Ellen Schmidt-Devlin

Cofounder and Executive Director, Sports Product Management Program at the Oregon University

After being personally mentored by Bill Bowerman and spending 27 years at Nike working in Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Korea and the United States, Schmidt-Devlin realized there wasn’t a program out there that could prepare students to work in the sports   product industry. Upon receiving her MBA at the UO’s Lundquist College of Business, she worked alongside Dr. Roger Best to co-found the UO Sports Product Management program. Apart from being the program’s director, Schmidt-Devlin also teaches  the  program's Integrative Project-Sports Product Making course.
Schmidt-Devlin's expertise spans across the supply chain with direct responsibility for product development, merchandising, marketing, and manufacturing. Schmidt-Devlin's strengths include strategic planning, team leadership, project management, international business management, and government and partner company relationship building.
In 2012, she produced a documentary about Oregon track and field called We Grew Wings, which was  inspired by her years as a University of Oregon track and field athlete. Schmidt-Devlin now keeps busy with the University of Oregon Sports Product  Management Program and enjoys spending time with her family, running, and travelling.