TEAM PAPER ROWTE

Kristen Branch

Kristen Branch is a creative director, brand strategist, researcher, and educator whose work focuses on identity-led brand development in sport. She is the founder of Rowte and the author of emerging research on talent brands, athlete enterprise, and brand governance, including the Emotive Movement Theory of Talent Brands and the Sovereignty Brand System™. Her work bridges academic inquiry and applied strategy, with a focus on how brands become enduring cultural and economic assets.

  • Kris is a passionate advocate for women’s equity and a lifelong student of social movements. With a Master’s degree in Brand Strategy from the renowned School of Visual Arts—where she studied under chairman Debbie Millman—Kris has built a career at the intersection of strategy, design, and cultural impact.

    A Massachusetts native and Syracuse University graduate, Kris brings over 20 years of experience crafting strategic, consumer-centric brand solutions across global CPG, retail, and publishing. Her award-winning work has earned her the trust of industry leaders such as Disney, Amazon, Live Nation, Sundance, Newell Brands, Sephora, Target, and Walmart—driving innovation through brand strategy, product development, and experiential activations.

    Kris takes a holistic, systems-based approach to brand building, helping businesses accelerate growth and strengthen cultural relevance. As founder of Paper Rowte, a Los Angeles-based brand development firm exclusively focused on talent in women’s sports and entertainment, she is pioneering an athlete-first ownership model rooted in equity, authorship, and legacy.

    She also founded Paper Rowte’s affiliate design firm, Group Hugg, and continues to contribute to the Master’s in Branding program at SVA, where she teaches Semiotics of Social Movements and mentors students through their thesis work.

    A longtime supporter of the WNBA, Kris was a Connecticut Sun season ticket holder before relocating to Los Angeles, where she now sits courtside for the LA Sparks. Inspired by the passion, grit, and resilience of athletes, she launched Paper Rowte in 2023 to help talent build distinctive foundational brands with true ownership and authorship at their core.

  • My teaching connects theory to application. I help students understand how branding, identity, culture, and enterprise operate in today’s sports industry, while equipping them with practical tools for strategic thinking, consumer insight, positioning, and brand development.

    Areas of teaching interest include sport branding, talent brand strategy, athlete enterprise, consumer insight, design thinking, and brand governance.

    • Research-informed

    • Industry-relevant

    • Application-driven

    • Identity and talent branding

    • Athlete-as-enterprise

    • Brand governance and authorship

    • Consumer meaning and emotional resonance

    • Women’s sports brand strategy

    • Strategic brand systems in sport

Roxanne Benefiel

  • Rox is a compassionate and creatively driven brand director and communications expert, known for her spirited determination to elevate purpose-driven brands through powerful storytelling and intentional design. As Co-Founder of Paper Rowte, she is committed to prioritizing the humble over the huge and community over the corporate, ensuring that impactful storytelling and design serve as catalysts for meaningful change.

    With over 15 years of experience in brand strategy, design, and marketing, Rox has worked extensively with nonprofits, startups, and mission-led organizations to develop brands that resonate deeply and drive meaningful change. She is currently leading creative direction and brand/content strategy for the comprehensive website rebuild of the Joyful Heart Foundation’s, founded by Mariska Hargitay. Rox earned her Master’s degree in Branding from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

    Her passion for creativity as a tool for transformation extends beyond client work. Rox has served on the executive board of The One Club for Creativity (formerly the Art Directors Club), volunteers in local social justice movements, and mentors emerging brand leaders as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at SVA. She is also Co-Founder of the award-winning design firm Group Hugg and the visionary behind Stars on the Court, a podcast she hosts that explores the intersection of astrology and women’s sports.

    She is a professional dancer and long-time skier, adding a multidimensional perspective to her work and life.