On a muggy morning in mid-August, hours after two sold-out Morgan Wallen concerts, the crew at Huntington Bank Field was ankle-deep in barbecue sauce and beer cans.
The cleanup was massive — tens of thousands of seats, each hiding its own sticky souvenir of the night before.
“Morgan Wallen's crowd can have some fun,” said Michele Powell, the Browns’ vice president of stadium operations. “It was pretty much all hands on deck. If you were in this building and you were breathing, you were helping to clean.”
That includes Powell, who found herself doing what she’s done countless times over her 25-year career in stadium operations — grabbing a trash bag and getting to work. Powell jokes she swore off pretzel cheese cups that day after being splattered head to toe in sauce.
But for her, those exhausting days are a reminder of what her team stands for.
“Our belief is that no one’s going to fail,” she said. “If I need to go into a kitchen and start frying chicken fingers, I will. If I need to clean, I will. We’ll figure it out together.”
That sense of teamwork extends to the five women now leading stadium operations at Huntington Bank Field — a rarity in professional sports.
They each head up a different part of the fan experience:
Jessie Jacobson, Aramark’s general manager of food and beverage, manages a game-day crew of more than 1,200 people. Samantha Reamer leads the ServPro housekeeping team, tackling the monumental task of cleaning up after 60,000 fans. Latasia Young, branch manager for Allied Universal, directs security operations and guest safety. And Rachel Ramsey, Fanatics’ general manager of retail, keeps Browns fans outfitted in orange and brown.
Powell, who joined the Haslam Sports Group in 2021 after a decade with Washington, D.C.-based Monumental Sports and Entertainment, oversees that group, which makes sure game days, concerts and community events at Huntington Bank Field run seamlessly.
“When I joined this industry 25 years ago, there were no women in GM roles. None,” said Powell, who is one of at least a half-dozen women leading stadium operations in the NFL. “You’d see women in marketing or community relations — but not in operations, not in leadership.”
Powell started her career on the promoter side, managing events nationwide before moving into venue operations full time. Along the way, she’s seen arenas and stadiums evolve, both structurally and socially.
“The industry was very male-dominated,” she said. “You had to hold your own, show you could move bike racks and stanchions just like everyone else. I’ve had men tell me, ‘I’ll carry that for you,’ and I’m like, ‘I got it. I’m good.’
“It’s good that the mindset is different now. We’re seeing more women apply, and when you have diversity — whether it’s gender, race, or background — it gives you new perspectives. It helps you grow as a team.”
On game day, that team effort extends far beyond Powell’s 20-person full-time staff. Roughly 3,000 part-timers work across food, security, housekeeping, and retail. Powell knows the stadium doesn’t run without them — or without the women leading those departments.
First, there’s Jacobson, who has been Aramark’s GM at Huntington Bank Field since 2012. Prior to that, Jacobson spent eight years working for Aramark in a variety of roles at Rocket Arena.
“She’s got this great energy and commitment,” Powell said. “There’s about 1,200 people who work in food and beverage on a game day — that’s a massive operation. Jessie’s leadership has been phenomenal, especially in an older building that wasn’t designed for today’s premium hospitality. She and her team constantly find creative ways to make it work.”
Ramsey also came over from the Cavs’ organization, having worked in merchandising at Rocket Arena.
“It’s great to see her take that next step and deliver every day,” Powell said. “She’s been a great partner to us.”
Overseeing security is Young, a Buffalo native who was promoted to this role in August of 2024 after two years as an assistant branch manager for Landmark Event Staffing Services.
“Her communication and attention to detail have been incredible. She’s leading 400 people in the elements — outside, in the cold, in the rain,” Powell said. “It’s a tough job, but she’s doing it with focus and heart.”
Then there’s Reamer, who took an unconventional path to her current role.
A former social worker, she started working with Aramark as a part-time gameday supervisor at the stadium in 2019 while working for the county’s Board of Developmental Disabilities. Less than two years into that role, Aramark’s then-GM asked if she’d consider switching careers. ("I was like, 'I feel like that would be a wonderful honor,'" she said.) She was hired as the stadium's operations manager in January of 2021, then got promoted to GM in August of 2024 after the Browns switched from Aramark to ServPro.
“I feel like I still do social work every day,” she said. “I’m just not responsible for people’s lives anymore — that’s the difference.”
Reamer now manages six full-timers, around 60 part-timers, and dozens of temps who join the cleanup crew after every event, armed with trash bags and gloves.
“It’s about people,” she said. “You don’t have to know how to mop floors or run security to lead here — you have to know how to work with people. That’s what all of us have in common.
“I really believe in being direct with my folks, but also being approachable. They know they can come to me, and they respect me and I respect them. I wouldn’t ask them to do something that I've not done or that I wouldn't do myself.”
Stories like Powell’s — and the women she works alongside — are part of something bigger happening across the industry.
Groups like WISE — Women in Sports and Events — have helped speed up that shift by opening more doors for women in leadership.The nonprofit connects and mentors women working across every level of the sports and entertainment industry, from college interns to senior executives.
Powell knows visibility matters — especially for younger women wondering if they belong in sports operations.
“I speak at colleges all the time,” she said. “When students can see people who’ve succeeded — and not just one woman, but several — it gives them perspective. They realize, ‘I can do this.’”
It helps that the Browns have a visible female owner in Dee Haslam, Powell said.
“When you have women in ownership or on the executive team, it matters,” she said. “Dee Haslam is a no-nonsense lady. She’s strong and direct, and that sets a tone. It shows that women can lead and be heard.”
For Reamer, being part of a woman-led stadium team isn’t just about representation — it’s about creating the kind of example that might give someone else the courage to follow.
“I’m honored to be one of these women,” she said. “And I hope that it encourages others to step out and do something that maybe they’re afraid to do.”