2024 NCAA WCA Class 53 Faculty

FACULTY

Go To WeCOACH Staff

Marlene Bjornsrud

Former WeCOACH Executive Director

marlene.bjornsrud@gmail.com

Mar is a native of Colorado Springs, born in Penrose Hospital 71 years ago in February. She left the Springs after high school and lived in Phoenix for 25 years where she met Jo, the love of her life. In 1996, they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where they could live life more authentically as a lesbian couple. Mar and Jo will celebrate 40 years of life together this October and 16 years of marriage in August. When Mar and Jo decided to retire, they left the San Francisco Bay Area to return to make Colorado Springs their forever home.
For more than 45 years, Mar has been a leader and advocate for women’s sports as an athlete, coach and executive at the college and professional levels.

Mar’s advocacy at the national level began in 2003 when she, along with six female Olympic athletes, testified at a US Congressional hearing about the importance of Title IX in ensuring equitable opportunities for women in sports. The selection of Mar as the sole woman who was not an elite Olympian to participate in the hearings attests to the recognition of her able representation of the thousands of women who play sports at the collegiate level.

In 2011, the White House Council on Girls and Women invited her to Washington DC to gain a clear understanding of the Council’s purpose to ensure that all legislation considers the needs of girls and women. In 2012, she was honored to engage in a small group conversation with First Lady Michelle Obama about homophobia and the importance of marriage equality for the LGBTQ+ community.

As a leading expert on gender equity in sports in the United States, she has been sought out by international groups to speak in their countries including Qatar, Europe, and Japan. She continues to serve annually on the faculty of the Japanese Women Coaches Academy.

Mar began her career in sports at Grand Canyon University where she served as head women’s tennis coach and led her team to the National Tennis Championship in 1981. She served as an athletic administrator at Grand Canyon and later at Santa Clara University with broad responsibilities for more than a dozen sports. In 2000, with the formation of the first women’s professional soccer league in the United States, she was named General Manager of the Bay Area team which won the first league championship in 2001. In 2004 with U.S. Women’s National Team soccer stars Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain, she founded BAWSI (pronounced “bossy”), which has engaged more than 8000 female athletes to inspire physical activity among more than 22,000 young girls in high-poverty communities.

Mar’s lifetime work of helping girls and women find full participation in sports was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 2013 with its prestigious Women and Sport Award for the continent of the Americas. The award was presented in Lausanne, Switzerland in the presence of dignitaries from around the world. Only 4 women from the US have ever received this award. She is equally proud to have been inducted into the Wasson High School Hall of Fame here in Colorado Springs!

Betsy Butterick

The Coaches’ Coach and Communications Specialist

betsy.butterick@gmail.com

Betsy is a 2013 NCAA Class #29 WCA graduate.

As a former coach with experience in DI, DII, DIII, and the WNBA Betsy utilizes her unique background with individuals ready to improve and teams of all kinds – from the locker room to the boardroom. As “The Coaches’ Coach” she meets coaches where they are and supports the growth that they’re looking to make. As a Communication Specialist, Betsy helps teams improve communication effectiveness while working collaboratively to create positive change at all levels of team. Professional, playful, and with a talent for people-centric design, Betsy offers a personal and experiential approach towards learning and development. A life-long athlete, Betsy grew up playing all sports and was a competitive basketball player (and an awful golfer) at the collegiate level. She now spends her time in Colorado Springs with her wife and daughter cycling, hiking, exploring, practicing yoga, chasing sunsets and in constant pursuit of the perfect breakfast burrito.

Amanda Fielding

Former Head Coach of the Australian Women’s Volleyball Team

Talent Identification Manager, VALD

a.fielding@vald.com

With extensive experience in both on court and off court management of athletes and programs she currently spearheads the projects for Women’s Sport and Pathways at VALD Performance.

In her current role, Amanda is aiming to change the lack of data on female athletes by working with sports all over the globe to push for a better understanding of what MSK data can provide in terms of talent ID, longevity in sport, success and injury management. This data is collected in programs that aim to educate, normalise and expose all athletes, regardless of skill level to testing protocols with the outcome being that the first time a young person gets tested, isn’t when they are going for their first representative team.

Amanda has been involved extensively in volleyball in both Australia and the US having hosted camps and tours for players and coaches between the countries.

Having created her company, Girlsport Pty Ltd in 2009 she has worked on projects related to girls in sport in almost every sporting code in Australia.

