Universal Standards – Youth Development & Child Protection
SIGA is mobilising the sporting industry across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean with the aim of developing Universal Standards on Youth Development and Child Protection in Sport.
Led by SIGA AMERICA, the initiative is being driven by a high-level task force consisting of subject matter specialists from a wide range of stakeholders, including sport, government and youth-serving organisations.
The Members of the Task Force contributing to the development of the SIGA Universal Standards include the following experts from leading organisations.
Member Bios
KATHERINE ANDERSON
Youth Protection Officer, MLB
Katherine Anderson is the Youth Protection Compliance Officer for Major League Baseball. Katherine joined MLB in June 2019 to assist in the release and implementation of the MLB Youth Program Protection Policy, which creates protection standards for youth participants in baseball and softball programming offered by the Office of the Commissioner and MLB Clubs. Before transitioning to MLB, Katherine spent seven years in Division I NCAA compliance, most recently at Fordham University where she served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance. Katherine began her compliance career at the University of Mississippi, where she received her law degree. Katherine received her undergraduate degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and also holds a LL.M. in Corporate Compliance from Fordham University.
KYMM BALLARD
Board Member, Society of Health and PE (SHAPE America)
Asst Professor, Campbell University
As a strong advocate for kids, Kymm has been successful for helping to initiate and facilitate millions of dollars to schools to address obesity prevention. Dr. Ballard is the former SPARK Executive Director and currently an Education Consultant and Asst. Prof. at Campbell University. Kymm has always been a strong advocate for physical education and for providing support to help young people make healthy lifestyle choices. In her current role as Education Consultant, she provides guidance to schools and other national organizations to help them provide resources for quality physical education programs since her role at NCDPI. Her new Consulting role includes providing solutions in evaluation, programming and funding. In addition to being the Past-President of the Society of State Directors for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, she also served as the Chair for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) Public Relations Committee (now SHAPE America) and on numerous committees.
Kymm was awarded with the National 2002 P. E. 4 Life Advocate of the Year (SFIA) award for her work both in North Carolina and in Washington, DC. Other recognizable awards include: North Carolina’s first/ only teacher to receive both the PE Teacher of the Year and Health Teacher of the Year Awards in the same year. Kymm has received the highest Honor Awards in North Carolina AAHPERD and in her national professional organizations. Among her most notable awards, Kymm was awarded the Russ Henke Distinguished Service Award from SSLHPE; The Channing Mann, National Administrator of the Year by her colleagues in NASPE (now SHAPE America). At the same national conference, she was awarded the highest honor award of the Society of State Directors for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, the Si McNeely award. Kymm has additionally been presented with a lifetime membership to the NC PTA.
JU’RIESE COLON
CEO, U.S. Center for SafeSport
Ju’Riese Colón is the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the nation’s only nonprofit organization committed to ending all forms of abuse in sport. As CEO, Ju’Riese leads the strategic vision and direction of the organization to ensure every athlete is safe, supported, and strengthened through support.
Ju’Riese formerly served as the National Vice President of Child & Club Safety for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. She was responsible for developing and leading the child safety policies and initiatives for more than 1,100 Boys & Girls Clubs Organizations and nearly 4,300 Boys & Girls Club locations across the United States, including those located on Native lands and military bases.
Ju’Riese formerly served as the Executive Director of Prevention & Outreach for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). She led NCMEC’s prevention and education programs related to child abduction and sexual exploitation and their delivery to children, families, and the public. Ju’Riese was with NCMEC for 15 years.
Her professional experience also includes leading prevention and outreach initiatives with youth serving organizations serving families, educators, law enforcement, and diverse communities. Ju’Riese an experienced child advocate and serves as an expert on issues related to child safety. She is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University where she received degrees in both Criminal Justice and Spanish.
LISA DELPY NEIROTTI
Associate Professor & Director, Sports Management Programs, (BBA, MS & MBA)
The George Washington University School of Business
Lisa Delpy Neirotti, Ph.D., has been a professor of sport, event, and tourism management at The George Washington University School of Business for 29 years and directs the BBA, MBA, and M.S. in Sport Management. She also oversees the GW Sport Philanthropy and Youth Sports Administrator professional certificates. Recognized as an Olympic scholar, she has attended 19 consecutive Olympic Games and 5 World Cups as a volunteer, researcher, and consultant. She also teaches for the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Masters in Management of Sports Organizations (MEMOS) and serves on the executive board of the Women in Sports & Events (WISE) DC Chapter. Lisa co-authored the Ultimate Guide to Sport Marketing and founded the Sports Industry Networking and Career (SINC) conference in 2004. She also teaches and consultants in the area of sport sponsorship, sport entrepreneurship, sport tourism, youth sport, esports, and economic impact.
