Welcome to Season 2, Episode 7 of the ESPN PRod Pod, the official podcast of the ESPN Communications Department. The PRod Pod takes you behind ESPN’s unmatched storytelling by introducing the people behind the content – who they are, where they’re from and how they create the magic.

It’s no mistake Kati Fernandez’s LinkedIn “About” section includes this key line: “Purpose-driven teammate and leader.” It’s something the Holy Cross graduate lives each and every day in her role as Director, Content Development & Integration at ESPN+ and ESPN Films.

“What I pride myself in being cool at, is serving,” Fernandez tells PRod Pod host Jon McLeod. “I don't mind what we're doing. I know that I'm gonna be a great teammate, pick up the baton, look at other ways, figure out how I can be a better teammate, figure out how I can be a better employee, figure out how I can be a better daughter, sister, friend, colleague, insert the word there.”

So, whether it’s immersing herself in the emerging space of NFTs for a Tom Brady project in conjunction with ESPN+’s Man in the Arena or finding ways to expand the depth of storytelling within ESPN’s “Fifty/50” Title IX inititative, Fernandez interacts with colleagues from all across Disney to ensure the amazing work being created is being creatively injected into all of the incredible platforms throughout the enterprise.

Fernandez’s interests are as varied as the content she interacts with as we learn in the concluding “Fab 5” segment which is guest-hosted by ESPN Summer 2022 Intern Katera Brewer. From a track and field itch Fernandez wishes she had scratched to her favorite “30 for 30” to important work in helping youth education in her native Dominican Republic, Fernandez fills her days fulfilling that promise of being a “purpose-driven teammate and leader.”

And as she shares, “milestones come and go, but what stays is what we've planted.”

Kati Fernandez on LinkedIn