With a diverse background in sport science, education and business, Amanda has worked in sport for over 2 decades with experience as a high performance athlete, coach and administrator.

Dr. Jen Fry

CEO & Founder, JenFryTalks

jenfrytalks@gmail.com

Jen is a 2003 WCA Class #1 graduate. 

Dr. Jen Fry (she/her) is Sports Geographer, 3x founder, and sought-after speaker and educator. She owns JenFryTalks, an education firm that explores the intersection of conflict and culture. Coordle, a B2B tech company revolutionizing a group movement platform on how to coordinate inclusive and accessible group movements and focusing on managing and organizing the movement of groups from one location to another efficiently and effectively. Hyreable, a career development company focused on scaling the careers of Black and brown professionals in the world of sports. Lastly, she received her PhD in Sports Geography from Michigan State University #gogreen.

Captain Jalissa Harkins

United States Marine Corps

Captain Jalissa Harkins was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1990. She attended the University of North Texas and graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. She then went on to achieve a Master of Science in Athletic Training from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2016. After working in the civilian sector for a few years, she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on November 17, 2019. Upon completion of her follow-on training at The Basic School in June 2019, she was selected to become an unmanned aviator and assigned to MATSG-22 to begin Remotely Piloted Aircraft training. Second Lieutenant Harkins received her pilot wings on 29 February 2020 and thereafter assigned to Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 (VMU-1) in Yuma, Arizona, as an RQ-21 Blackjack unmanned pilot.

Harkins was promoted to First Lieutenant in November 2020 and in January 2021, she was further selected to Holloman Air Force Base, 16th Training Squadron flying training for the MQ-9 Reaper, completing the four-phase training program over six months. She returned to Yuma, Arizona with qualifications in, now, two unmanned aircraft systems. During her time at VMU-1, Harkins conducted combat sorties/taskings under OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE, flying 1 flight for 3.9 hours in direct support of coalition partners engaged in hostile fire. She achieved her Unmanned Aircraft Commander designation, flying 44.3 hours for global operations supporting USCENTCOM contingency operations. Concurrently, during her time in Yuma, Harkins also served as a government flight representative responsible for aircraft operations conducted by commercial contractors using DoD aircraft in Bahrain. For her service at VMU-1, she received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Harkins was promoted to Captain in May 2023 and currently serves as an Officer Selection Officer in Denver, Colorado, charged with finding the next future Marine Corps officers. With close to 6 years of service, she attributes her accomplishments in the Marine Corps to her diverse sports background, specifically her time as a varsity and college prospect basketball player before suffering a torn ACL.

Lesley Irvine

Vice President and Director of Athletics, Colorado College

WeCOACH Founding Board Member

lirvine@coloradocollege.edu

Lesley is a 2009 WCA Class #17 graduate.

Lesley Irvine began her tenure as Vice President and Director of Athletics at Colorado College on June 1, 2019. In her role, Irvine serves on the President’s cabinet and oversees Athletics and Recreation within the Division. In addition, she currently serves as:

• Chair of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Athletic Director Council
• Chair of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Athletic Director Council
• Member of the Board of Directors for the Women Leaders in College Sports, Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, the Olympic City USA Task Force and the Colorado Springs Sports Authority
• Founding Board Member and Division III representative of the WeCoach organization

Irvine has been instrumental in several high-profile endeavors that will be the foundation of the department’s championship culture in the years to come:

• Launched the Tiger ExCCellence campaign, a championship culture fundraising initiative celebrating the history of Colorado College athletics and charting a course for its ambitious future. Tiger ExCCellence has grown each year and ended the 2022 fiscal year with historic highs in dollars raised and participation rates.
• Provided key leadership in the planning, construction and operating of the brand new Ed Robson Arena, which opened in October of 2021. The state-of-the-art 3,400-seat multi-purpose facility provides the Colorado College hockey team an on-campus home for the first time in program history and also serves as one of the City for Champions projects. Robson Arena sold out every game in the inaugural 2021-22 season.
• Oversaw the planning, unveiling and implementation of a logo refresh that was unveiled in February 2020.

Jennifer Jacobs

Head Volleyball Coach, Augustana University

Jennifer@inclusioninroads.com

Jennifer brings a wealth and breadth of knowledge from 20 years of K-12, collegiate athletics, and diversity, equity, and inclusion experience. Through Jacobs’ personal and professional experiences as a volleyball student-athlete, coach, and administrator, she found her purpose and passion; to aid others in creating more diverse and inclusive environments for all.

