High School Academy Class #2 Faculty
FACULTY
Courtney Altemus, CEO & Founder
After a few decades on Wall Street, first as an investment banker then as a private wealth manager, Courtney Altemus started TeamAltemus to provide advisor due diligence, financial literacy education and name, image and likeness advisory for collegiate and professional athletes.
Courtney brings a unique and valuable skill set to the table. She has extensive study and experience in finance and human behavior from La Salle University and has served on the alumni and business advisory boards at La Salle University, the World Series of Entrepreneurship and Anderson Monarchs.
Yolanda Bronston, Head Girls Varsity, St, Johns Country Day School (FL)
“Coach Yo” has over 25 years of coaching experience at various levels, from youth to Division 1 basketball. She currently serves as the Head Girls Varsity Coach at St. Johns Country Day School in Orange Park. In her four years at the helm, the Lady Spartans have reached the state playoffs each year with a roster that included several middle school players. In the 20-21 season, Coach Yo led the Spartans to their first District Championship in 29 years.
She is the co-founder of two Basketball/Sports Training Organizations, H2 Hoops, LLC which focuses on building fundamental basketball skills and overall athleticism for beginners ages 4+. And North Florida Basketball (a division of Southeast Youth Sports) which provides training to elite-level athletes.
Jen Brooks, Athletic Director, Ursuline Academy (MO)
jbrooks@ursulinestl.org
Jen Brooks, CMAA, serves as Athletic Director at Ursuline Academy, an all girls college prep high school in St. Louis, MO. She has served in a leadership role at the Academy for 28 years, 26 as the Athletic Director. Jen manages the 14 sport program, including coaching management and development, athletic training and the successful support of over 200 student athletes each year.
Beginning her professional career as a coach at both the high school and collegiate level, Jen knows first hand the powerful impact that mentoring and leadership can have on a team and program. She feels compelled to expand her reach beyond Ursuline Academy by serving on a number of associations including: founder of the Global Community of Women in High School Sports, Mentor Coordinator for the Missouri Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, and Section 5 Mentor Committee Representative for the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
Jen was selected as the Missouri Athletic Director of the Year in 20-21. In 21-22 she was selected by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association as the Bruce Whitehead Distinguished Service Award winner.
Learn more about Jen at jenbrooks.com
Betsy Butterick, Founder, The Coaches’ Coach
betsy.butterick@gmail.com
Betsy is a 2013 NCAA WCA graduate (Class 29)
As a former coach with experience in DI, DII, DIII, and the WNBA Betsy utilizes her unique background with individuals ready to improve 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.
Nevin Caple, Founder, Return on Inclusion
Nevin Caple is a social entrepreneur, speaker, educator, and consultant on diversity, inclusion and belonging in college athletics and professional sports. Her teaching philosophy is centered on trust and respect, taking a holistic and human-centered approach to education. Nevin is the founder of Return On Inclusion, a sport-specific online learning platform dedicated to developing inclusive leaders in high school and college athletics, and professional sports. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) recently partnered with and endorsed ROI for department-wide use. Nevin sits on the Board of Directors at Stonewall Foundation in New York City and the National Center for Lesbian Rights Leadership Council. She is the Diversity & Inclusion Consultant for the CIAA Conference, the nation’s oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) athletic conference. Most recently, Nevin developed the NCAA DIII ONETEAM Facilitator Training with Pat Griffin. She also co-founded LGBT SportSafe, an advocacy organization dedicated to advancing LGBTQ+ inclusion in athletics. Nevin resides in Brooklyn, New York with her wife.
Nicole Cervantes, Athletics Director, The Storm King School (NY)
Nicole Cervantes is headed into her second season as an Athletic Director at The Storm King School, a preparatory high school in upstate New York. While at SKS, Nicole oversees a team of 20 coaches, serves as a Dean, and teaches a health course.
Prior to SKS, Nicole was the Director of Student Leadership and Athletics at The Academy at Penguin Hall. Serving in dual roles as both the Athletic Director and Director of Student Life, Nicole found a new home in high school administration after nine seasons of college coaching from 2009 – 2018. Nicole coached volleyball collegiately at East Stroudsburg University (NCAA DII), Southwest Missouri State (NCAA DI), and George Washington University (NCAA DI).
During Nicole’s coaching career she focused on recruiting and camp development, as well as coaching middle hitters as position players. Nicole coached six middles to earn top conference team awards at both SEMO and GW. At both institutions, Nicole developed Tuesday Clinics, to provide a low-cost, low-commitment, and easy access opportunity for young community members to enhance their volleyball skills and knowledge of the game.
While working full-time at Southeast, Nicole completed her Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in December of 2016 from the University of Missouri – Columbia. Her goal was to be a role model for her student-athletes and push them to excel in the classroom as well as on the court. She earned her Master’s Degree in Sports Management in 2011 from ESU while serving as a graduate assistant coach. Nicole graduated from Franklin Pierce University, a Division II school in New Hampshire, where she was a four-time All-Northeast 10 Conference player.
During her junior year, she was named second team all-region in 2007. She was the first player to ever be named to an all-region team in Franklin Pierce’s 20-year program history. Her 159 total blocks led the Northeast-10 Conference, as did her 1.26 blocks per game. She was also named team MVP that season.
It the completion of her four-year career at Franklin Pierce, Nicole guided the Ravens to four consecutive Northeast-10 conference championship appearances. She was also named conference player of the week five times and set the school career record for kills (1,271) and blocks (493). Nicole was inducted into the Franklin Pierce University Athletic Hall of Fame in October of 2021.
She also excelled in the classroom at Pierce, as she graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications and a minor in Creative Writing. She was a three-time first team academic all-conference selection.
Nicole is a native of Ashburn, Virginia and currently lives in Cornwall on Hudson, NY with her wife, Kandice and their two dogs. They are in the process of being licensed as Foster Parents for children in Orange County, NY.
Tamika Dudley, Head Girls Basketball Coach, Sidwell Friends School (D.C.)
As an athlete Coach Dudley was a two-time hall of fame inductee in both high school and College. After college, she went on to coach at the University of Wilmington in North Carolina as an assistant before accepting a teaching and assistant coaching position at her high school alma mater alongside her former head coach, George Washington. In 2011, Coach Dudley became the head girls’ basketball coach at Woodbridge High School. At Woodbridge, she accumulated over 155 wins and appeared in the Virginia 6A State tournament in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. In 2019, the Lady Vikings were District, Regional, and State champions, winning the first girls basketball state championship in school history. Coach Dudley was named the 2019 Cardinal District Coach of the Year, Regional Coach of the Year, Virginia class 6 Coach of the Year, USA Today Virginia Coach of the Year, and Washington Post All-Met Coach of the Most recently named NHSBCA Wooden Legacy Coach of the Year in the District of Columbia and 2022 Naismith Coach of the Year.
In 2019 Coach Dudley accepted the coaching position at Sidwell Friends school in Washington, DC. In her first season she led her team to a 26-6 season becoming the first team in program history to win the regular season ISL championship. In 2020 the team advanced to the DC State Championship. Since taking over at Sidwell Friends Dudley has been named 2x DCSAA Coach of the year and ISL Coach of the Year. In her third year at Sidwell Friends school Coach Dudley led her team to a perfect 30-0 season winning the ISL, State, and National title which was the first time in the school history for girls basketball program. Coach Dudley’s team finish as the #1 ranked team in the country according to ESPN and Max Preps.
Coach Dudley currently coaches 3 FIBA USA gold medalists and 4 players who are nationally ranked in ESPN’s top 25 and graduated and the school first ever National player Gatorade player of the year and Naismith player of the year, Kiki Rice. Coach Dudley also coaches her daughter who is the # 4 ranked player in the class of 2024, is a FIBA u16 gold medalist, a member of the of the Jr. NBA Court of leaders, and Nike Game Growers ambassador. Dudley has also coached grassroots basketball for the past 14 years.
