Washington, DC. – The LEAD1 Association (LEAD1), which represents the athletic directors of the 131-member schools of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), announced today its Diversity Fellowship Program Class of 2022-23. The program, which launched last year, aims to increase senior-diverse leadership throughout the FBS by providing athletics administrators of color and female athletic administrators with a year-long immersion program to help them continue to advance up the administrative ranks in college athletics. Each class contains administrators who are deemed to be next in line to assume the athletics director position.
LEAD1’s 2021-22 inaugural Diversity Fellowship Program class was highlighted by two senior-level administrators who stepped into athletics directors positions within the last year: Bryan Blair from the University of Toledo and Allan Haller from Michigan State University. Other members of last year’s class who have also advanced in their careers include, Natasha Oakes, now the Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator at West Virginia University, Delise O’Meally, now the Vice President for International Relations at the United States Olympics and Paralympic Committee, and Keli Zinn, now the Executive Deputy Athletic Director and Chief Operating Officer at Louisiana State University.
To select this year’s Fellowship class, LEAD1’s oversight Committee, comprised of five experienced and successful athletics administrators, executed an exhaustive search process examining feedback from athletics directors, top search firms, and other resources. The committee includes Sean Frazier, Director of Athletics at Northern Illinois University, China Jude, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion for the Denver Broncos, Debbie Yow, athletics director emerita for NC State, Doug Knuth, athletics director emeritus for the University of Nevada, and Dan Guerrero, former athletics director at UCLA, who now serves as president at the United States International University Sports Federation.
The Committee selected the following 12 administrators deemed most ready to assume the athletics director position. Each fellow will be matched with an athletics director mentor and participate in virtual monthly discussions with college sports leaders.
LEAD1 Diversity Fellowship Program Class of 2022-23
Name Institution Position
Tim Wise University of Notre Dame Senior Associate Athletics Director
Deneé Barracato Northwestern University Deputy Athletics Director
Courtney Vinson Northern Illinois University Senior Associate Athletics Director/SWA
Jamaal Walton University of Washington Senior Associate Athletics Director
Katie Fraumann University of Michigan Executive Associate Athletics Director
Jennifer Simon O’Neill University of California, Berkeley Chief of Staff/SWA
Ron Moses Old Dominion University Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director
Darrice Griffin University of Georgia Senior Deputy Athletics Director
Kristene Kelly Vanderbilt University Deputy Athletics Director/SWA
Lauren Adee Southern Methodist University Senior Associate Athletics Director
Haven Fields Ball State University Deputy Athletics Director
Elliott Daniels Michigan State University Senior Associate Athletics Director
“We are excited to welcome 12 new fellows to our Diversity Fellowship Program and are very proud of our search committee who devoted a significant amount of time to select this outstanding group,” said Tom McMillen, President and CEO of LEAD1. “We look forward to collaborating with some of the brightest stars in our industry and helping shine a spotlight on their talents.”
For more information regarding the program, please contact Mariama Barry at mariama@lead1a.com.
About the LEAD1 Association:
LEAD1, founded in 1986 and formerly the Division 1A Athletic Directors Association, represents the athletics directors of the 131 member universities of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), that encompasses 42 states, 55,000 student athletes, and more than 25,000 athletic administrators. Key to LEAD1’s mission is advocating on policy facing NCAA Division I FBS athletic departments, promoting consensus among FBS athletic directors, and providing valuable services to member schools – all dedicated towards supporting the success of student-athletes and future of college sports. Since 2015, LEAD1 has been led by the Honorable Tom McMillen, a former Congressman, college basketball All-American, Rhodes Scholar, and 11-year NBA player. For more information, please visit www.LEAD1Association.com.
