Volo Sports COO’s Passion For Sports Helps Everyone Get In The Game

Nayla Bautista ’07 turned her love of sports and commitment to giving back into a career leading the nation’s largest adult social sports organization.

With a rich background in sports and community engagement, Bautista has dedicated her career to leveraging sports as a means of creating opportunities for social inclusion, physical activity, and community-building.

“I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to play a variety of sports growing up. When choosing a college, I wanted a school that valued not only strong academics but also the role of sports and play in building community. Playing club basketball and participating in numerous intramural sports at Maryland gave me some of my most treasured memories.” Bautista says. She even met her husband, a fellow Terp, playing pick up basketball at the Rec Center at Maryland. 

While at the University of Maryland (UMD), Bautista received a Banneker/Key Scholarship, placing her in the Honors College. “I’m so grateful for the incredible scholarship opportunity that made it possible for me to attend.” 

Bautista studied marketing at Smith, but she was more interested in the strategy, operations and entrepreneurship side of business. She initially pursued finance in New York City but quickly pivoted.

“I loved the people I worked with, but wasn’t passionate about the mission or industry. In following my existing passion for sports, I started volunteering as a coach for a nonprofit basketball organization.” The organization eventually inspired her to leave finance and pursue nonprofit work. She went on to build out the capabilities of the organization as its first employee. 

While pursuing her MBA, she moved to Baltimore to join a newly started non-profit that provides free sports to kids across the city. What was then Bmore Kids has since become Volo Kids, the nonprofit partner organization of Volo Sports.

Volo Kids leverages the resources of Volo Sports to offer free sports programs for kids ages 6 through 12 who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to play sports. Bautista served as the Executive Director of Volo Kids Foundation from 2016 until 2021, where she grew the program from serving fewer than 100 kids the first year in Baltimore to more than 10,000 kids in eight cities across the country. She also helped lead the organization through the pandemic.

“COVID hit, which was quite a shock to the organization,” she says. “During that time, we pivoted to virtual programs because our parents voiced a strong need for their kids to continue being active and connecting with others in the community. They were counting on us.” 

Bautista stepped down from the Volo Kids Foundation in 2021 to serve as President of Volo Sports until 2023. She was recognized for her work with Volo Kids as part of the Baltimore Business Journal’s 40 under 40 list in 2023. 

Today she is the Chief Operating Officer of Volo Sports where she oversees sports operations nationwide and spearheads initiatives to scale the organization, ensuring new cities can quickly establish leagues and support communities in need of social connections and recreational outlets. “Volo is creating opportunities for genuine human interaction, which has always been important to communities, but the need has become even more evident in recent years across all age groups. Volo is dedicated to creating accessible, in-person sports opportunities that foster long-lasting friendships and a sense of belonging”

The Smith Terp encourages current students to focus on building relationships with their classmates.  “Whether it's facilitated through sports or other extracurriculars, interpersonal connections are so integral at all stages of life. You never really know what you might be able to offer your classmates in the future or where your paths might cross again.”