Advisory Board
Chris Ballard
- Author and senior writer, Sports Illustrated (CA)
- Chris has written 14 cover stories for Sports Illustrated as well as three books. His most recent book, The Art of a Beautiful Game, has received rave reviews.
Josh Byrnes
- General Manager, San Diego Padres (CA)
- The former General Manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Josh also earned a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox in his role as Assistant General Manager.
Amie Creagh
- Dean, Deerfield Academy (MA)
- Ms. Creagh was a two-sport captain and Regional All-American lacrosse player for Haverford College. A career educator, Amie teaches Spanish and coaches in addition to her responsibilities as Dean.
Jeaney Garcia
- Athletic Director, Punahou School (HI)
- In 2009 Jeaney, a former two sport Division I athlete at Kansas State University, became the first female AD in the history of Punahou. Over the past five years, Punahou's athletics program has been ranked among the top 3 in the nation by Sports Illustrated.
Martin Jacobsen
- Dean, Martin Luther King H.S. (NY)
- The center of numerous documentaries, Coach Jacobsen has led his nationally ranked MLK boys soccer team to 12 NYC titles and a career record of 300-19-11.
Bridget Laird
- Executive Director, WINGS (SC)
- A former captain of her nationally ranked NC State soccer team, Ms. Laird later earned her Master's degree from Concordia University (MN), and in 2008 she was recognized as a promising leader on the Forty under 40 list in the Charleston Regional Business Journal.
Pete Mockaitus
- Author and national speaker on leadership (IL)
- Mr. Mockaitus has done work with HOBY, Bain and Company and the Bridgespan Group; he is the author of The Student Leader's Field Guide and Team Up: Becoming Accountable to your Dreams.
Neil Phillips
- Founder/Director, Visible Men (MD)
- Mr. Phillips was an all-conference, two sport athlete (football and basketball) at Harvard University before taking on leadership positions with the Positive Coaching Alliance, One on One Basketball and then as Assistant Headmaster at Landon School (MD).
Tad Roach
- Headmaster, St. Andrew's School (Middletown, DE)
- Mr. Roach is a graduate of Williams College; he has served as the Headmaster at St. Andrew's since 1997. Two of Mr. Roach's four children, Z and Matt, are SportsChallenge alums; Matt is now a career educator and has coached with SportsChallenge for three summers.
Tina Syer
- Associate Director, Positive Coaching Alliance (CA)
- A former Academic All-American field hockey player at Stanford University, Tina has coached at the high school, college and olympic development levels. She has presented over 200 coaching and leadership workshops around the country.
