From Washington University Athletics
Washington University in St. Louis Director of Athletics Anthony J. Azama announced the hiring of Chelsea Petersen as Assistant Athletic Director for External Relations.
Petersen's responsibilities will include assisting the Director of Athletics in the administration and operation for the development, implementation and maintenance of external strategic initiatives in marketing and promotions. In addition, she will be assisting in advertising efforts to increase fan engagement for WashU athletic events.
"I am excited for this opportunity to work with Anthony and the WashU administrative team. I am incredibly inspired by his vision to build and sustain a Scholar-Champions culture at WashU," said Petersen. "I look forward to our work as we build the external relations program to share the WashU story within the University and engage with the broader community."
Petersen arrives on the Danforth Campus after serving on the marketing team at Women Leaders in College Sports, based in Kansas City, the nation's premier women's athletic leadership association. She has been involved in writing and designing publications, executing social media campaigns, and developing marketing materials for Women Leader's programming, including the Rising Stars initiative and the Women Leaders podcast.
"We are excited to welcome Chelsea to the Bear Family. She is a great addition, dedicated to the development of student-athletes and enhancing their experience," said Azama. "Her marketing expertise will benefit WashU Athletics and the continued engagement of campus and the surrounding community."
From 2013-17, Petersen served as head women's basketball coach and marketing specialist at Central College in Pella, Iowa. She piloted the women's basketball team to its highest win total in a decade, coached seven All-Iowa Conference performers, and produced 13 academic all-conference members.
In addition, she created athletic publications for department distribution, including quote cards, program specific notecards, social media graphics, and video content.
A Wyoming, Iowa native, Petersen played basketball at NCAA Division II Upper Iowa University. Petersen was team captain and a four-year letterwinner, and at the time of her graduation she ranked second in school history in single-season defensive rebounds, fourth in career rebounds, and sixth in season free throw percentage.
"Chelsea is an extremely high performer and the ultimate team player, and we are grateful for all the incredible work she accomplished during her time at Women Leaders," said Patti Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of Women Leaders in College Sports. "I have no doubt she will help elevate the already outstanding team at WashU, and we wish her the very best!"
She maintained a 4.0 grade point average throughout her collegiate playing career and was awarded Academic All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors. Petersen graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing from Upper Iowa in 2008.
Petersen served as the assistant women's basketball coach at Anderson University (Indiana) from 2009-12, earning a master's degree in business administration from Anderson in 2012. She received the Perfect Score 4.0 Award by the Falls School of Business for carrying a perfect grade point average throughout the MBA program.
Petersen was also a member of the Indiana Sports Corporation staff in Indianapolis, the organization responsible for bringing Super Bowl XLVI to Indianapolis.
She has served on the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Regional Advisory Committee, held the position of Coach Chair for the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and graduated from the NCAA Women Coaches Academy and the NCAA/Women Leaders Institute for Administrative Advancement.
She begins at WashU on July 31.