KRISTEN DIEFFENBACH
President, U.S. Center for Coaching Excellence (USCCE)
Asst Professor of Athletic Coaching Education, West Virginia University
Level 1 Coach and Instructor, USA Cycling
The USCCE is a national non-profit organization that provides leadership for quality sport coaching education and development programs across all levels of sport. The USCCE (www.USCoachExcellence.org) also accredits sport coaching education programs through NCACE, the National Committee for the Accreditation of Coaching Education.
Associate professor teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in athletic coaching education and professional development, director of the CPASS Center for Applied Coaching and Sport Science, director of the Athletic Coaching Education master’s program.
KELSEY ERICKSON
SafeSport Director, USA Cycling
Kelsey Erickson joined USA Cycling as the SafeSport Director in May 2019. Prior to her appointment at USA Cycling, she spent nearly a decade of work in international anti-doping. As a student and professional at Leeds Beckett University (UK), Erickson led and supported multiple global anti-doping research projects, receiving funding from such organizations as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Athletics Foundation (IAF).
Her research focused primarily on developing evidence-based anti-doping education interventions and whistleblowing policies and procedures. To do so, she was particularly interested in raising the athletes’ voice and underlining the complexity of doping and whistleblowing in sport. Kelsey’s unique background paved the way for her to assume her current role at USA Cycling, where she is focused on developing and implementing programs aimed at providing holistic and long-term support, development and protection to USA Cycling members. Kelsey’s career is motivated by a desire to constantly raise the bar in sporting integrity and athlete welfare practices and procedures on a local, national and international scale.
Kelsey completed her BA in Psychology at Biola University (La Mirada, CA) as a scholarship student-athlete (basketball). She then received her MSc and PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Leeds Beckett University (Leeds, UK) where she was a student-athlete in volleyball.
BENITA FITZGERALD MOSLEY
CEO, Laureus Foundation USA
Benita Fitzgerald Mosley joined Laureus USA as CEO following her senior executive role with the United States Olympic Committee as Chief of Organizational Excellence. Named a Game Changer by the Sports Business Journal in 2015, she led USA Track & Field’s 2012 Olympic team to win 29 medals in London, its best performance in 20 years, when she served as Chief of Sport Performance.
Honored as Cable TV Executive of the Year by Television Week magazine, she was Women in Cable Telecommunication’s President and CEO for eight years. Her passion and appreciation for the values of sports participation includes her stellar performances on the 1980 and 1984 Olympic teams where she won a gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Benita and her husband Ron are parents to two children who are active in sports. Benita is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a BS in industrial engineering.
JAYNE D. GREENBERG
Chair, North America International Sport and Culture Association
Previous: District Director of Physical Education and Health Literacy, Miami-Dade County Public Schools (35 years) – 4th largest school system in the U.S.
Dr. Jayne D. Greenberg serves as the North American Chair for the International Sport and Culture Association. Previously, she has served as the District Director of Physical Education and Health Literacy for Miami-Dade County Public Schools for 22 years, with her career expanding 35 years in the school district. Throughout her career, she has worked as an elementary, middle, and high school physical education teacher in public and private schools; a Region physical education coordinator; a high school and middle school administrator; and 12 years as an adjunct professor teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Methods, Sport Psychology, and Research. She has also served as a President of FAHPERD and chaired the Sport Development Committee for the USOC, USA Field Hockey. In 2005 was named as the National Physical Education Administrator of the Year; received the 2005 Highest Recognition Award by the US Secretary of Health; received the 2009 Point of Light Award by Florida Governor Charlie Crist; and was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness in 2009. In 2011 Dr. Greenberg was appointed by President Obama to serve on the President’s Council for Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition; in 2012 was selected as an author on the Institute of Medicine Committee; in 2015 was named as the North America Chair for the International Sport and Culture Association; in 2016 was named as an Aspen Institute Scholar, received the 2016 North American Society of HPERD Professionals Award; and in 2017 received the Lifetime of Giving Award by Delta Psi Kappa and was named as the Education Sector Chair for the National Physical Activity Plan. In 2019 Dr. Greenberg was inducted into the SHAPE America Hall of Fame.