Certified as a Qualified Administrator in the Intercultural Development Inventory ® which assesses intercultural competence—the capability to shift cultural perspective and appropriately adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities. Jacobs has the specialty to lead organizations, groups, and individuals in transformative changes in equity and diversity. She has solidified herself as a premier practitioner for diversity and inclusion, presenting at events such as the PAC-12 Health Equity Summit, the NCAA Inclusion Forum, the University of Minnesota Tucker Center Coaches Symposium, and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Convention. Additionally, working hands-on with organizations such as Princeton Athletics, Macalester Athletics, Augsburg University, Augustana University, Dakota Wesleyan University, and many more!

Jacobs began her career in K-12 at Harding High School (St. Paul, MN). Jacobs served as Harding’s Coordinator of the College and Career Center and Behavior Intervention Program Coordinator. She was a member of Harding’s Staff Development Committee and advised students of color in academics and post-secondary planning. At Richfield High School (Richfield, MN), Jacobs was the African-American Outreach Director and served as the liaison between more than 200 African-American students and families and the school staff and administration within the district. She provided academic, social, and emotional support, along with assisting college transition planning for more than 50 families of other diverse backgrounds. In addition, Jacobs was the chair of the Richfield Primary Staff Development Committee on Equity and Diversity, serving all teachers and school professionals in the district. Jacobs facilitated ongoing training sessions as an integral part of the staff development equity and diversity plan, while also supporting school administration in day-to-day operations, including student conduct, safety, and discipline.

Jacobs next took her talents to the collegiate realm, jumping into the Assistant Athletic Director position at Augsburg College. During her time at Augsburg, Jacobs oversaw the daily operations of the department including sponsorship negotiations, contracts, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and transportation. Additionally, Jacobs sat on various committees including but not limited to; Diversity/Inclusion, Student Leadership Awards and served as the institution’s Staff Senate President. As Senate President, Jacobs acted as a primary liaison to the President and Board of Regents regarding the staff’s agenda.

Jacobs is currently entering her 8th season as head volleyball coach at Augustana University located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. During Jacobs’ tenure, the Vikings have seen seven players earn first-team All-Conference and four All-Conference second-team selections. Jacobs has had an incredible run with libero development, as Erika Bute and Tahylr Banks have combined for seven All-NSIC honors, 12 NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors, four NSIC Libero of the Year honors, three All-Region nods, and an All-American nod.
She was a standout student-athlete at Minnesota State University, Mankato, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Jacobs was inducted into the Minnesota State, Mankato Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018. She then obtained her Masters in Educational Administration at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Sioux Falls.

Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD

Director, the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport

Senior Lecturer, School of Kinesiology

University of Minnesota

Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer in the area of social and behavioral sciences in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota and the Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. Through action-oriented collaborative research, she translates data and answers critical questions that can make a difference in the lives of girls and women. As a leading scholar on gender, leadership and women coaches, Dr. LaVoi has published 100+ book chapters, research reports and peer-reviewed articles in top-rated journals. Her seminal research includes the annual Women in College Coaching Report Card™ which is aimed at retaining and increasing the number of women in the coaching profession and holding decision makers accountable, a groundbreaking book Women in Sports Coaching (2016), and a documentary GAME ON: Women Can Coach (2018). GAME ON is the third Emmy-nominated collaborative film project with tptMN; along with Concussions & Female Athletes (2011) and Media Coverage & Female Athletes: Women Play Sports, Just Not in the Media (2013, Regional Emmy winner, Best Sport Documentary). As a public scholar she consults with a variety of stakeholder groups, works with industry partners, speaks around the world, fields media requests, provides thought leadership, and serves on numerous mission-driven advisory boards related to girls and women in sport. She is an award-winning athlete and coach, distinguished teacher, regional Emmy winner, two-time Hall of Fame inductee and was named a 2023 USTA Champion of Equality. LaVoi played collegiate tennis at Gustavus Adolphus College winning a NCAA-III National Team Championship where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees. Prior to her career in the academy, she was a USPTA Teaching Pro, an assistant coach at Carleton College, and the head tennis coach at Wellesley College. In her free time she enjoys being outdoors, biking, hiking, golf, and soaking up the sun.

Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D. is a leading scholar on gender and sport, a Senior Lecturer in social and behavioral sciences in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota and the Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. As a public scholar and through action-oriented collaborative research, she translates data and answers critical questions that can make a difference in the lives of girls and women. She is an award-winning athlete, coach, distinguished teacher, writer, regional Emmy winner, sought after speaker, two-time Hall of Fame inductee and was named a 2023 Champion of Equality by the USTA. Currently she serves on the Gatorade Women’s Advisory Board and the Board of Trustees at her alma mater Gustavus Adolphus College.

2024
Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer of social and behavioral sciences in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota and the Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. Through action-oriented collaborative research, she translates data and answers critical questions that can make a difference in the lives of girls and women. As a leading scholar on gender, leadership and women coaches, Dr. LaVoi has published 100+ book chapters, research reports and peer-reviewed articles in top-rated journals. Her Outstanding Academic Title award-winning book Women in Sports Coaching, the annual Women in College Coaching Report Card™ and Emmy-nominated documentary GAME ON: Women Can Coach help inform countless stakeholders who changing the system for women sport coaches. She is the Product Manager of Coaching HER®, and co-creator of Body Confident Sport, free tools to upskill coaches to more effectively coach girls. As a public scholar she consults with a variety of stakeholder groups, works with industry partners, speaks around the world, fields media requests, provides thought leadership, and serves on mission-driven advisory boards such as her third term on the Gatorade Women’s Advisory Board. She is an award-winning athlete, coach, scholar, and distinguished teacher, 2013 regional Emmy winner for Best Sport Documentary, two-time Hall of Fame inductee and was named a 2023 USTA Champion of Equality. LaVoi played collegiate tennis at Gustavus Adolphus College winning a NCAA-III National Team Championship where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees. Prior to her career in higher education, she was a USPTA Teaching Pro and head tennis coach at Wellesley College. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, biking, hiking, golf, painting and soaking up the sun.

Stephen Long, PhD

Founder & President, Long Training + Research

steve@longtrainingandresearch.com

Dr. Stephen Long is the founder & president of Long Training+Research, a human performance firm providing management assessment and management development services. For over 30 years, he has studied the relationship between prosperity and waste, specializing in human performance, leadership effectiveness, talent optimization, and strategy execution. Through The Prosperity Trait®, Dr. Long has unlocked the potential of exceptional leaders, champion athletes, fighter pilots, military special operations personnel, entrepreneurs, elite producers, and corporate executives.

Dr. Long earned his PhD from the University of Kansas, where he was honored as the Most Outstanding Doctoral Student while serving as the Director of the KU Peak Performance Clinic. He then served as the Head of Performance Psychology in the Human Performance Lab at the US Air Force Academy, studying strategy execution, high performance, performance plateaus, and choking under pressure through applied field research. A University of Utah independent study identified Dr. Long as one of North America’s top applied performance psychologists.

The author of four books, Dr. Long began his career as a college football coach at the University of Virginia and the University of Delaware. In his free time, Dr. Long competes as a master’s swimmer and is an accomplished marathoner. He played one season in a 50+ baseball league where he hit his first dinger since Little League.

Coach Penny Lucas-White

Head Women’s Volleyball Coach, Alabama State University

WeCOACH Board Member

Penny is a 2005 WCA Class #5 graduate. 

Penny Lucas-White, a former USA national player, completed her 13th season as Alabama State University’s head volleyball coach in the 2023-24 calendar year,achieving 1,000 matches coached. Under her guidance, the team has  consistently excelled, winning the regular season crown in 2022 and going undefeated in conference play in 2023. Lucas-White has coached notable milestones, including multiple players reaching impressive benchmarks.

Beyond coaching, Lucas-White has upgraded the team’s non-conference schedule to face top teams nationally, emphasizing success both on and off the court. Her coaching expertise draws from an illustrious playing career and international coaching experience. Lucas-White’s impact extends to her community involvement and achievements as a coach. She has been recognized with four Coach of the Year awards and has led teams to eight conference championships. Her commitment to academic excellence is evident in her teams’ achievements, with a focus on education highlighted by the Large Team Academic Award.

Her diverse coaching experience includes successful stints at Memphis and the Air Force Academy. As a player, she earned All-SEC honors at LSU and played professionally in the USA and Europe. Notably, Lucas-White played for the USA National Volleyball Team in the 1985 NORCECA Games. In addition to her coaching accolades, Lucas-White served as a special envoy to China’s Sichuan Province, contributing to volleyball clinics for children affected by an earthquake. Her commitment to the sport and community has left an enduring legacy.

