on Epstein's radar when she was growing up in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She thought she would be a teacher through college, but as she learned, not everything goes according to plan.
Cassie Epstein: “I grew up in a big sporting family so that was always an important part of it, but I never thought I could work in sports. It just never occurred to me. I studied psychology and theology in college, but my best friend did an internship with the Patriots.
Seeing her work in this internship and hearing what she did just lit a spark. I never thought I could work in the industry, but it sounded so exciting, fast-paced and interesting. When I was younger, my two passions were sports and music. I’ve played a lot of different choirs and choral groups, so this is a unique role that kind of combines both and that doesn’t necessarily exist in other stages.”
Epstein isn't the only one who ends up at Kraft Sports + Entertainment with no prior goal of working in sports.
Robyn Glaser grew up just outside Foxborough in neighboring Sharon, Mass. on. She knew about the Patriots, of course, but didn't consider herself a big football fan until she started working for the Kraft family.
Since his recent promotion, Glaser has served as executive vice president of football business and senior advisor to Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo. She has been with the organization since 2007.
Robyn Glaser: “If you asked me in my 20s if I thought I would work in the NFL, I would tell you there is about an equal chance that I would become a neurosurgeon. So that’s kind of amazing.”
After receiving his bachelor's degree from Colby College in Maine, Glaser simultaneously studied law and business administration at Washington University in St. Louis.
Glaser was heavily influenced by her family and knew she wanted to work as a lawyer, but not forever. Her entrepreneurial spirit was calling.
Robyn Glaser: “My father was a lawyer. My mother was an entrepreneur. I admired both and aspired to be both.”
Glaser's first job out of college was at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison – a renowned global law firm specializing in litigation and corporate law. At that point there was only one female partner in the entire company.
That was all she needed to see.
Robyn Glaser: “I remember thinking I could still do this. Even if there’s only one, that’s enough representation to tell me I could do it too.”
Glaser's career took her to the music industry in Los Angeles before moving back to the East Coast, where people in her networking circle helped put her on the radar of Robert and Jonathan Kraft. Even though Glaser's background had nothing to do with football, they knew what a great asset she would be to the organization.
Glaser now handles the business side of football – be it human resources, finances, budgets, staffing, contracts, compliance, legal matters or league relations – and serves as a resource for Coach Mayo, allowing him to focus on his job: building a culture and team to win football games.
In her role as a leader, Glaser is one of many female role models who work for the Patriots and show other women what can be done.
Robyn Glaser: “I think my experience as a woman in sports is a little skewed because I'm a woman in the Kraft system and the Krafts look for the best and most loyal people. Especially in business, I look around and some of them. Our strongest leaders and people who oversee some of our biggest projects are women. I celebrate this system.”
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