O’Brien, who is entering her ninth year with the NCAC in 2026-27, was elevated to Associate Executive Director in July of 2025 after serving as the Assistant Executive Director since August of 2018. O'Brien oversees key areas of the conference’s operation and administration, scheduling, professional development programming, the conference awards program, and daily communication with coaches and athletic administrators in addition to responsibilities in NCAA grant programming and championship management.
Prior to joining the NCAC, O’Brien spent four years as Associate Commissioner at the North Atlantic Conference (2014-18), two years as Assistant Commissioner for Sports Information at the Commonwealth Coast Conference (2012-14), and two years as Associate Director of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (2010-12). She also gained valuable experience through internships at Buffalo State College (Division III), the University at Buffalo (Division I), and the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (Division III). In addition, she worked in customer service and ticket sales for the Buffalo Bisons, the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.
O'Brien is a member of the College Sports Communicators (CSC), Division III Associate/Assistant Commissioners Group (DIIIACG), National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA), National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), and Women Leaders in College Sport. She is currently serving her second year as the past chair of the DIIIACG, having previously served as second chair (2022-23), first chair (2023-24), and chair (2024-25), and is a member of the DIIIACG SAAC Standing Committee after previously serving as its chair. O'Brien is also a graduate of the 2011 NCAA/Women Leaders Institute for Administrative Advancement (IAA) East and attended the 2022 NCAA Division III SWA Program.
Originally from Cheektowaga, NY, O'Brien completed her Master of Science degree in higher education and student affairs administration (formerly student personnel administration) at the State University of New York College at Buffalo. She previously earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sport management at Medaille College (NY), where she was a four-year NCAA Division III softball student-athlete.