THE ASCENDANT ATHLETE - Key Persons
Alicia is a peacebuilding specialist with seven years of experience helping communities manage and mitigate conflict and building positive relationships between citizens and their government. Currently, Alicia serves as the Technical Manager for the Countering Violent Extremism practice area at Creative Associates International. She manages a portfolio of programs aimed at reducing radicalization and recruitment among vulnerable populations from Afghanistan to Rwanda. Alicia supports a number of organizations working on criminal justice reform, racial justice, affordable housing, women's rights, LGBT rights, and immigrant rights. Her favorite team is the Phillies.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director at Buckminster Fuller Institute
- Senior Advisor Climate Change
Amanda is the Executive Director at Buckminster Fuller Institute and an active member of the international community addressing imminent global challenges. She previously held the role of Executive Director of Project Drawdown. She serves as advisor to the Center for Carbon Removal and is a member of the steering committee for the Nexus Global Climate Change Working Group. Other positions she has held include lecturer at Presidio Graduate School; co-founder of The Hero Hatchery; Business Partnership Coordinator at 350.org; and AmeriCorp Sustainable Communities and Education Fellow. Amanda lectures and speaks publicly on such wide-ranging topics as biochar, regenerative design, and carbon drawdown strategies. Her favorite teams are the Cote d'Ivoire national soccer team and the Portland Sea Dogs.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director for EXACT Sports
- Senior Advisor Programs and Assessment
Barry is Executive Director for EXACT Sports, the creators of the #GoMental movement. EXACT assists professional, college and high school athletes to own their greatness. He leads the EXACT team in conducting & publishing performance research, overseeing their 100+ national events and developing mental performance and assessment technology. EXACT has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Barry supports Fields of Dreams Uganda, he lives in Chicago, and he loves playing soccer and golf. He is unwilling to reveal his favorite sports team due to conflict of interest issues!
Has years of experience leading teams and designing and managing programs that address public policy challenges. He has worked as a social entrepreneur, a State Department official, an international development practitioner, and a teacher. After the 9/11 attacks, he spent a year living in Jordan and Egypt and traveling around the Middle East so to better understand America's national security challenges. He wrote a book about that experience, Live from Jordan (2007), and went on to design and manage community development programs at the US State Department and as an international development practitioner. Convinced that we were not taking advantage of America's greatest asset - the American people - Ben founded and directed America's Unofficial Ambassadors, a soft power initiative that sends Americans to volunteer in the Muslim World to help address human development challenges and to then share their experiences in their own communities. Ben started up The Ascendant Athlete in 2018 as a way to address some of the deep challenges revealed by the 2016 elections and to support professional athletes to advocate and lead in a more effective way. Ben is from Pittsburgh, he served with AmeriCorps in Colorado and Texas, and he lives in the Bay Area with his wife and two children. His favorite team is the Steelers (though he loved the Bad Boy Pistons), and he supports Public Radio, the ACLU, and Critical Exposure among other organizations.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Union Square Learning
- Senior Advisor Education
David is the Executive Director of Union Square Learning, where he works with educational organizations to develop policy ideas and with public charter schools to improve student achievement. He was previously education policy advisor to Governor Andrew Cuomo, where he negotiated a $53 billion education budget. From 2005- 2011, David headed projects on high school reform and worked on the development of the Common Core State Standards at the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices. He began his career as a charter corps member of Teach for America, teaching middle school math in South Central Los Angeles. David earned his B.A. from Vanderbilt University and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He helped found 826DC, a creative writing program for students in Washington D.C., and his favorite teams are the San Antonio Spurs, Green Bay Packers and the Baltimore Orioles.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- International Development Specialist
Emma is an international development specialist who has managed community development projects in a dozen countries. Emma's experiences growing up in East Africa and the values of her Jesuit-educated parents have driven her commitment to social justice, in the United States and abroad. Emma has worked with leading non-profit organizations and consulting firms to help stakeholders from U.S. government clients to community-based organizations address issues of food scarcity, violent extremism, education, and governance. Emma holds a master's degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University, and a bachelor's degree in international relations from Boston University. She supports Mercy Corps, and her favorite team is the New England Patriots.
Jamie is a writer, storyteller and organizer of things, people and information. Her career included work with World Cup Soccer, the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts, and Manhattan Theatre Club, before she transitioned into administrative roles in both higher education and K-12 settings. Her writing has appeared in TeenVogue.com, The Washington Post, Salon and many other outlets. In 2016 she co-founded Lancaster Action Now Coalition (LANC), which protects and empowers marginalized and oppressed communities in Lancaster (PA). Jamie supports Planned Parenthood, Birth Education Beyond the Ordinary, and Public Radio. She loves college football and the Steelers.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Communications
Jennifer has helped consumer product, health, and wellness clients formulate successful strategies to drive brand awareness, forge powerful alliances and overcome creative roadblocks. She has worked for several global PR agencies leading Fortune 500 accounts. An entrepreneur at heart, Jennifer also founded two companies - The Collective PR, a lifestyle agency and The Communications Studio, a boutique firm specializing in marketing to women. Jennifer supports a number of causes that include animal rights, education, child development, women's and family health, and women's empowerment in the workplace. Her favorite team is the Mets.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Public Health
- Senior Vice President of Ambulatory Operations and Professional Services at Boston Medical Center
Joe Camillus is senior vice president of ambulatory operations and professional services at Boston Medical Center. Unwavering in its commitment to the community, BMC is a private, not-for- profit, 567-bed, academic medical center located in Boston's historic South End. With an annual budget of $2.8 billion, BMC is the largest safety net health system in New England. Joe holds a B.A. in government and international relations from the University of Notre Dame, an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management, and an M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health, where he was awarded a Zuckerman Fellowship in public service. Joe's favorite team is the Steelers and he supports the Greater Boston Food Bank.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Fundraising and Donor Cultivation
Jordan is the Founding President of Your Mission Possible and has held leadership positions at Collegiate Directions, Center for Adoption Support and Education, DC Central Kitchen, and the Disability Rights Legal Center. As a fundraising and strategic communications professional, Jordan has a wealth of experience drafting proposals for federal and foundation grants; planning and executing events from leadership conferences and to charity walks; managing online giving campaigns; and building major donor and giving profiles. Jordan supports United Spinal, the Smithsonian, and DC Central Kitchen, and his favorite teams are the Ravens, Orioles, and Wizards.
Kathleen Gillen is a Washington DC-based professional, currently working in the refugee resettlement field. She has several years of experience in education and international development, working with organizations such as Teach For America, Uncommon Schools, and America's Unofficial Ambassadors. Kathleen has an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University and a B.A. in International Relations and History from Lehigh University. Kathleen's favorite team is the New York Rangers, and she supports the International Refugee Assistance Project and the Immigrant Defense Project.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Strategic Planning and Assessment
- Strategy Consultant
Michael is a strategy consultant with more than 12 years of experience across the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and deep expertise in global development, catalytic philanthropy, and corporate social responsibility. He previously led the boutique consulting practice at Tshikululu Social Investments - South Africa's leading corporate social responsibility advisory firm - where he advised executives and trustees for some of the country's best-known companies, corporate foundations, and private philanthropies. He is also an experienced business strategist, who specializes in designing and launching new social impact programs and advising clients on strategic planning, new business processes and management systems, and strategic partnership opportunities. Michael supports the International Rescue Committee (IRC) U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program and the Southern Poverty Law Center, and his favorite team is the Portland Trail Blazers.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Programs and Events
Michele Rosenthal is a skilled community relations and government relations professional who spent 10 years as the Community Relations Manager for the Pittsburgh Steelers. While working with the Steelers, she developed and strengthened relationships with community stakeholders and the local and national media on behalf of players, staff, and the organization. Prior to her work for the Steelers, Michele spent 5 years as the Senior Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Pittsburgh where she provided counsel and guidance to the Mayor and his team, worked on the Mayor's government relations priorities, and managed implementation of a wide range of special projects. Michele also previously served as the Chief of Staff to a member of the PA House of Representatives. Michele supports Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh and her favorite team is … the Steelers.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Civil Rights and Criminal Justice Reform
Pippa served in senior roles at The White House and U.S. Department of Justice during the Obama Administration. At the White House, she developed policy to support the creative and innovative industries, such as film, music, technology, sports, broadcasting, pharmaceuticals, and fashion. At DOJ, she was a member of the Senior Executive Service and supervised all major matters of the Civil Rights Division and the Access to Justice Office. Before her government service, Pippa was a Litigation Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where her practice consisted of high-stakes litigation in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, on topics that included constitutional law, voting rights, affirmative action, and poverty law. Pippa clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court and for Judge Ann C. Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, IL. She has her undergraduate degree from Stanford University, her Master's from Harvard University, and her law degree from Columbia Law School. She serves on the Board of Directors of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy; the Center for Democracy & Technology; and the March on Washington Film Festival. Her favorite professional team is the Golden State Warriors.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor Climate Change and Startups
Ryan is a leading expert in startups accelerator programs and the author of, Accelerate This! Inside the World of Startup Accelerators and Incubators. He leverages his deep experience in accelerators to design and run programs in cleantech, oceantech and carbontech. His recent work includes helping found OceanSOS, consulting with Schmidt Marine Technology Partners, co-founding Ocean Cluster Indonesia, facilitating the Advanced Energy Summit in Shanghai, and helping the Center for Carbon Removal to structure their new accelerator and fund. He a strategy teacher at two MBA programs in the Bay Area and has worked at Elemental Excelerator to improve systems that impact energy, water, agriculture and transportation. Ryan has an MBA from The Presidio Graduate School and a BA from the University of Wisconsin. His favorite team is the group who make Burning Man happen every year.