Krista Leesment '93 works in an office with schedule and list-filled whiteboards hung on whitewashed cinderblock and a window view onto rink three. Call it the gym teacher aesthetic. That’s what you get when you’re the Vice President of Business Operations at the Kraken Community Iceplex, the official practice facility for the Seattle Kraken. The facility houses Kraken Hockey Operations and the team’s training facilities, the Kraken Executive and Corporate Office and functions as a 3-sheet community rink for the Seattle region. The “Canadian who works for the newest NHL team” story seems interesting until she says, “once you work for the Olympics.”

In 2006, Krista volunteered at the 2006 Torino Winter Games, travelling down from Aachen, Germany, where she was living at the time. She spent a few weeks checking credentials at the Athletes Village. There, she met athletes and befriended fellow volunteers, mostly Italian university students and retirees.

Going to Italy was the middle of an Olympic journey that started with watching her mother dance in the 1988 Winter Games opening ceremony in her hometown of Calgary. A proud Estonian family, they watched the ski jumping competition waving a blue, black, and white flag for the Estonian jumper who competed on the Soviet team. Later, while studying hospitality management in grad school, a presentation on the complexities of feeding Olympic athletes opened the possibility of being involved in the Games as a professional.

Shortly after the Torino Winter Games, Krista and her family moved to Seattle. With her intentions set for getting involved in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, Krista eventually landed a job two-and-a-half years out from the Games with the Organizing Committee in a Sponsorship Servicing role. During the games, she was based in Whistler, the site for the Alpine and Nordic Skiing events, Ski Jumping, and the Sliding events (luge, skeleton, bobsled). On her last day of work, the Canadian Hockey team won the gold medal. She drove down from Whistler, turned in her keys, cell phone, and badge, and attended the closing ceremonies.

In London 2012, Krista worked during the games again. She visited Rio 2016 as a spectator and in 2026 she’s planning to go to Milan, where she’ll reunite with Torino friends and “Olympic Gypsy” friends who move and work one series of games after another.

There’s a parallel between the kind of relationships forged while preparing for and pulling off an event like the Olympic games and the relationships forged at boarding school, and they suit Krista well. She’s warm and enthusiastic and genuine. Working for the newest NHL franchise is a great fit for her since it means teaching the community about hockey so they can enjoy it as much as she does. Krista encourages any LAS alum to reach out if they find themselves in the Seattle area – take in a hockey game or go ski up at nearby Whistler.

Written by Christine Taylor