Liz Masen

CEO and Client Director, Athlete Assessments

liz.masen@athleteassessments.com

As CEO of Athlete Assessments, Liz Masen looks after key relationships as well oversees the strategic direction of the company. Her personal slogan is ‘when our clients are successful, we are successful too’.

On the surface, Liz Masen has an unlikely background for a career in sport. Both ambitious and hard-working, Liz graduated with an Honors Degree in Accounting and Finance, while working full-time, and was awarded the prestigious University Medal for receiving the highest academic marks at QUT. Her professional career started in investment banking, working in Australia, Asia and South Africa as a mergers and acquisitions specialist in the Mining and Resources sector.

From investment banking, she became the youngest ever General Manager of Finance for the global gas and engineering company, BOC Gases, and it was within these predominantly male environments that one of Liz’s true passions emerged. Liz co-founded Xplore, a leadership development company for women, which grew into the leading provider of its kind within Australia. After selling out her ownership in Xplore in 2006, Liz co-founded Athlete Assessments with Bo Hanson.

Now, Liz holds her role as CEO of Athlete Assessments, and looks after their key relationships and strategic direction. Her slogan is ‘when our clients are successful, we are successful too’.

Liz continues her long-term involvement with WeCOACH and has been a faculty member of the NCAA Women Coaches Academies for close to 15 years. These opportunities bring together Liz’s two passions of sport and the leadership development of women.

In addition, Liz is a Ph.D. Candidate (part-time) within the School of Health and Behavioral Sciences at the University of the Sunshine Coast. The title of her Ph.D. thesis is ‘What do coaches really want in their playmakers?’ and is an analysis of how a coach’s experience, opinions, and coaching style impacts their perceptions and expectations of key playmaker positions in basketball, ice hockey, field hockey, volleyball, soccer, and rugby union.

Sport is a massive part of Liz’s life, both professionally and personally. In more recent years, most of her personal time in sport revolves around her two daughters’ basketball training and sitting courtside or on the score bench at their games. Back ‘in the day’, as a 100m age champion hurdler and sprinter, Liz’s High School Track and Field team ended a 60-year drought by winning the most prestigious Girls’ High School Championship in their State. Liz also has a black belt in Taekwondo, has previously coached Surf Sports at her local surf club, has been a volunteer youth coach in basketball, ran her first marathon in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics test event and her second (and last!) in the 2014 New York Marathon. Her proudest sporting moments have not been her own, instead she counts cheering on her husband to win medals at three of his four Olympics, and watching her daughters benefit from all that sport provides in their personal development, as the most special times.

DeeDee Merritt

Managing Director of NCAA Leadership Development

dmerritt@ncaa.org

DeeDee Merritt serves as managing director of NCAA leadership development, a position she has held since September 2023. As the department lead, Merritt oversees the promotion, establishment, execution, evaluation and expansion of all NCAA leadership development initiatives and programs, playing a key role in fulfilling the missions of both the NCAA and the leadership development department.

Merritt has been instrumental in asserting her group as a prominent national voice in the area of student-athlete development in intercollegiate athletics. In 2019, Merritt led the department through a comprehensive evaluation process that resulted in the creation of a program pipeline designed to educate and develop student-athletes and those who serve them at all levels of their professional career.

During her tenure, Merritt has overseen the creation and execution of several new transformative programmatic offerings, including Lessons in Management, a curriculum delivered to an all-female cohort of first-time managers; Foundations of Fundraising, an immersive educational opportunity designed to provide women and minorities in-depth education in the field of fundraising; ARISE, a virtual mentoring program for HBCU student-athletes interested in careers in STEM; and Athletes Using Their Power (A4), a virtual program educating student-athletes on how to maximize their voices and platforms. Additionally, she led the creation of the NCAA Leadership Collective, a platform designed to promote inclusive hiring practices within college sports administration and coaching. In 2021, the work of leadership development was featured in Forbes magazine. In 2023, Merritt was named Nike Executive of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports.

Prior to her promotion to managing director, Merritt spent three years as director of leadership development, and in 2016 began her tenure at the NCAA as an associate director of leadership development Before her transition to the NCAA national office, Merritt held various positions at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, including assistant athletics director, director of special projects, and coordinator of women’s services and advocacy.

Merritt has a Bachelor of Science in business management from the University of Phoenix and a master’s degree in business administration from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.

Merritt is the proud parent of one child, Breanna (32).

