The NFL Ops Team

Dawn Aponte, Chief Football Administrative Officer, brings a wealth of football experience at the team and league level to the NFL. Aponte is responsible for driving Football Operations initiatives, facilitating communication and management of the day-to-day operations, and assisting in building relationships with club owners, presidents and executives.

Aponte was most recently an executive with RSE Ventures, an international sports, entertainment and tech firm co-founded by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and club vice-chairman Matt Higgins.

Prior to RSE, she spent seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins, last serving as executive vice president of football administration. Aponte joined the Dolphins after one year as vice president of football administration with the Cleveland Browns. Before that, she spent three years as the vice president of labor finance with the NFL Management Council. Aponte started her career in football with the New York Jets, where she spent more than 15 years in various capacities, most recently as the club’s senior director of football administration.

Throughout her 25 years in football, Aponte has developed expertise in matters relating to contract negotiations, salary cap management, labor and CBA issues, and day-to-day management of the football business and administration operations.

Aponte serves on USA Football’s Board of Directors where she helps guide the sport’s national governing body in leading the game’s development for youth, high school and other amateur football players.

Aponte earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware and passed the C.P.A. exam shortly thereafter. She went on to receive a master’s degree in Finance and Management from Wagner College, then continued on to earn a Juris Doctorate from New York Law School. Aponte is a member of the New York State Bar.

As Senior Vice President of Football Operations, Kimberly Fields brings a strong background of strategic planning, sports partnerships, and business and legal operations to the NFL. Fields oversees Football Development, Football Business Strategy/Business Operations, Total Wellness and Football Operations Policy & Education.

Over the past two years, Fields has played a key role in leading and developing assets across the NFL for partners and new business opportunities.

Before joining the NFL, Fields spent five seasons as the Director of Civic and Business Affairs for the Minnesota Vikings where she developed civic, business and ownership initiatives for all departments within the Vikings’ organization and helped lead several special projects. Fields also helped grow the Vikings’ corporate social responsibility plans through program development and player cause marketing with Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen and EJ Henderson.

Prior to joining the Vikings organization in 2007, Fields spent six years at NFL headquarters, where she served as the Manager of Events in Business Development and also worked to enhance opportunities for local women- and minority-owned businesses to participate in the production of the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl.

Earlier in her career, Fields worked with 16 NFL teams, providing teams and players with assistance in all aspects of continuing education, degree completion, graduate school preparation, life skills programs and personal development.

Fields earned a juris doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law and is licensed to practice in Minnesota and Washington D.C. Fields also received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in systems engineering at the University of Virginia, where she also competed in track and field.

Jade Burroughs, Chief of Staff, Football Operations, directs the activities and staff of the Executive Vice President of Football Operations. She ensures the implementation of objectives, strategies, relationship management and operating plans for the department.

Burroughs’ career at the league office began during the 2017 season when she served as the Senior Director of Football Business Operations and Strategy.

Burroughs joined the NFL from Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment where she served as Director of Business Development for its productions division. At VWSE, she established new high-profile accounts in college and professional sports.

Burroughs previously spent five years with the Big Ten Conference in the branding department, where she managed the day-to-day aspects and execution of the conference’s marketing initiatives, restructured and redesigned the brand style guide, and helped build the conference’s presence on the east coast with the opening of the Big Ten NYC office in 2014.

A 2006 graduate of Lehigh University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Burroughs began her career as a sponsorship coordinator with The Gazelle Group after interning with the Philadelphia Eagles. Active in her native hometown of Palmyra, N.J., Burroughs assists as a youth mentor with the Triboro Track Club.

Mark Butterworth, Vice President of Replay Training and Development, brings 25 years of NFL experience to his new role. He is responsible for the training and development of 17 Replay Officials and 17 Replay Assistants, as well as managing Art McNally GameDay Central (AMGC) in New York during game windows.

Butterworth began his NFL career in 1999 as a Replay Communicator, advancing to Replay Assistant in 2014 and then to Replay Official in 2017. His postseason assignments include three Wild Card games, one Divisional Playoff game, two Conference Championship games, and officiating Super Bowl LVII in six seasons of eligibility. He also served as an alternate for the 2023 AFC Championship Game and for Super Bowls LV and LVI.

Before joining the league office, Butterworth accumulated extensive experience in various management and leadership roles. He worked 14 years at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 11 years as the Executive Director at a non-profit foundation, five years as the COO at CommQuest Services, and two years at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

Butterworth holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Walsh University and an MBA in Management from Malone University.

April Donnelly leads the development and execution of the communications strategy for players, Legends and the football community for Football Operations. She oversees the digital websites and social channels for Football Operations, the NFL Legends Community and Play Football, driving engagement and education about the game for fans and players. In 2019, she helped launch the Players Community portal and app as a tool for all players and Legends to connect with the resources, benefits, and programs they have earned.

Donnelly’s team is responsible for delivering onsite experiences to players and Legends at events, including Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, Draft, and Combine. This includes development of programming and management of the Legends Lounge at events where hundreds of Legends gather and reconnect.

Previously, Donnelly led Player Procurement and Services where she was responsible for securing appearances for the league and its partners. She also worked in the Entertainment Marketing department and helped coordinate musical guests and performances for league events.

As Head of Flag Football, Stephanie Kwok supports the league and its 32 clubs in growing the game of flag football in the U.S. and globally, including increasing player participation and engaging new fans and partners.

Stephanie brings more than a decade of personal and professional experience in flag football to her role. An avid player in leagues throughout the New York City area, Stephanie co-founded Pickup Football, a flag football company that ran tournaments for adults in the tri-state area prior to the COVID pandemic.  

Before joining the NFL, Stephanie was a partner at Reforge, one of the leading career development platforms and marketplaces for tech professionals. Stephanie taught marketing best practices, launched new initiatives, including a Marketing Leadership course, and developed emerging talent.

Stephanie previously spent six years at FanDuel, last serving as Vice President of Strategy and Operations, where she was responsible for identifying new growth initiatives, leading cross-functional priorities, and driving operational excellence. Stephanie also oversaw customer marketing, product marketing, VIP, and customer service teams.

Before that, she spent two years at Madison Square Garden leading marketing campaigns for the New York Knicks, Rangers, and Liberty. Stephanie also worked in management consulting at Parthenon-EY, with Special Olympics International, and with the United States Tennis Association.

Stephanie earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Political Science from Stanford University, where she was co-captain of the varsity squash team and a member of the national championship women’s club rugby team. A New York native, Stephanie is deeply involved in local charities, serving on the Board of Directors for Henry Street Settlement and as co-founder of the Hell’s Kitchen Community Cupboard.

Nyaka NiiLampti, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Wellness and Clinical Services. She is responsible for implementing and expanding the Total Wellness platform and ensuring a holistic approach to the care of players and members of the NFL family.

The Total Wellness platform includes overall wellness, family safety, healthy lifestyle development and transition support through clinical resources, education and awareness efforts, peer-to-peer connections, research, and an overall proactive approach. Dr. NiiLampti is charged with developing, managing and promoting all aspects of Total Wellness along with internal and external stakeholders, active players and Legends, NFL club and league staff, player support systems, governing bodies and the broader community. 

Dr. NiiLampti is a licensed psychologist with 20 years of clinical experience, and has worked extensively with organizations, sports teams, individuals and families in a variety of settings, including community mental health, college counseling centers, and private practice. She most recently served as the Director of Player Wellness for the NFL Players Association, where she focused on providing resources and educating players on all aspects of wellness and served as an advocate for players by ensuring their rights are protected under the NFL drug policies.

Before joining the NFLPA, Dr. NiiLampti was a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Psychology at Queens University of Charlotte, where she taught undergraduate courses in multiple areas and served as the Faculty Athletic Representative to the NCAA.

During that time, she also provided comprehensive services in private practice, focused primarily on athlete well-being and performance related concerns as well as serving as a treating clinician for the NFL and as an approved clinician for the NBA/NBPA.

Her research focused on multiculturalism and mental health, particularly as those concepts relate to issues of resiliency and success, and she provided local and national trainings, workshops and lectures on a variety of topics, including aspects of cultural diversity and identity, athletes and mental health, and student-athlete transition. 

A former track and field college student-athlete, Nyaka has a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, master’s degree with a concentration in sports psychology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and doctorate in clinical psychology from Temple University.

Mitch Reynolds, Vice President of Game Operations, plays a pivotal role in overseeing all aspects of Game Operations both domestically and internationally. This includes managing strategic and long-range planning, ensuring the smooth and efficient operations of NFL games and other league-wide events and initiatives and upholding the integrity of the game by ensuring competitive equity across the League.

Prior to joining the NFL, Reynolds spent 13 years with the Kansas City Chiefs, last serving as Senior Director of Team Operations, where he coordinated all team travel logistics, day-to-day operations, and facility management. During his time in Kansas City, Reynolds served as the club’s main point of contact for all football operations at four of the club’s Super Bowls (LIV, LV, LVII, LVIII), as well as all three of the club’s International Series Games – London (2015), Mexico City (2019), Frankfurt (2023).

Reynolds has been named the NFL’s Travel Director of the Year twice in his career (2013, 2017), an award voted on by his NFL colleagues. He also led efforts in organizing the NFL’s annual travel meetings from 2019-2024.

A native of Elma, New York, Reynolds first entered the league with the Buffalo Bills, serving in various roles, including internships within Player Development, Player Personnel, Video, and Equipment.

A 2010 graduate of the State University of New York at Cortland, Reynolds earned a degree in Sport Management. He later went on to earn a master’s degree in Sports Administration from Canisius College in 2012. He and his wife, Diana, have three children – Maya, Jack, and Aria.

George Stewart, Vice President of Officiating Training and Development, oversees the officiating pipeline and diversity efforts, assisting the senior vice president with managing the training program for current and prospective game officials, and providing specialized officiating guidance based on a unique coaching perspective.

Stewart has 38 years of coaching experience, including 32 seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Chargers.

Prior to the NFL, Stewart spent six years at the college level, where he coached at Arkansas, Minnesota and Notre Dame. In 1988, he won a national championship while coaching the Notre Dame linebackers and was the special teams coordinator.

Stewart, who lettered from 1978-80 at Arkansas, was a member of the all-decade team of the ‘70s, and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 2021.