NEW YORK, N.Y. - Kristen (Forster) Kaufmann '13, a two-time All-Ivy League soccer player who notched 10 game-winning goals while helping the Yale Soccer Team to 35 victories, is now making sure the National Football League has results in 2020.

She has been part of the NFL's human resources team since getting out of Columbia Business School in May of 2019. Kaufmann is currently the "infection control officer," organizing the return of the employees to headquarters on Park Avenue.

After scoring 16 goals and notching 49 career points for the Bulldogs, the Trumbull, Conn., native worked in Manhattan for three years before deciding to get her master's degree and focus on her passion.

"I missed and craved the sense of teamwork I had when playing soccer. Working in the sports world invigorates me," said Kaufmann, the Ivy League's 2009 Rookie of the Year and a Bulldog who played three different positions. "We (in the NFL) are making sure the games happen, and it makes me feel like I'm connected to team sports, something much bigger than what we are doing here. People are craving football, and I'm doing everything in my power to make sure it happens."

The former Yale psychology major in Saybrook College is part of a team coordinating the safe return of over 600 employees to league headquarters, which includes COVID testing, orchestrating logistics and being the primary point of contact for any COVID-related incidents.

"I am also the main point of contact for our New York employees who travel to work at games to ensure their health and safety is protected to the greatest extent possible," said Kaufmann, who ranks seventh at Yale with 17 career assists and was a Capital One Academic All-District 1 first-team selection.

Kaufmann described Yale as an informative place that helped her grow up while learning a lot about herself as a player, a student and a person. And the kid who grew up practicing with her club team on the Yale fields was not disappointed with her collegiate endeavor.

"I had a great Yale soccer experience. I still have a few very close friends from our time on the field, and I look back extremely fondly on the four seasons of Ivy League play. The countless practices, training sessions and workouts built a lot of character. It taught us what it meant to work hard, manage our time and lead by example."

Working out with her club teams at Yale was one great source of motivation. "I always knew I wanted to make it into that big [Reese] stadium one day."
Now she is part of team helping big stadiums around the country host NFL games this fall.