Felecia Mulkey

Head Acrobatics and Tumbling Coach, Baylor University

WWoWC Chapter Author

felecia_mulkey@baylor.edu

A transcendent leader on the forefront of the growing sport of acrobatics and tumbling, Felecia Mulkey has won all 13 of the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) championships offered and boasts a career record of 128-4 over 14 seasons as a head coach of acrobatics and tumbling in the NCATA.

In the 2024 season, she was in her 10th year as the head coach at Baylor and has completely changed the program since arriving in Waco in June of 2014. After winning four-straight NCATA titles at the University of Oregon, she has led the Bears to nine-straight NCATA championships with an 95-2, 10-year record in Waco and compiled a 38-meet win streak (2021-24) as she has tutored 30 NCATA-All-Americans in 10 seasons.

Baylor’s ninth-straight NCATA Championship title came in the 2024 season, coming full circle for Mulkey as it was won at Fairmont State, where she won her first title with Baylor in 2015. She led four student-athletes to All-American status (Riley Chimwala, Jordan Gruendler, Bayley Humphrey, Payton Washington) as well as the three who swept the DI end-of-season awards (Washington – Freshman, Chimwala – Most Outstanding, Gruendler – Specialist). Another undefeated season under her belt, the Bears used the 11-0 record to keep their 38-meet winning streak. BU was the only team to score a 280 or higher in a meet, and had nine weekly awards earned from the NCATA, one of which was a sweep. The Bears faced three new teams including Augustana, Iona, LIU and Texas Lutheran. Baylor recorded one perfect 10 score on the season, in the Open Pyramid against LIU (3/5). The Bears defeated Fairmont State (host), Oregon and Gannon en route to the title. Baylor earned seven individual event titles, one in each event – Five-Element Acro, Six-Element Acro, Seven-Element Acro, Inversion Pyramid, 450 Salto Toss, Six-Element Tumbling, Open Tumbling.

The Bears won their eighth-straight national championship in the 2023 season under the direction of Mulkey, continuing a 26-meet win streak originating in 2021. BU had another perfect 11-0 season and had a record five home meets in the Ferrell Center. Kamryn Kitchens earned four Athlete of the Week accolades en route to being named Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year, while Baylor captured six Specialist of the Week awards from the NCATA by Riley Chimwala, Jordan Gruendler and Bayley Humphrey; Gruendler being named Specialist of the Year. In addition, Gianna Cameron had one Freshman of the Week award and three honorable mention awards on her way to being named Freshman of the Year. Kitchens was also named to the All-Academic Team while 25 made the NCATA Honor Roll. Chimwala, Humphrey, Kitchens and Emily Tobin were all named NCATA All-America as well. In addition, Tobin and Grayson Moore earned the Big 12 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award. Mulkey’s 80^th Baylor win came against Oregon on April 1 and the Bears recorded 11 perfect 10.0 scores on the season, the most coming in the Pyramid event. BU won five individual event titles in the Six-Element Acro, Seven-Element Acro, Synchronized Pyramid, 450 Salto Toss and the Open Tumbling Pass with Kitchens.

The 2022 season saw three individual national titles for the Bears and the seventh-straight NCATA National Championship, Mulkey’s 11th-straight title in her career. Mulkey saw BU gain two yearly NCATA awards, with Emily Tobin being named Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year and Bayley Humphrey being named Specialist of the Year. The Bears had three named NCATA All-Americans in Tobin, Humphrey and Riley Chimwala. Baylor got it done on the mats and in the classroom, with Kamryn Kitchens named All-Academic and 26 other student-athletes named to the NCATA Academic Honor Roll. Six newcomers were named to the 2022 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team for Baylor, and 27 student-athletes were named to the Academic All-Big 12 At-Large Team. 

Mulkey won her 10th-career national championship and sixth-straight while at the helm at Baylor in 2021 as the No. 2 seed in the 2021 NCATA National Championships hosted inside the Ferrell Center. The Bears first defeated No. 3 seed Oregon in the semifinal, before downing No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific in the championship meet. Baylor finished the season with a 6-1 record, while earning a number of individual honors at the end of the season. For the fourth-consecutive time, a Baylor student-athlete was named the NCATA Most Outstanding Athlete as Emily Tobin earned the honor, while Riley Chimwala was named the NCATA Freshman of the Year. Tobin, Chimwala and Kam Kitchens all earned All-America honors, while Maddie McNamee was named the Louise Goodrum Academic Award winner.

