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I have seen her grow as a leader and become a glass ceiling breaker within the Padres, and also within sports as a whole," says Puetz. "I'd still like to see more women on the baseball side of things, and I think we're slowly seeing that across the league and across our organization, but there's still more work to be done." Puetz, who transitioned from a career in government to her current role leading public affairs with the team, is passionate about all the ways they can have positive impact, not only when it comes to breaking gender barriers. "I really enjoy local government just because I feel that at the local level, you can really shape lives and change policy and influence change positively for your communit y," says Puetz, who is proud to be the first Latina vice president in Padres history. "I think that there's a lot of overlap between running a facility like Petco Park and having to work with local government in order to make it a great experience for fans." And that, they are. " We try to activate the ballpark almost 365 days a year, [and] ever ybody is super passionate about what they do," says Zabka. " We're trying to fit into the community that we live in and cater to them. So whether it 's military activations, whether it's supporting all the youth baseball and softball programs, whether it's doing a lot of cross- border work, you really try to identify what the community wants and needs, and who's here, who's living in our backyard — as opposed to us just being agnostic to everything and being simply a baseball team. It just reminds you that this is what we do it all for. We're in the business of making people happy. Getting to go out there on a Tuesday night and see all those happy, loud, screaming fans really puts things into perspective and gives you that sort of feedback that this is what we're here for. This is the organizational success that we're all trying to achieve." That organizational goal is Lash's every day — creating events and bringing world-class performances and experiences to her hometown. "It's what drives me," she says. "No matter what we do, no matter how big, how small, we want to make sure that it is the greatest experience, and that leads to San Diego becoming more prominent on the map for events. There's nothing that 's too big for us." Lash and her team draw some of the biggest names in entertainment to Petco Park, including a recent sold-out concert featuring joint headliners Billy Joel and Sting, and she is especially proud of the recently renovated Gallagher S quare, which hosts more intimate crowds of up to 10,000. Lash has certainly met her fair share of celebrities in her role, but when asked if she ever gets starstruck, her answer brings it all full-circle. "I get starstruck every time I see [Padres right fielder] Fernando Tatís Jr.," she says instantly. "I see him every day, but he's such a superstar. He just walks in and it's like 'wow.'" It 's understandable that the home team would never be far from any of their minds. After all, 81 days a year, more than 40,000 people descend on their place of business. So while they all know they're blazing trails in many ways, Greenspan says the sweetest success will come in one very special form: "The ultimate measure that I have, and it maybe it's a little clichéd because we work in baseball, but we will be truly successful when we get to host a parade in San Diego. I think everything else from every other perspective is working up to that goal." Focus business I think that it's especially important for women leaders to ensure that other women in the organization are set up for success and advancement -Sara Greenspan " " << ranchandcoast.com 42 MAY 2024 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE