Power The Journey

Game Plan content partners USCAH and RISE and organizational leadership subject matter expert WellsQuest discuss how professional development can aid in staff retention and avoiding burnout. Topics include mental health for staff, creating inclusive environments, and foundational leadership skills.

Liz Reyes is the Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development at the University of Illinois. She has oversight and leadership of the Illini Way Student-Athlete Development program and serves on the leadership team of Department of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Prior to Illinois, she has worked with the Cleveland Browns, the University of Arkansas, Baylor University, and the University of Washington.

Katie Martinez is the Director of Student-Athlete Development at the University of Memphis. She’s had previous stints at Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, and the University of North Dakota. She earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at North Dakota State and a master's degree in higher education at Old Dominion. She is on the Membership and Recruitment Committee and the Student-Athlete Development Programs and Practices Committee within N4A, and she is the proud dog parent.

Charlotte West is a well-respected athletic administrator and has been an instrumental advocate for women’s sports and a pioneer for Title IX. She served as SIU’s Director of Athletics for Women for nearly 30 years, during which time she led the women’s golf team to a National Championship and women’s basketball to a fifth place finish nationally. She was the first recipient of the Honda Award and the Woman Administrator of the Year, which are both given nationally to women who have achieved great things for women’s athletics.

She’s served on numerous NCAA Committees, and was the Director of National Championships and President of the AIAW, while serving on the US Olympic Committee. She’s been inducted into multiple halls of fame - NACDA, the Missouri Valley Conference, and SIU. For her efforts, SIU named their softball facility after her and a room at NCAA HQ has been named in her honor.

Judy Sweet is frequently referred to as a trailblazer and a pioneer in sports - especially for women in sports. She was one of the first female athletic directors in the NCAA to oversee both men’s and women’s programs at UC San Diego. While at UCSD, she served as the first female membership president of the NCAA from 1991. Sweet has been a major proponent of Title IX, and served as the Title IX representative of the Women Leaders in College Sports board, after having served as president there as well. She was a member of the US Olympic Committee’s Task Force on Minorities, and is a co-founder and former president of the board of the Alliance of Women Coaches.For her efforts, she has earned the Honda Award for outstanding achievement in women’s athletics, has been inducted into halls of fame at both the University of Wisconsin and UC San Diego, and she recently earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from UC San Diego.

DaWon Baker is the Associate Athletic Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Colorado University. He’s had prior stints at Nebraska and the NCAA as a part of the postgraduate internship program. In 2019, he co-founded the Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Council of Excellence organization that provides support and resources for diversity officers who work in athletics. He is also an advisory board member for Return On Inclusion (ROI) and an advisory committee member for the Winning Edge Leadership Academy. And finally, a former track and field student-athlete from the University of Missouri and an alum of UCF, where he worked under the tutelage of Dr. Richard Lapchick - a well-respected national expert in diversity management, race relations, academics, sports and social issues.

Dr. Kayleigh McCauley-Sayer is the Director of Membership Services at Move United. Prior to that she worked at Lewis & Clark College in various capacities, including being the executive director of the Center for Social Change and Community Involvement and directing student support services, Title IX programming, and student-athlete development. She’s had stints at the University of New England, East Stroudsburg University, and Texas A&M-Corpus Cristi. She is also the founder of Out in Athletics, which offers comprehensive LGBTQA+ diversity and inclusion consulting and programming for athletics.

Kat Zempolich is a Co-Founder, Board Member, and Director of Podcasting for Morgan's Message and a co-host of The Mental Matchup. She attended Duke University, where she was a member of the Duke Women’s lacrosse team. After earning her B.A. in Public Policy in 2018, she attended Duke’s School of Business and graduated in 2019 with a Master of Science.

Dr. Kensa Gunter works in private practice in the metro-Atlanta area providing clinical and sport/performance psychology services to adolescent and adult populations. She also offers consultation services to organizations and athletic personnel including coaches, certified athletic trainers, athletic administrators, and sports nutritionists. She received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Sport & Exercise Psychology from Argosy University and completed her internship and post-doctoral fellowship at UC Davis. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Georgia, a Master’s in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University.

[Part 2] May is national Mental Health Awareness month so this month we will be talking with experts in the mental health and wellness field about a variety of topics related to athletes and the professionals who support them.  We are starting the month focusing on the college student athlete and today’s guest is …. Dr. Christine Jehu

Dr. Jehu (she/her) is a coffee obsessed clinical sport psychologist & podcaster. She's truly a psychological ninja with a PhD in psychology & a black belt in karate. Dr. Jehu's own podcast is called Beyond the Couch, where the mission is to break the stigma of mental health & normalize help seeking. In the show she leaves the psychobabble at the door, and speaks openly about growth & struggles, challenges the status quo, and dives deep into exploration in all areas of health & wellness, because all roads lead back to our mental health.