In 2019 she guided the Bears to an unprecedented fifth-straight NCATA title, winning a program-record 14 meets as the Bears went 14-0 on the year to finish with a 278.400-271.725 victory over Oregon in the NCATA team final in front of the home fans at the Ferrell Center. Ashley Echelberger was named the NCATA Most Outstanding Athlete, becoming the third-straight Bear to win the title and the fourth such honor under Mulkey’s leadership. Top Joie Hensley was named NCATA Specialist of the Year and four Bears (Kaylee Adams, Hope Bravo, Ceara Gray and Echlelberger) were named NCATA All-Americans. 

In 2018, the Bears went 11-0, the third undefeated season in four years en route to winning the program’s fourth-straight NCATA title. Mulkey was named NCATA Coach of the Year for the second time in her career. The Bears defeated Quinnipiac, 283.360-274.650, while winning all six events. Ceara Gray earned Most Outstand­ing Player and Kaylee Adams Specialist of the Year. Gray, Adams and Lauren Sturm earned All-America honors.

In 2017, Mulkey’s squad went 9-1 and finished the season with eight straight wins to secure the program’s third straight NCATA national title. When it was all said and done, the Bears had three NCATA All-Americans (Kiara Nowlin (NCATA Most Outstanding Player), Kaelyn Cowan and Lauren Sturm) for the second consecutive year and third time since 2013, five NCATA individual event titles, 15 Academic All-Big 12 At-Large hon­orees and a then-program-record four NCATA Player of the Week awards. 

During the 2016 season, Mulkey led Baylor to a second straight perfect re­cord (10-0) en route to claiming the 2016 NCATA national championship. Along the way, Kiara Nowlin, Shayla Moore and Kaelyn Cowan earned NCATA All-American honors.

After guiding the Oregon Ducks to four consecutive NCATA national championships in five years, Mulkey, in her first season as Baylor’s head coach, guided the Bears to the program’s first NCATA national cham­pionship, defeating the defending champion Oregon Ducks three times en route to the crown. The Bears posted a program-best 11-0 record. Sophomore Kiara Nowlin, freshman Shayla Moore and senior Keegan Johnson received 2015 NCATA All-America honors and the Bears claimed eight event titles. In addition, Nowlin was named the 2015 NCATA Most Outstanding Player and Moore earned Freshman of the Year recognition.

Mulkey was the head coach at the University of Oregon from 2009 through 2014, first at the helm of the competitive stunts and gymnastics team and that evolved into acrobatics and tumbling and the inaugural season of the NCATA in 2011. At the helm of the Ducks, Mulkey boasted a 43-3 overall record while winning four national championships, 30 event titles, 11 All-America honors, two Athlete of the Year accolades, a Newcomer of the Year honor and a Coach of the Year award.

Dr. Brooke Rundle

Founder of Headstrong Mindset LLC

brooke@headstrongmindset.com

Dr. Brooke Rundle (she/they) is the founder of Headstrong Mindset LLC, a private practice that provides mental performance consulting on core sport psychology concepts, and team building to elite athletes, coaches, and teams, including USA Volleyball’s National Team Development Program (NTDP). Brooke has a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and an Educational Doctorate in Sport Performance Psychology from the University of Western States. Brooke specializes in inclusive team building and helping athletes overcome mental obstacles to achieve performance excellence.

Brooke also played volleyball for UC Santa Barbara where she was named NCAA division 1 All-American and led the Gauchos to the elite eight of the NCAA tournament twice. After college, Brooke went on to play volleyball professionally in Slovenia and the Netherlands. Between playing, coaching, and consulting, Brooke has over 20 years of volleyball experience working with youth, collegiate, professional, and national federation volleyball teams throughout the US, Europe, and Central America.

Brooke is also a volunteer Educational Program leader at the Sports Equality Foundation whose mission is to empower the LGBTQIA+ community with equality, visibility, and representation. Brooke also co-founded Inclusion Inroads, a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consulting company dedicated to intentional transformational change. Brooke resides in Denver, Colorado with her wife Hannah and dog Steve Budd.

Rev. Dr. Joanne Sanders

Retired, Senior Associate Dean for Religious Life, Stanford University

WeCOACH Board Member

revjms@gmail.com

The Rev. Dr. Joanne Sanders, retired as Senior Associate Dean for Religious Life after 20 years at Stanford University in Stanford, CA. She is a priest in the Episcopal Church and earned a Master of Divinity from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California and a Doctor of Ministry (D. Min) from Seattle University in Seattle, WA, with a concentration on interdisciplinary leadership.