Dr. Greenberg is an international consultant, coordinating Olympic Education Programs in Canada; developed the Sport Science Curriculum at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia; developed math and science sailing curriculum for the National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory in London and Sydney Australia; developed a Conservation Safari in South Africa; developed the drug education curriculum for Antigua; presented at the International Olympic Committee Meeting in Singapore; assisted with the implementation of the sailing education program in Qingdao, China; and has presented in Brazil, Poland, Barcelona, England, Rome, Paris, and Budapest; co-authored two books and published numerous articles, chapters, and has been a speaker at several state and national meetings; and has further secured over $39 million in federal and foundation grants.
WENDY GUTHRIE
Vice President, Athlete Safety U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee
Wendy Guthrie was named vice president of athlete safety for the United States Olympic Committee in May 2018. In her role, Guthrie will lead the implementation of all USOC athlete safety policies and procedures and oversee internal investigations of non-sexual abuse, work closely with NGBs on their athlete safety efforts, and champion strategic efforts throughout the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic community to promote an environment free of emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
Prior to the USOC, Guthrie spent six years at the FBI, most recently as a senior executive of human resources, leading cultural change, enhancing processes and policies, and leading a team of 100 employees with responsibilities spanning from an employee’s onboarding experience through an employee’s separation for a workforce of 37,000 employees.
Prior to the FBI, Guthrie held several positions in collegiate athletics from 1996 – 2012. Guthrie oversaw a governance restructure as interim commissioner at the Northwest Conference and led strategic planning efforts as senior associate commissioner at the West Coast Conference. She also has led the Seattle University athletics department and the Pacific Coast Softball Conference.
Guthrie earned a bachelor’s degree from Whittier College, a master’s degree in physical education from Springfield College and an MBA the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
A native of Southern California, Guthrie now resides in Colorado Springs.
KRISTINA HARDER
Acting Executive Director, President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition
Chief of Staff, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, US Department of Health & Human Services
Kristina Harder is the acting Executive Director of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition. She serves as the acting Executive Director in addition to her current role as the Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary for Health. The President’s Council advises the President, through the Secretary, on the progress of developing a national strategy to expand participation in youth sports (launched in September 2019 as the National Youth Sports Strategy) and to promote good nutrition for all Americans. Harder is responsible for overseeing the administration of the programs and strategic plan of the organization.
Sports have always been an integral part of Kristina’s life. She grew up with a dad who was an All-American basketball player at the University of Michigan, and was encouraged to play sports from a young age. She competed in basketball, volleyball, swimming, and soccer while dabbling in tennis and water polo, and culminated her athletic career playing varsity volleyball at the University of Pennsylvania. She also combined her love for sports with her faith by helping to lead the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) group at both her high school and college.
Kristina began working at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Immediate Office of the Secretary. She then became the Policy Coordinator for Opioids and Global Affairs in the Office of the Executive Secretary before joining the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health as the Deputy Chief of Staff and now Chief of Staff.
Kristina is a native of Orange County, California and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Communications and Public Service, with a minor in Hispanic Studies. She went on to receive a Master’s degree in Public Policy (MPP) from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Kristina and her husband Brandon reside in Washington, D.C. Together they serve at their local church and lead mission trips to Kenya and Tanzania, serving orphans and victims of sex trafficking through health and leadership education, sports and fitness classes, relationship building, spiritual development, and construction projects.
ELIZA MCCOY
Director of Education, Outreach, Training & Prevention
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Eliza Harrell began her career as an investigator with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, after graduating from the Westchester County (N.Y.) Police Academy. In 2007, she returned to the D.C. area as a case manager with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, specializing in domestic and international child abductions, while also traveling the country to train local, federal and international law enforcement officers on best-practice response to family abductions and custodial disputes.
Eliza translated this direct service experience into her work at the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, ultimately serving as Director of Marketing & Engagement and overseeing development and marketing efforts for global campaigns against child abduction, sexual abuse and exploitation. She then returned to the local level, as Director of Development & Operations for the Center for Alexandria’s Children, to help expand the organization’s brand awareness and diversify its funding base in line with programmatic mission.
Now as a member of the NCMEC’s Strategic Advancement & Partnerships team, Eliza leads the organization’s education, outreach, training and prevention efforts with the goal of broadening the Center’s reach and support. As part of the prevention efforts, Eliza promotes and assists in the upkeep and use of the NCMEC program, Safe to Compete, which provides direct access to resources to help youth-sports organizations and the families of child athletes protect those children from sexual abuse.
