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Natasha Moody always dreamed of playing in the WNBA.
"But my skills told me that I wasn't [good enough]," she said laughing.
So she traded her sneakers for dress shoes and is now playing on a different team - a corporate one. Moody is the Senior Vice President of Business Operations and says the lessons she learned on the court has translated to the office.

GENDER EQUALITY MONTH
HBSE STAFF PROFILES
Kate Madigan, Hockey Operations
Donna Daniels, Operations
Natasha Moody, Business Operations
Jillian Frechette, Marketing
"They have really poured into my cup to help me be successful and will continue to help me push through as I take next steps," Moody explained. "Their commitment to me has furthered my commitment to other people as well. I'm all about sending the elevator back down and bringing people back up with me."
A courtesy she learned from her first mentor: her dad.
"He was always super encouraging, and I never want to let him down," she said.
He taught her to take every opportunity to "fail forward", as in, be willing to own your failures and learn from them. That's the biggest piece of advice she aims to pass on to others entering the business.
"I try to encourage some of the women earlier on in their career to do the same thing - put yourself outside of your comfort zone and constantly push yourself, you have to be your biggest advocate."
Moody is just one of the many women in leadership roles at HBSE, though she recalls a time where things looked much different across the industry as a whole.
"Earlier on in my career it was harder for me to look up and see women in leadership roles, but HBSE's commitment to diversity and inclusion and how they go about hiring and learning is so encouraging."
Moody works alongside
Prudential Center
General Manager, Donna Daniels - a woman who helped pioneer the WNBA in 1996; a woman Moody has always been inspired by.
"It's amazing for young women just starting out to look up and see a woman that's a GM like Donna leading the charge for Prudential Center, this amazing building," Moody exclaimed. "That can only be encouraging."
Though Moody's career is looking brighter than ever, she can recall "plenty" of instances where she was treated differently because she's a woman working in a male-dominated industry - but that's water under the bridge.
"Instead I choose to think of the time where men have actively sought out to bridge the gap to elevate and encourage me."
She says representation and allyship are the only ways to make real progress for gender equality, and knows when the time comes, she'll be ready to pass down the many lessons she's learned and be a mentor for young women and men finding their way around the 'corporate court'.