Skidmore Alumna Works for New Orleans Saints and Pelicans
Skidmore College alumna Leighla Waterman ‘21, now works as a consumer insights analyst for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. Photo provided by Leighla Waterman/Skidmore College.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College alumna Leighla Waterman, who graduated in 2021, now works as a consumer insights analyst for the National Football League’s New Orleans Saints and the National Basketball League’s New Orleans Pelicans. She is promoting the growth of the two teams, which are co-owned, by using data to enhance fan satisfaction and ultimately the teams’ bottom lines.
After graduating from Skidmore, Waterman landed a job as an instructor at Yale Young Global Scholars, developing and teaching seminars on domestic and foreign policy, economics, and political theory, while also mentoring students.
Recognizing the importance of data analytics to governments, think tanks, and campaign work, Waterman decided she could make a “tangible impact” by pursuing a master’s degree in data analytics at Tulane University.
“Embracing data wasn’t as hard as you might think, because Skidmore encourages critical and analytical thinking,” Waterman told her alma mater.
She initially intended to pursue policy work in Washington, D.C., but ended up landing a data analyst position at Delgado Community College in New Orleans instead. Never a huge sports fan, she was intrigued when the opportunity with the Saints became available.
“During my job interview, I was asked if I could name any of their players and I said, ‘No, I don’t follow sports that closely,’” she said. “But if you live in New Orleans for any period of time, you know the Saints are a big deal.”
For the Saints, Waterman is using machine learning to construct models for enhancing ticket sales. She tracks social media metrics across different platforms, and she recently automated the social media report and uses it to make predictions. During her first year on the job, she collaborated with the NFL to execute a season-long Saints fan experience study that provided an in-depth visual look into the Superdome gameday experience. She has also led the development of the companies’ new charitable giving request system, enabling the two teams to assess and respond to requests for donations.
“The Saints and increasingly the Pelicans are embedded in the New Orleans and Gulf South region communities,” Waterman said. “I’m honored to lead the charitable giving request system, and the better I do, the better off the community is.”