Chanda Lawdermilk grew up on a farm in Big Spring, Texas, where she spent her mornings feeding animals in the field before heading to school. Official website of MLB tells us that she always felt a tug toward baseball grounds in a football-crazed section of the country. Lawdermilk, in particular, has always known she wanted to work in baseball.

Years ago, she worked as an Astros intern in Houston, conducting stadium tours. She was elevated to vice president of baseball operations in December, as she was beginning her sixth season with the Rays.

Lawdermilk became the first woman in franchise history to hold a VP-level position in baseball operations when she transitioned to that high-ranking position after serving as director of staff development and recruiting since joining the team in 2018.

After Lawdermilk's promotion, president of baseball operations Erik Neander noted, "There's clearly a close relationship between the strength of our staff and the performance that we have on the field." "And in terms of the former, no one has had a greater impact on strengthening those efforts and their importance over the last five years than she has."