Eliza graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and she is fluent in Spanish. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from George Mason University and a Social Entrepreneurship certificate from the international INSEAD Business School in France.
REBECCA KHOURY
Founder, The Spirit of Trust
President & CEO, MAKO Corporation, Canada
Former CEO, Taekwando Canada
Former President & CEO, Karate Canada
In parallel to her dedicated involvement in the world of amateur sport for almost three decades – as an athlete, coach and administrator – Rébecca Khoury holds an MBA from John Molson School of Business. Rébecca served as the President & Chief Executive Officer of multiple Provincial and National governing bodies in Canada. In 2013, Rébecca’s life-contribution in Canadian sport was recognized by the Governor General of Canada, who presented her with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Currently, Rébecca is using her expertise in governance, ethics and business as the founder of The Spirit of Trust, an NGO dedicated to providing the guidance and support necessary for victims of maltreatment in sports to heal holistically. The Spirit of Trust is founded on the principle of survivors leading survivors and, to that end, Rébecca has travelled to various corners of the world to gain direct insight from the minds of survivors and to better understand how to effectively and efficiently deliver that support and guidance.
BRIAN LEWIS
President, Trinidad & Tobago Olympic Committee
President, Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees
Brian Lewis joined the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) in 1997 and became President in 2013. In 2014, he was also elected as an Executive Member to the Board of the Carribean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) and is now the elected President of CANOC. With a total of 32 years’ experience in sports leadership and an Executive Master’s Degree in Sports Organisation Management from the University of Claude Bernard. Lewis has an established a reputation as a creative and insightful thought leader.
During his time at the TTOC he has served on the Marketing and Finance Committee, working to formulate and implement a marketing plan to identify local and international sponsorship opportunities. As a member of the TTOC Development Committee, he has also created policy guidelines for the Ministry of Sport and provided financial assistance to the High Performance Athletes programme.
In December 2013, Lewis was appointed to the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Modernisation Commission. His other roles include Chairman of the CANOC International and National Olympic Committee Commission, member of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association Reform Commission and Honorary Member of the Pan American Rugby Association Board.
Lewis currently lives in St James, Port-of-Spain, with his wife Sandra.
ARLENE LIMAS
First U.S. Gold Medal Winner in Taekwando (1988)
Chapter President, National Capital Area Olympians/Paralympians
Owner, Power Kix Martial Arts and Fitness
Arlene Limas is an American taekwondo practitioner and multiple international gold medalist. Limas, who is of Mexican and Polish descent, graduated with honors from Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago and studied Political Science at De Paul University.
Limas made history when she became the first American to win a gold medal at the 24th Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea in taekwondo, which made its Olympic debut as an exhibition sport.[3] She is a member of the Taekwondo Hall of Fame.[2] Limas was inducted June 20, 2019 into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame located in Troy, Michigan.
Career achievements:
1986 – World University Championships, Gold Medalist (Berkeley, California)
1987 – National Championships Gold Medalist
1988 – Olympic Team Member (Tae Kwon Do)
1988 – Olympic Gold Medalist – Welterweight Division, Seoul, Korea
1990 – National Championships Gold Medalist
1989,1990 – Olympic Sports Festival Captain (West Team) and Gold Medalist
1990 – Pan-Am Tae Kwon Do Championships (Puerto Rico) Gold Medalist
1990 – World University Games (Spain) Team Captain & Gold Medalist
1990 – World Cup Gold Medalist (Spain)
1991 – National Championships Welterweight Gold Medalist
1991 – Olympic Festival Gold Medalist
1991 – World Championships Gold Medalist (Athens, Greece)
1989 – National Championships Gold Medalist
1998 – U.S. Team Trials Silver Medalist
1998 – Olympic Weight Division Qualifier Gold Medalist
1998 – Choson Cup Olympic Weight Division Invitational Gold Medalist, (Australia)
1998 – Pan Am Games Team Trials Silver Medalist
1999 – U.S. Team Trials Gold Medalist
2010-18 AAU Taekwondo Exec Comm Member and National Coach
Career honors:
2007 – Taekwondo Hall of Fame
1987 – Collegiate Athlete of the Year
1989 – March of Dimes Amateur Athlete of the Year
1989 – Named “Woman of Vision” – Latin Women’s Organization for Business Professional Involvement
1991 – U. S. Taekwondo Union “Woman of the Year”
2000 – Selected as one of the top TKD fighters of the 20th century by TKD Times and Martial Arts Illustrated
2019 inductee Polish American Sports HOF
Member of Chicago Sports HOF
KATRINA PIERCY
LCDR, U.S. Public Health Service
Physical Activity and Nutrition Adviser Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Katrina L. Piercy, PhD, RD, ACSM-CEP is a Physical Activity and Nutrition Advisor in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) in the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and serves as a dietitian officer in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Dr. Piercy advises agency and departmental officials on current physical activity and nutrition science to inform policies and programs related to health promotion and disease prevention. Dr. Piercy manages the physical activity portfolio within ODPHP which includes guiding the development and now implementation of the recently released National Youth Sports Strategy, and she serves as a subject matter expert for the Move Your Way communications campaign to support and encourage more Americans to get the physical activity they need to stay healthy. She led the development of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, released in November 2018, and coordinated efforts across HHS.
