How Bronwen O'Keefe Keeps the Harlem Globetrotters in the Game

She's such a team player

Bronwen leads brand marketing and content for the Harlem Globetrotters (and Herschend Entertainment Studios) at a historic time for the world-famous exhibition basketball team.

“We celebrate our 100th anniversary in 2026. And in a lot of ways, we are still building and really working to get ourselves back into the pop culture zeitgeist, to be as meaningful to as many different people as we can be and as we have been in the past,” she says.

Before joining the Globetrotters organization, Bronwen was a development and production executive at Nickelodeon. She actually began her career at the media company as an executive assistant, rising through the ranks over more than two decades.

We spent two minutes with Bronwen to learn more about her background and creative inspirations.

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I grew up in Manhattan. Aside from the four years I went to college in Connecticut, I’ve lived in New York my whole life. I’ve lived in Brooklyn for the past 21 years in Carroll Gardens. I love it here. And now, when I talk about going to Manhattan, I’m like, “I’ve got to go into the city.” I’ve turned into a country girl.

Your first job.

I worked at the flagship Express store, which was on 59^th and Lexington. That was in high school. I worked mostly on the floor, sometimes in the stockroom. This was back in the day when Victoria’s Secret and Express were combined in one store. We got a ton of business, and it was a good way to learn how to interact with people.

How you first realized you were creative.

I’ve always known on some level. I grew up the first 10 years of my life as the only child of a single parent. I was left to my own devices a lot, even though my mom was a super-involved parent. So, before I learned how to read, I would tell myself stories. I had this dollhouse that my grandfather built. I remember being very young and sitting at the dollhouse and playing with all the little figures in each of the rooms and creating these elaborate backstories for them.

A person you idolized creatively early on.

My mom. She was an artist, but she also worked at the school where I went as a receptionist, and she encouraged creativity. I idolized her ability to turn the mundane into the extraordinary.

What’s exciting about working in the sports world?

The first thing overall is that the Harlem Globetrotters is a brand defined by joy. And then you think about what sports does for people—it brings people together, it creates community. Nobody does that more than the Harlem Globetrotters. For me, being able to merge storytelling with joy and uniting people is tremendous.

Do you play any sports?

When I was in high school, I played three sports—basketball, softball and volleyball. I was captain of the volleyball team. I also managed the boys’ basketball team. And I’m very active now. As New Yorkers, we walk everywhere. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not walking. And I do yoga and Pilates.

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.

It’s a magazine-style show called Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward. [That work is a Clio Sports finalist this year.) We do it in conjunction with Hearst Media Production Group. We’re in production on season three right now. We’ve been nominated for two Emmy awards for it. I take pride in being able to showcase all the amazing work that our athletes do off the court as ambassadors of goodwill.

How you foster creativity among the people around you.

I’m a big believer in great ideas can come from everywhere. I’m also a big fan of and believer in improv. So, I really espouse the “yes, and” model of throwing an idea out—and then yes, let’s build on it.

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.

Dolly Parton’s America podcast. There were so many facets of her life I didn’t actually know. You’ve got to really understand everything she had to overcome to get to where she got to.

Your main strength as a creative person.

I fully let myself, as an adult, embrace my imagination.

Something people would be surprised to know about you.

I think people would be surprised to know that my very first media/entertainment connection happened when I was seven, and I was on an episode of Captain Kangaroo. Even though I was expressly told not to, I looked at the camera the entire time—directly into the lens.