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Natalie Welch, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing

Enrolled member of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and raised on the Cherokee Indian Reservation in Cherokee, NC. Passionate storyteller, researcher and educator.

Biography

Dr. Natalie Michelle Welch is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University. She also teaches in the Sport and Entertainment MBA Program at Seattle U. Her research focuses on the positives of sport in Native communities and the use of alternative methods of sharing research such as documentary film and podcasting. She is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and grew up in Cherokee, North Carolina.

Previously, Natalie worked at ESPN Wide World of Sports, Nike N7, and the global creative company, Wieden+Kennedy. Natalie has a Ph.D. in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee and an MBA and Master of Sport Business Management from the University of Central Florida. Natalie is passionate about advocating for Indigenous athletes and equity across all of sport. In Seattle she is also the Executive Director of the non-profit Rise Above, using sport as a modality to empower, educate, and create resiliency in Native youth.

Education

  • PhD in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  • MBA and Master of Sport Business Management from the University of Central Florida
  • BS in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Courses Taught

  • Marketing, Sport & Entertainment Management & Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Community Engagement
  • MKTG 3500 Introduction to Marketing
  • MKTG 3910 Sport & Entertainment Management
  • SBLR 5140 Sport Consumer Behavior
  • SBLR 5160 Corporate Partnerships & Community Engagement
  • SBLR 5060 Sport & Entertainment Marketing
  • SBLR 5890 Sport Business Capstone

Publications

  • Welch, N. M. (2023). Indigenous Marketing. Indigenous Business & Public Administration, 2(1), 16–20. https://doi.org/10.33972/ibapa.26
  • Ali-Joseph, A., Leonard, K., & Welch, N. M. (2023). Indigenizing Sport Research: Analyzing Protective Factors of Exercising Sovereignty in North America. Sociology of Sport Journal, 40(4), 410-418. Retrieved Aug 19, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2023-0006
  • Welch, N. M., Siegele, J. & Hardin, R. (2021). Double punch to the glass ceiling: Career experiences and challenges of ethnic minority female athletic directors. Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal.
  • Welch, N. M., Siegele, J., Smith, Z., & Hardin, R. (2019). Making Herstory: Cherokee women’s stickball. Annals of Leisure Research, Special Issue - Leisure and Indigenous Peoples.
  • Welch, N. M., Siegele, J., & Hardin, R. (2017). For the Sga-Du-Gi (Community): Modern day Cherokee Stickball. American Indian Culture and Research Journal.