CLAY WALKER
Executive Director, National Fitness Foundation
Before his appointment as Executive Director, Walker served as the Chief Operating Officer of PrestoSports, the largest independent collegiate athletics software provider in the U.S. He led the successful sale of PrestoSports to Battery Ventures at the end of 2017. Prior to PrestoSports, he served as CEO of BigTeams, the largest high school athletics software platform in the U.S., where he led fundraising initiatives and the subsequent acquisition of Schedule Star, which had been owned by USA TODAY Sports.
Prior to joining BigTeams, Walker was VP of Business Development at USA TODAY Sports, where he was responsible for strategy, business development and managing a network of more 300 affiliate publishers, reaching an audience of more than 25 million monthly unique visitors. Before joining USA TODAY Sports, he was the Chief Affiliate Officer and one of the co-founders of Big Lead Sports, a digital sports marketing and media company that was acquired by USA Today. Clay also served as the Senior Vice President of the NFL Players Association’s licensing and marketing division for 13 years.
Walker has served as a panelist at SXSW, The World Congress of Sports, The Sports Marketing Symposium, and The Sports Media & Technology Conference, written articles for Athlon Sports Pro Football and Street & Smith’s Pro Football magazines and has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, National Public Radio and the New York Times on a variety of licensing, marketing and fantasy sports issues.
Walker served two terms on the Board of Directors of the East Carolina University Foundation and is currently a member of the East Carolina University Advancement Council. Walker received one of four Outstanding Alumni Awards from East Carolina University in 2005 for outstanding and uncommon achievement in his profession. He was a founding member of the Board of Directors of USA Football and served as the treasurer of the National Council of Youth Sports. Walker also serves on the Advancement Council at Good Council High School. In 2005, he became the first person from a sports union to make the Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 list of most influential people in sports business.
Clay earned a B.A. in English from East Carolina University, an M.B.A. from Colorado State University and an M.S. in Labor Relations from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
SIGA Team
EMANUEL MACEDO DE MEDEIROS
CEO, SIGA
Chairman and CEO, SIGA AMERICA
Emanuel was elected as the first CEO of SIGA on 31 January 2018 after having spearheaded the inception and development of SIGA since November 2015, as Coordinator.
Having commenced his career as a lawyer in 1993, he played a leading role in several national and international sports organisations. After six years as Secretary General of the Portuguese Football League, he co-founded and led the Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) as CEO for a decade. He was also one of the driving forces behind the creation of the World League Association, having been elected its CEO on February 2012.
From 2002 to 2014, Emanuel integrated several Committees and Working Groups within both UEFA and FIFA, including but not limited to the UEFA Professional Football Strategy Board, the UEFA Professional Football Strategy Council and the UEFA Professional Football Committee, as well as the FIFA Club Football Committee, FIFA Task Force “For the Good of the Game” and Working Groups on International Match Calendar and on Regulatory Reform on Sports Agents , among others.
Emanuel played a key role in the creation of the Sports Rights Owners Coalition (SROC), in 2007, a global forum of over 50 international and national sports bodies and competition organisers, with a particular focus on rights issues.
On 1st of July 2008, Emanuel co-founded the European Social Dialogue in the professional football sector under the auspices of the European Commission, and led the employers’ delegation on behalf of the EPFL until March 2014.
Emanuel also holds a seat at the European Union’s Expert Group on Good Governance in Sport, since 2011, and, on March 2012, was appointed Ambassador for Sports Ethics by the Government of Portugal.