Captain Elise C. Erickson/0402 Officer Selection Officer, OST Fargo, ND
A native of Bristol, Michigan, Captain Erickson attended Lansing Community College on a full athlete scholarship where she pitched for the Stars. After completing two years of college there Captain Erickson transferred to Michigan State University. After completing a year of college there she shipped to boot camp on Parris Island in 2013 and served with Engineer Support Company, 6th ESB as a supply administration clerk. Upon completing her degree from Michigan State University she attended Officer Candidate School in 2016 and commissioned.
Following her commissioning she attended the Basic School and was designated a 0402, Logistics Officer. She attended her military occupational specialty schooling in Camp Johnson, NC, and upon graduation, reported to Combat Logistics Battalion 3. There she held the billet of Truck Platoon Commander, Executive Officer, and Future Operations Officer executing multiple exercises with the battalion. In May of 2020 she re-located to Fargo, ND to serve as the Officer Selection Officer for state of North Dakota, the billet she currently holds. While on Officer Selection Duty Captain Erickson completed her Master’s in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Her awards and decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Selected Marine Corps Reserve, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Megan Hankins-Maldonado, MA, LMFT, Founder of The R.E.C. (Reflect, Evolve, Conquer) Center
You’re a high-performing coach who is burning the candle at both ends while still trying to keep your personal life intact. You are racing from your job to practice everyday just to do the very thing you love-Coach! You wear all the hats, and you are responsible for so many things and people in/out of coaching that it can be overwhelming at times.
My name is Megan Hankins-Maldonado and I’m a licensed therapist & executive coach. I help overworked, overburdened, burnt out coaches and athletes reclaim their life, their joy for the work they do and the sports they play. With my straight-foward approach, you won’t get helpful strategies to manage your/your players mental health from someone who doesn’t get it. I have been in athletics most of my life. I was a college athlete and I have been a college basketball head/assistant coach for 15 years from high school to Division 1. I completely acknowledge the stresses and responsibilities that come with the job. I have an eclectic style and love to use metaphors to help my clients understand things from a different lens.
You’ll learn how to find balance, when and how to say no, how to set boundaries, and how to recharge. If you truly want to be a high-performing coach for the long-term, these are the skills that will make you a winner in and out of the game.
Renee Lopez, M.E.S.S., President, RL Academy Recruiting Educator/Leadership Development Training
info@lookingforafullride.com
As a twenty-year coaching veteran, Renee Lopez is an expert in the college recruiting process, leadership development training, and creating positive team environments. As a United States Soccer Federation (USSF)- and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)- licensed coach, she has recruited and produced 3 All-Americans and has been honored as Coach of the Year by her peers. In addition, she has served as an NCAA Compliance Director. She has learned the recruiting process from being a college student-athlete herself and from having worked as a high school varsity head coach for three years and a college coach for fourteen, in NCAA Divisions I, II, III, and NAIA.
In addition to being the CEO of her own leadership development, teambuilding, and coaching education academy consulting service, she is the author of a book on the college recruiting process for student-athletes titled Looking For A FULL RIDE?: An Insider’s Recruiting Guide where she has interviewed 65 college coaches and athletic directors. She currently does recruiting educational programs for individual families and groups.
In addition to consulting with high school families, coaches, athletic directors, and guidance counselors, she regularly speaks as a keynote and teaches seminars with Fortune 500 companies, sports organizations, non-for-profits, churches, and community groups. Her most requested keynote is “Building More Positive, Effective, and Confident Leaders and Teams”. She runs a weekly blog on the college recruiting process for high school student-athletes, 9 different Facebook groups related to coaching, recruiting, teambuilding, mindset, and leadership.
Her undergraduate degree is in Elementary Education and her graduate work from the University of Florida is in Exercise Sport Science (Sport Management/Pedagogy). She is also a certified speaker, trainer, and coach with the John Maxwell Team, Jon Gordon Company, D.I.S.C. Assessment Consulting, 3Dimensional Coaching, and Positive Coaching Alliance.
