Graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, Natalia Dorantes is a proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and is the first Latina and third woman to become chief of staff for the NFL.

26-year-old Dorantes previously worked for the Texas A&M Auggies as a recruiting communications coordinator.

Interestingly, the appointment to the Washington Football Team came out of Dorantes’ advice from the NFL’s Fifth Annual Women’s Careers in Football Forum in February 2021: be proactive. Dorantes DM’d Washington’s head coach as she wanted to connect with someone that she admired. According to the Washington Football Team’s website she told Ron Rivera, “I’m a very proud Latina, and that’s like the first thing I said.” She continued, “I was like, ‘As another Hispanic, I think it’s great that you’re in football because there’s not many of us, so thank you for that and thank you for being on the forum. It shows a lot that you’re just here supporting us.” Rivera was already aware of Dorantes and everything was put into motion.

©Natalia Dorantes

Dorantes told ‘Our Esquina’ regarding her Spanish and her culture that “My Spanish is not for me. It’s for everyone else, and it’s to help people. … When they’re too shy to ask for something, I want to be able to help them. I just want to help people.”

Again to ‘Our Esquina’ she said, “It’s definitely not a burden,” she said. “I embrace my culture. I love my heritage. I am who I am because of my parents and because of my culture. I’m very thankful for the Washington organization to support diversity and to really trust in this. The whole goal of this is to make sure I’m not the last.”

Congratulations, Natalia as you are a true Latina Powerhouse! Exito with your new job!