Sanders professional background includes previous university experience in college admissions and intercollegiate athletics, including collegiate coaching and a Master of Science in Sports Administration. Her educational research and religious interests explore the integrated connection between religion, spirituality and sport. Sanders doctoral work features research on emerging adults and the question of meaning making through intercollegiate athletic participation. Thresholds of Meaning; Sports and Religion on Campus, explores questions of meaning through intercollegiate athletic participation using both theological and philosophical inquiry and the conditions required to consider sport as threshold, a point at which our deepest yearnings and ultimate meaning may be discovered. She has presented her research at two NCAA Women Coaches Academies in Denver, CO in 2018 and 2019.

Rev. Sanders had the unique opportunity to serve on a 40-member multi-faith chaplain team at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. She collaborated with colleagues across the Stanford campus in developing courses in Sports and Spirituality, The Athlete and Identity and Gender and Sports.

From 2017-2019, Rev. Sanders served as the President of the Association of College and University Religious Affairs (ACURA), a national organization of professionals in higher education working to support pluralistic and inclusive endeavors in religion, spirituality and ethics in colleges and universities. She has been a member of the ACURA Board of Directors since 2014, and will complete her term as Past-President in March, 2021.

Tiffany Tucker

Deputy Director of Athletics and SWA, UNC-Wilmington

WeCOACH Board President

tuckert@uncw.edu

Tiffany D. Tucker is the Deputy Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator at UNCW. Tucker has established a legacy as a seasoned athletic administrator with extensive experience in the college athletics realm. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her master’s degree from Hampton University.

A native of Petersburg, Va., Tucker joined the Seahawk staff after serving as Deputy Director of Athletics for Internal Operations and Senior Woman Administrator at S.C. State. She previously gained athletic administration experience at Hampton University and Elizabeth City State and coached basketball at Allegheny (Pa.) College, Radford, Francis Marion, and Claflin.

As a proud Tar Heel alum, Tiffany was selected by the University of North Carolina Athletics and The Rams Club to serve as an ambassador for the FORevHER Tar Heels Campaign. The $100 million initiative is the first of its kind in the country, building upon Carolina’s legacy as a pioneer in women’s athletics and emphasizing its long-time continued commitment to creating and enhancing opportunities for female student-athletes.

In a partnership with the world’s #1 antiperspirant brand, Degree, and Yahoo Sports – Tiffany was featured in a gender equity series that empowered and inspired female athletes during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four. She used her platform to support the need for equitable investments for female athletes and increase awareness of Degree’s commitment to inclusivity.

Tucker is a graduate of the UNC System Executive Leadership Institute’s second cohort and the Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute. She was the recipient of the UNCW Kathleen Berkeley Inconvenient Woman Award, the Women Leaders in College Sports Nell Jackson NIKE Executive of the Year Award, and winner of the WILMA Magazine Women to Watch Award Education Category. Tiffany also joined a star-studded list of athletic influencers as one of Sports Illustrated’s 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.

As a speaker, strategist, and activist, Tiffany has ignited stages all over the country, empowering women, encouraging unapologetic leadership, and educating people in the areas of confidence, resiliency, and owning their power.

Dr. Amy S. Wilson
NCAA Managing Director of Inclusion

awilson@ncaa.org

Dr. Amy Wilson serves as the NCAA’s Managing Director of Inclusion where she drives inclusive excellence throughout college sports by supporting member schools’ commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity.  Wilson leads the NCAA Office of Inclusion’s efforts to provide resources, education, and support in the core areas of disability, international, LGBTQ, race/ethnicity, and women.  Her entire career has been in higher education where she has authored multiple national reports on Title IX and won multiple awards for teaching excellence.

Wilson was a tenured faculty member at Illinois College and served as the Faculty Athletic Representative.  A former student-athlete and member of the Illinois College Athletics Hall of Fame, Wilson has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English and earned a Ph.D. in Health and Sport Studies with a concentration in Athletic Administration at the University of Iowa.  For nearly two decades, she worked closely with nationally recognized Title IX expert Dr. Christine Grant on equity issues in intercollegiate athletics and has given numerous presentations on Title IX, gender equity, and inclusion on both the national and international levels.  In 2018, Women Leaders in College Sports honored Wilson with the Nell Jackson Award for her work as an advocate for equity.

Wilson’s most recent publication is the State of Women in College Sports on Title IX’s 50^th Anniversary, which tells the story of where women are in terms of participation, resource allocations, and leadership number in intercollegiate athletics.