Employer: New Balance

Job Title: Advanced Concepts Engineer (Footwear)

Learn about Marissa:

Marissa Gabriel holds a BSE Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan (’21) and is currently working towards her MS Engineering Management from Northeastern University (’25). She is a fellow of the Galante Engineering Business Program at Northeastern and is also a member of the International Sports Engineering Association.

Marissa’s passion for sports began in high school, inspired by a coach who emphasized the mind-muscle connection. Taking this with her to college, she decided to pursue engineering while maintaining a focus of sports.

Outside the classroom, she was a coxswain for their D1 Varsity Women’s Rowing team and later worked at a local running store. There, she discovered a need to quantify running shoes’ end of life based on applied load. She presented her work (Effect of different body weights on the ageing of running shoes) at the University of Michigan’s Undergraduate Symposium. Gaining visibility from associates in New Balance’s Sports Research Lab, this work helped her land a 1-year internship at New Balance. Three years later, Marissa is still at New Balance as an Advanced Concepts Engineer (Footwear), helping to bridge the gap between product intent and manufacturing capabilities during the development cycle ahead of mass production.

Employer: Sports Girls Club

Job Title: CEO & Founder

Learn about Delaney:

Delaney Galbraith attended The University of Alabama where she graduated with a BA in Advertising in May 2022. Through her time at the university she pursued roles in the sports industry and found a passion for it, therefore creating the idea for her company, Sports Girls Club.
 
Delaney has dedicated her career towards building a company that fills the gap in the market, sports media created for women and by women. In this pursuit, she has created the annual Women In Sports Conference, partnered with multiple sports organizations to host Women In Sports Nights and more.
 
In her undergraduate time Delaney worked roles as Head of Staff & Marketing for the University of Alabama’s club hockey team where she discovered the need for resources for women pursuing careers in the sports industry. The company started as a small podcast idea which Delaney developed into a multi-media sports company that now houses podcasts and shows under its network, events nationwide, and merchandise all aimed at women who like, play and work in sports. She is also the President of Girls Club National Chapter Foundation 501c(6) non-profit, which is the philanthropic arm of the company and houses college club chapters nationwide to help provide resources to young women pursuing careers in sports.

Employer: Boston Celtics, Jr. Celtics Academy

Job Title: Associate Executive Director

Learn about Yordan:
 

If you have sacrificed to get to where you are and love to compete, you’re going to want to hear this story. Yordan Villalon is a transformational bilingual speaker. His grit was developed during his pursuit for an athletic college scholarship. He has the unique ability to teach imagery, patience, and leadership in a way that is being grasped and understood by audiences of all ages.
 

Yordan is a self-change advocate taking his audience by storm with his transparent and inspiring story of obstacles and perseverance. His work in business, marketing, and community engagement has allowed him to work and collaborate with businesses, nonprofits and organizations big and small, including but not limited to The Boston Celtics, The New England Revolution and the Highland street Foundation.
 

After 3 years of working in Pro Sports, he returned to school for his MBA with a concentration in Project Management. Since acquiring his MBA, Yordan has started his own golf company after winning 1st place at the US Open’s pitch competition at The Country Club. As a solid talent developer, he provides coaching, guidance, and timely performance feedback to his teams. He earned excellence awards like the Torchbearer Awards in recognition of remarkable achievement in athletics, academics, and leadership, the Lasell Bowl for Noteworthy contributions to campus life at Lasell University as well as the Latino 30 under 30 award from El Mundo Boston. Yordan is also a published author.