Like thousands of other Americans, Kaitlyn Foley traveled to northern Italy in February for the Winter Olympics. Foley is, without a doubt, a fan, but this trip was strictly business. As the director of ecommerce and retail for U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties, she spent more time watching fans navigate the venue at the speed skating oval for the men’s 5,000 meter than she did the racers circling the ice.
“I was surprised. Usually, your highest traffic points are where people are entering or exitingthe stadium. But here, the traffic didn’t stop at all,” says Foley BSFCS ’09, who has worked in aspects of sports marketing and retail since she graduated from UGA 17 years ago.
Specifically, constant traffic flowed in and out of the official merchandise shops. That was something Foley was excited to see.
“It’s an extension of a memory,” Foley says about fans’ desire for on-site memorabilia. “People are taking something away. You go to the Super Bowl or the Olympics maybe just one time. I still have mementos my dad bought me at games.”
In her role, Foley is responsible for e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retail stores—specifically inside and outside of venues—for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, in addition to overseeing Team USA’s retail and e-commerce
She calls it her dream job. It’s also a bit of a homecoming. Foley was born in Los Angeles. She moved to Georgia in her junior year in high school.
Foley comes from a family of athletes and sports lovers. She played soccer through high school and wanted to continue in college, but injuries ended her career prematurely. Foley also played golf leisurely, and during her second year at UGA, she parlayed that interest into an internship at the 2008 U.S. Open Golf Championship.
“I was in the retail program,” she recalls. “I fell in love with combining the retail operation with the sports world. When I got back to school, I declared my major in fashion merchandising, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.”
Foley graduated with her degree from the College of Family and Consumer Sciences in just three years and returned to the golf world with the corporate merchandising team at the United States Golf Association (USGA).
As Foley made her way up through the business, in addition to working multiple golf majors, she oversaw the retail for the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, two Super Bowls, and even the Westminster Dog Show, which—make no mistake—is an athletic event.
In 2024, Foley landed with U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties, focused specifically on Team USA and the Los Angeles 2028 Games. Her job is to ensure LA28 products are present and accessible at retail spaces at the Games—both in LA and the more than two dozen Summer Games venues—and that the most popular LA28 products remain stocked throughout.
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan made for an ideal test run. Foley arrived early enough to see Team USA athletes come in before the opening ceremony. Their first stop was the Team USA Welcome Experience, where they received their opening and closing ceremonies outfits as well as casual villagewear gear—all custom-tailored onsite. Women’s figure skaters and men’s bobsledders do have different sizing needs, after all.
After that, Foley bounced around Milan for a week, observing operations and how traffic lines moved, what memorabilia sold out the fastest (the cuddly brother and sister stoats, Milo and Tina), and the general mood of the fans.“It was electric,” she says. “The main Milano Cortina megastore was right by the Duomo in the city center. There were crowds everywhere. Even if you didn’t have a ticket, you could be involved. You felt like you were a part of something.”
And with that experience fresh in her mind, Foley has about two years to plan something that tops it. “When it comes to challenges, I’ve always been very ambitious,” she says.
“I want to do things bigger and better. I want Los Angeles to be the greatest retail experience to ever hit the Olympics, and I hope that will be the takeaway for fans.”