Maven Member Spotlight is a weekly series by Indy Maven highlighting a member of our community. Want to be featured? Join us!
Meet Stephanie Sponsel—a strategic operations leader, community advocate, autism advocate, and mother of five who has built her career around turning ambitious ideas into organized, achievable action.
As Chief Operating Officer of netlogx, Stephanie helps guide the strategy, growth, and daily operations of a woman-owned consulting company that has supported government agencies and communities for more than 28 years. During her 13-plus years with the company, she has managed everything from budgets, contracts, and executive reporting to business development and organizational strategy. Known for seeing both the big picture and the details required to make it happen, Stephanie brings structure, accountability, and a healthy sense of urgency to every challenge she takes on.
Stephanie’s commitment to leadership extends well beyond her professional role. She serves as a board member for the Center for Wellness & Urban Women, is active in leadership at Our Lady of Lourdes, and is a member of the Lambda Epsilon Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha. She previously served as Treasurer of NAWBO Indy and on the National Small Business Association Leadership Council. Most recently, she was elected Secretary of Women & Hi Tech.
She is also a passionate autism advocate—but perhaps not the kind people typically picture. Stephanie advocates from the honest, everyday perspective of a mother raising a child with significant support needs. She believes in meeting families where they are, acknowledging the difficult days alongside the joyful ones, and creating a judgment-free space for parents to speak honestly about their experiences. Her version of advocacy is real, practical, and rooted in the belief that families need understanding and meaningful support—not judgment.
At home in Irvington, Stephanie and her husband, Bobby, are raising five children whose activities, accomplishments, and wonderfully complicated schedules put even her operational skills to the test. Whether she is helping grow a business, advocating for women and families, supporting her community, or cheering on one of her children, Stephanie believes leadership is ultimately about showing up, doing the work, and helping others move forward.
My Maven Superpower is…Turning chaos into a plan. I can see the big picture, identify what actually needs to happen, and organize the people, details, and next steps required to get it done.
The best book I’ve read lately is…I’m going to be honest: I haven’t read a book in a while. I bought a Kindle, it is charged, and it is ready to go—but I read all day for work. Sometimes, when the day is over, I just want to sit and stare at absolutely nothing.
A self-care habit I swear by is…Taking a few quiet minutes to sit outside, especially near the water. With five kids and a demanding career, even a little time outdoors can help me reset.
My first job was…Hollister. I think I learned how to see in the dark there and potentially lost my sense of smell from all the cologne! In all seriousness, there is tremendous value in working in retail, restaurants, or customer service. I highly recommend that every teenager have a job in one of those environments. You learn how to communicate, solve problems, work with different personalities, and treat people with patience and respect.
The best advice I can offer is…Don’t worry so much about what everyone else thinks. Everyone will have an opinion about what you should do, how you should do it, and whether you are doing it correctly. In the end, your own opinion of your life and your choices is the one that matters most. Do your homework, trust yourself, and don’t wait until you feel completely ready to take your seat at the table.
A purchase I’ve been loving lately is…My red-light therapy mask. It completely freaks my kids out, but the warmth on my face almost makes me feel like I’m lying on the beach—so I consider that a win.
I feel most confident when…I have done my homework, understand the situation, and know I can walk into the room prepared to make a decision or help move something forward.
My favorite local restaurant dish is…Pizza! We are a big Pizza Friday family, usually surrounded by family or friends. It’s less about a particular dish and more about the tradition, the people around the table, and knowing I don’t have to cook dinner.
The thing I’ve been binging lately is…Updating my calendar and NOTTTT scheduling anything new! My ADHD is exceptionally talented at making plans that I will probably want to cancel later. I’m an extrovert and an introvert at heart—I genuinely love being around people, but I also genuinely love being at home doing absolutely nothing.
A fun fact about me is…I was born in California but raised on the east side of Indianapolis—and I’ve had the same core group of girlfriends for more than two decades. They’ve been there through nearly every version of me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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