Jodi Manore, Volleyball Coach, Bedford HS (MI)
Jodi Manore will begin her 38th season as Varsity Volleyball coach at Bedford High School in 2022. As the all-time winningest girls volleyball coach in the nation, she has an overall match record of 2,175 wins, three state championships, 23 Final Four appearances and 16 conference titles. She was selected as the NHSACA National Volleyball Coach of the Year in June 2016 and was inducted into the AVCA, NHSACA, MHSCA, MIVCA, and Bedford High School Halls of Fame. She was also the first volleyball coach at the University of Toledo from 1975-88.
Jodi served as the AVCA High School representative from 2006-12, serves on the MIVCA Board of Directors, an appointment since 1992, and serves on several other committees.
Peg Pennepacker, Founder of High School Title IX Consulting Services, LLC
Peg Pennepacker is a retired K-12 educator and high school athletic director. As a high school athletic director, Peg has worked with and continues to work with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Director’s Association (PSADA) and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) as a Title IX consultant and national faculty member as she helps to educate high school athletic directors about Title IX law and its application to athletics as well as other legal issues in sports. Peg also serves on the publications committee for the National Federation of State High School Associations’ (NFHS) High School Today magazine. Fifteen years ago, Peg founded High School Title IX Consulting Services and works with K-12 schools in educating and training staff about all things Title IX. Peg is recognized nationally as an expert in Title IX and athletics and has received recognition for her work both by PSADA and the NIAAA. This December at the national high school athletic director’s conference in Nashville she will be inducted into the NIAAA Hall of Fame.
Peg is happy to join with WeCOACH to share information with high school coaches about the importance of Title IX and what they need to know.
Anthony Thomas , Athletic Director, Francis Parker School, (CA)
Anthony Thomas is currently the Director of Athletics at Francis Parker School in San Diego, CA. He has just completed his fourth year there and was recently named the CIF San Diego Athletic Director of the Year. Prior to Francis Parker, Thomas was Director of Athletics for the Branson School and Convent and Stuart Hall from 2011-2018. In June of 2020, he co-founded the National Organization of Minority Athletic Directors (NOMAD), which seeks to provide a professional organization that supports and develops minority and underrepresented athletic directors in secondary schools. Through his work with NOMAD, Thomas has spoken or developed webinars for many organizations including Play Like A Champion Today, Independent School Management, Vermont, California, Connecticut and Illinois State Athletic Directors Associations and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrator Association (NIAAA).
This year, he has served on the Executive Committee of the CIF San Diego Section as well as the California State Federated Council. Thomas also serves on the NIAAA DEI Committee. He has earned recognition from many and his work has been featured nationally on ABC News and locally in San Diego on KUSI. Thomas’ life motto comes from his hero Jackie Robinson, “A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives.”
Missey Townsend, Athletic Director, Prescott High School (AZ)
Missy Townsend is in her eighth year as the Athletic Director at Prescott High School and first female athletic director in Prescott’s 119 year history.
She oversees a 18 sport, 45 level athletic department that has won 15 region and section titles, 5 State Championship titles, and 15 State Runner Up titles, while 76 Badgers have committed to play collegiate sports during her tenure.
Under Townsend, Prescott launched its partnership with BSN and Nike to be the official sports provider and brand for the school and its 500 plus student athletes. The school has also improved facilities, in 2016 and via a partnership with Maverik a new state of the art video scoreboard was installed on the main field with a second one added in 2017 in the main gym. In 2019, a $1.5 million turf field was installed and the first post tension concrete blue track in the state of Arizona was constructed. During the summer of 2022, the tennis courts and lighting were upgraded to post tension concrete and LED. Other facility improvements included the addition of Pickleball courts in partnership with the City of Prescott Parks and Recreation and the Prescott Pickleball Association. A complete weight room design, build, and rebranding is also in the works.
