Waterloo Black Hawks promote Annie Petersen to vice president role

Waterloo Black Hawks elevated Annie Petersen to vice president of strategic planning and operations on June 29. The move puts her at the center of the club’s business side, its game-night operation and its link to league governance, including a seat as the Black Hawks’ representative on the United States Hockey League’s Board of Governors.

Petersen has worked for Waterloo in several capacities since joining the organization in the fall of 2020, shortly after earning her degree from the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She studied strategic communication and added double minors in business administration and Spanish.

Joe Greene said Petersen has transformed the merchandise operation and grown into larger responsibilities across the organization. Greene, who was promoted to president and chief operating officer in March 2023, said Petersen had taken on increasingly significant duties across multiple areas of the front office. Her new portfolio still includes oversight of merchandising and Party Town Outfitters, but it also stretches into efficiency, innovation, sales, promotion, outreach, technology and other pieces of the day-to-day business.

The Black Hawks have spent years building around Young Arena, where the team first played on Jan. 14, 1995. The downtown venue seats 2,919 and can hold about 3,500 with standing room, and more than 9,000 fans attended its previous three home games during a stretch in March 2023.

The USHL’s 2026-27 campaign will be the league’s 25th season as USA Hockey’s only Tier-I junior league. The schedule opens with the USHL Fall Classic in Chicago from Sept. 16-20, 2026, and the regular season is set to finish April 3, 2027.