The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) formally named the complete membership of its Advocacy Council, bringing collectively distinguished leaders to strengthen and advance the way forward for faculty swimming and diving.
The Council, established by the CSCAA Board of Directors in 2025, will present strategic steerage, advocacy, and philanthropic management in help of the Association’s mission to guard, protect, and broaden collegiate swimming and diving alternatives.
“On behalf of the CSCAA, I want to sincerely thank each member of the Advocacy Council for their willingness to serve our sport,” stated CSCAA President Rachel Stratton-Mills. “The caliber of leaders who have agreed to lend their time, expertise, and influence to this effort is truly remarkable. Their collective experience and commitment will strengthen our Association and help ensure collegiate swimming and diving continues to thrive for generations to come.”
Following the announcement of the Council’s preliminary Task Force earlier this yr, the complete Council has now been assembled and held its inaugural assembly on Tuesday, July 21, marking the start of its work to deal with the quickly evolving collegiate athletics panorama.
The Council represents leaders from Fortune 500 firms, larger training, know-how, healthcare, finance, sports activities media, legislation, entrepreneurship, and public service. While every member has constructed an distinctive profession exterior of teaching, they share a typical connection by means of collegiate swimming and diving and a dedication to preserving the alternatives the game supplies.
Immediately, The Advocacy Council will start figuring out strategic priorities and establishing working teams targeted on the long-term sustainability of collegiate swimming and diving.
“The future of college swimming and diving requires thoughtful leadership, strong partnerships, a deep understanding of the evolving landscape of higher education and college athletics, and, of course, new ideas,” stated Samantha Barany, Executive Director of the CSCAA. “We are incredibly fortunate to have assembled a group of accomplished leaders who care deeply about our sport and are willing to invest their expertise, relationships, and perspectives to help ensure collegiate swimming and diving continues to thrive for generations to come.”
The CSCAA Advocacy Council will collaborate with the CSCAA Executive Board and the Association’s Athletic Administrator Board consultant, Brad Boswell of Appalachian State University, to assist advance the Association’s strategic priorities. The Council’s work may even be supported by Tom Paullin, an Illinois State swimming alumnus and former Vice President for Development and External Affairs at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, who will present strategic steerage and philanthropic experience.
Mike Balow – Vice President, CBRE; Michigan State University Board of Trustees. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Balow brings intensive management expertise in business actual property, company technique, and better training governance.
Chris Beach – President, Hawksbill General Partner, LLC; Former Partner, Pequot Capital. A Columbia University swimming alumnus, Beach has constructed a distinguished profession in funding administration and strategic management throughout the monetary sector.
Brian W. Casey – President, Colgate University. A former captain of the University of Notre Dame swimming crew, Casey has served as president of a number of establishments of upper training and is a acknowledged chief in college governance.
Carter Cast – Clinical Professor, Northwestern Kellogg School of Management; Operating Partner, Pritzker Private Capital. Former CEO of Walmart.com, Cast is an completed entrepreneur, government, writer, and nationally acknowledged thought chief on innovation and management.
Curtis Friends – Vice President of Marketing, ESPN. A graduate of Morehouse College and Georgia Tech, Friends leads strategic advertising and marketing initiatives for one of many world’s premier sports activities media organizations and brings intensive expertise in model growth and fan engagement.
CJ Fiala – Vice President, Enterprise (Life Sciences & Pharma), Salesforce. A former Vice Chair of the USA Swimming Board of Directors Nominating Committee, Fiala combines government know-how management with intensive nonprofit governance expertise.
Ed Foulke – Partner, Fisher & Phillips LLP; Former Administrator, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Foulke has spent a long time advising organizations on labor and employment legislation whereas additionally serving in senior federal management.
Trevor Freeland – Managing Director, Deutsche Bank. A University of Virginia swimming alumnus, Freeland brings intensive experience in finance and capital markets together with a lifelong connection to collegiate swimming.
Liz Homrig – Lead Program Manager, Air Force Research Laboratory Regional Network – Midwest; Former NCAA Assistant Director of Championships. An Emory University swimming alumna, Homrig has led nationwide championship initiatives whereas constructing a profession targeted on analysis, innovation, and program administration.
James N. Johnson, MD – Former Physician, U.S. Olympic Team and USA National Swim Team. A Vanderbilt University and Stanford University alumnus, Dr. Johnson is a nationally revered sports activities medication doctor with a long time of expertise supporting elite athletes.
Tom Johnson – Project Manager; Collegiate Swimming Advocate. Johnson turned a nationally acknowledged advocate by means of his management in efforts to protect the Cal Poly swimming program and has continued to champion collegiate Olympic sports activities.
Ronald Kaminski – Senior Vice President, Quanta Services; Founder, Hydrosite LLC. An Iowa swimming alumnus and USA Swimming trustee, Kaminski has mixed entrepreneurial success with longstanding philanthropic and governance help for the game.
Nick Lake – Strategy & Operations, Google. A former Bain & Company advisor and Emory University swimming alumnus, Lake brings experience in know-how technique, operations, and organizational development.
Margaret Mason – Entrepreneur and Business Owner. A former captain of the Michigan State swimming crew, Mason contributes entrepreneurial management and a ardour for creating alternatives that strengthen the game.
Tom Munley – Chief Executive Officer, Analytics8 AI. A Michigan State University swimming alumnus, Munley is a know-how government whose experience spans synthetic intelligence, analytics, and data-driven enterprise technique.
Karl Peterson – Chairman, Sabre Corporation and Accel Entertainment. A Notre Dame swimming alumnus, Peterson was the co-founder of Hotwire.com, has led quite a few private and non-private firms all through his distinguished government profession and presently serves on a number of company boards.
David Roach – Former Director of Athletics and Head Swimming Coach. Roach served as head coach at Brown University and the University of Tennessee earlier than serving as Director of Athletics at Colgate University, Brown University, and Fordham University, bringing a long time of expertise in collegiate athletics management.
Brian Rodde – Managing Partner, Makena Capital. A Stanford University swimming alumnus and Stanford Athletics Board member, Rodde brings intensive funding administration and governance experience; he additionally sits on the USA Swimming Foundation Board.
Nancy Schumacher – Senior Vice President & General Manager, National Geographic Expeditions and Adventures by Disney. A Princeton University swimming alumna, Schumacher has constructed a distinguished profession main international journey, hospitality, and client expertise companies.
Michael Schwartz – Chairman, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board. An Illinois State University swimming alumnus, Schwartz has held senior management positions in public service and authorities administration all through his profession.
Ryan Spoon – President, Yahoo Sports Media Group. A Duke University swimming alumnus, Spoon is without doubt one of the sports activities trade’s main digital media executives, serving to form the way forward for sports activities content material, know-how, and fan engagement.