In addition to the facility improvements that Townsend has overseen she has implemented a Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) and character development program, Character Matters, to the athletic department. She finds the greatest fulfillment in her job through building relationships with her student athletes, coaching staff, peers, boosters, and working with the community at large. She is the current President of the Arizona Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (AIAAA) and Chair of the State’s Basketball Advisory Committee.
In addition to 15 years of coaching (basketball, volleyball, soccer), Townsend played DI basketball at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education in 1998. In 2012 she earned a Master of Science in Recreation and Sports Sciences and in 2020 she earned her Certified Master Athletic Administrator (CMAA) certification through the NIAAA. Most recently, in 2022, she received her Master of Education in Educational Leadership.
Townsend has been married to her husband Ben, a civil engineer, for 26 years and they have 6 children (Katie (Tyler), Emma (Parker), Sara, Megan, William, and Lucy) and a grandson, Calvin. As a family they enjoy hiking, mountain biking, and traveling to National Parks.
STAFF
Vanessa Fuchs, CEO, WeCOACH
vanessa@wecoachsports.org
A veteran leader with 20+ years of experience in athletic administration, Vanessa Fuchs joined WeCOACH as Chief Executive Officer in March 2022. Before WeCOACH, she served as Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator at her alma mater, Florida State University.
Vanessa’s tenure at FSU began in 2010, where she served in a variety of important leadership roles over the past decade. Named the 2015 Women Leaders in College Sports Division I Administrator of the Year and an FSU Champion Beyond the Game honoree in 2016, she was instrumental in providing strategic direction for departmental initiatives focused on student-athlete welfare, enhancing athletic performance, fundraising and revenue generation, gender equity, and diversity and inclusion.
In June of 2013, former Florida State President Dr. Eric Barron named Vanessa the school’s interim Athletics Director as she became the first woman to lead the Seminoles’ Athletic Department. The former Seminole basketball player was one of just seven women leading an athletics department among the 124 schools that participated at the FBS level in 2012.
Prior to arriving at Florida State, Vanessa committed seven years to the NCAA in Indianapolis in Academic and Membership Affairs. She got her start as a Championships Intern with the ACC in 2001. The Pompano Beach, Florida, native was a four-year letterwinner for the Seminoles’ women’s basketball team from 1997-2001. She was the team co-captain in her senior year and finished her career as a four-time ACC Honor Roll selection.
Vanessa graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in communications at Florida State University and earned her master’s degree in sport administration from the University of North Carolina.
Jan Whitbeck, Sr. Director of Events & Branding, WeCOACH
jan@wecoachsports.org
With 20+ years of event management, media, marketing, and collegiate athletics experience, Jan became the director of events for WeCOACH in June 2019 and was promoted to Senior Director of Events & Branding in January 2021.
Before WeCOACH, Jan served as the Director of Events for the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. Annually, she executed their signature events, including the Annual Celebration, Distinguished Teaching Awards, Alumni Awards, Ski-U-Mania and alumni events for athletics post-season games.
Prior to the University of Minnesota, Jan was the Marketing and Campus Relations Coordinator for the University of Wyoming Residence Life and Dining Services. She also spent ten years working for iHeart Media in Denver as a Promotions & Marketing Director and as an Account Executive for both AM and FM stations. While there, she managed key national accounts, including Coors, Hershey, and Dos Equis, as well as co-produced the Gears, Games & Gadgets Expo and coordinated station events for the Susan G. Komen Denver Race for the Cure, and the CU/CSU Rocky Mountain Showdown football games.
As a former women’s basketball student-athlete at Glendale Community College (AZ) and Western State Colorado University, Jan was an all-RMAC honorable mention performer and was the recipient of the WSCU Paul W. Wright Female Athlete of the Year award. She also served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Western State Colorado University and Regis University.
Jan holds a master’s degree in sport administration from the University of Northern Colorado, and in her spare time loves traveling, boating, hiking, attending Minnesota Lynx games and Golden Gopher sporting events. She resides in Minneapolis with her wife Julie and two Beagles, Dylan & Josie.