Bay Area Panthers

Gilgenast most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for USA Volleyball, where she led transformative initiatives that reshaped the organization’s marketing and communications landscape. Under her leadership, USA Volleyball established a robust marketing, communications, and creative services department, while developing commercial strategies that generated a $2.5 million increase in revenue.

Her impact extended to the global stage, where she led USA Volleyball’s marketing campaign for the Paris 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Games. The campaign garnered an astounding 72 billion editorial impressions and culminated in a national medal celebration press tour featuring stops at the New York Stock Exchange, The Today Show, NBC News, NASDAQ, and Access Hollywood.

Additionally, she championed grassroots efforts such as the “Try Volleyball” campaign, which introduced more than 6,000 youth to the sport in its first year.
A proud alumna of the University of Colorado at Boulder, Gilgenast was a Division I student-athlete on the women’s volleyball team. She holds certificates in Operations and Information Management and Digital Media, and furthered her education through executive studies at the Wharton School’s Aresty Institute of Executive Education. Her commitment to leadership in sport was recognized in 2015 when she was named a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Emerging Leader in Sport.