In June 2014, Emanuel was appointed CEO of ICSS EUROPE, currently ICSS INSIGHT.
In addition, Emanuel is a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum / PACI’s Advisory Committee, the Consultative Committee of EPAS/Council of Europe and the OECD’s Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade.”
SHELLIE PFOHL
Special Advisor, SIGA AMERICA
Shellie Pfohl has spent her career creating impactful programs, policies and partnerships to improve health, fitness and sports opportunities across the United States and globally.
Currently serving as a special advisor for the Sports Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA), Shellie is leading the expansion of SIGA’s mission to the United States. SIGA America’s focus is on good governance, financial integrity, sports betting integrity and youth development and child protection.
As former President and Chief Executive Officer of the United States Center for SafeSport, she led its start-up and rapid expansion to address sexual abuse within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movements.
Previously, Shellie was appointed by President Barack Obama as Executive Director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. She was responsible for developing the vision, strategy and goals of the Council and directing the organization’s daily operations. In addition, Shellie led the Council’s efforts to support First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to solve the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation.
Shellie has served as Senior Vice President for a fitness technology company where she created strategic partnerships with state, national and international organizations and corporations to provide health and physical education resources for schools and community organizations.
Shellie also co-founded and served as executive director of Be Active North Carolina, a non-profit organization that worked to increase physical activity among North Carolina citizens. While in North Carolina she also served as executive director of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Health (1990 -1998).
Shellie also served as Assistant Director of the National Association of Governor’s Councils on Physical Fitness and Sports (1986 -1988) where she planned and implemented the first International Conference on Physical Fitness and Nutrition.
Shellie is a member of the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Advocacy Committee and serves as a mentor for the Sports Integrity Global Alliance’s Female Sports Mentoring Program.
Shellie is a native of Dubuque, Iowa and received her bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology/Fitness Leadership from Northern Illinois University. She earned a certification in Non-Profit Management from Duke University. Most recently, Shellie completed the Women in Sports and Events Executive Leadership Institute at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.
KATIE SIMMONDS
General Counsel & Senior Director, Global Partnerships, SIGA
Katie is an English qualified lawyer that specializes in sports law. As General Counsel and Senior Director of Global Partnerships, Katie plays an integral role in the development of SIGA, the world`s largest coalition for sport integrity and his been involved in the creation of SIGA since inception. Katie is a member of SIGA’s Executive Committee and reports directly to the CEO on all legal and commercial matters. Amongst other responsibilities, she plays a key role is the coordination of the five SIGA Standing Committees that advise the CEO and Council on the coalition’s core areas of reform, works closely with the early adopters of the SIGA Universal Standards, as well as providing legal advice on the international public tender to the independent jury on the SIGA Independent Rating and Verification System, otherwise known as “SIRVS”.
Katie is responsible for SIGA’s representation office in London and works with the CEO to expand SIGA’s membership worldwide across the five key stakeholder groups: governments, sports organizations, global business, international organizations and civil society. Katie leads the SIGA Global Female Mentorship Program and regularly participates as an expert speaker in international conferences to promote SIGA’s reform agenda. Katie is passionate about sport and practices as often as she can.
ETHAN CUCCARESE
Research & Operations Intern, SIGA
Ethan is a second-year undergraduate studying Business Administration with a concentration in Sport Management and minor in Psychology at the George Washington University. Ethan is currently working as a research and operations intern with SIGA where he is helping the Youth Development & Child Protection Task Force research policies and guidelines from around the world pertaining to this subject in order to develop the first Universal Standards for SIGA in this area of sport. Growing up a student athlete in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ethan recognizes the importance of addressing the development and protection of young athletes and is excited and motivated by the opportunity to work with many distinguished experts from around the world on this topic. Outside of his current involvement with SIGA, Ethan is a member of the George Washington University Sports Business Association and is a co-founder and the current Vice President of Civic Engagement and Community Outreach for the George Washington chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
The SIGA Universal Standards will cover four key areas: recruitment, training, education and protection of children and young athletes in sport. In light of the current global Coronavirus pandemic, the topic of athletes’ health will also be foreseen in these new global standards.
SIGA is creating similar multi-stakeholder task forces with focus on Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. A wider consultation process is also envisaged to ensure the engagement of national and international law enforcement authorities, international institutions, parental organisations, young athletes, universities and other interested parties.