The U.S. Center for SafeSport’s Board of Directors has three standing committees: Finance, Audit, and Nominating & Governance. Each board member serves on one of these committees. In addition, the individuals below serve on one or more of these committees to provide expertise and perspective to help the Board guide the Center’s mission.
Champions for our Cause
Matt Cenedella
As Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer for the Women’s Tennis Association, Matt assists the chief executive officer in numerous areas including strategic planning, member relations, and financial development. He oversees the WTA’s finance, fast-data monetization, treasury, human resources, compliance, information technology, and office administration, as well as onsite operations. Prior to joining the WTA in 2010, he held roles with IMG Worldwide and finance roles at several other institutions. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Notre Dame and Master of Business Administration from New York University, and holds Certified Public Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor designations.
Audit Committee Chair
Chicka Elloy
Chicka Elloy is vice president of people at Mavrck, a leading influencer marketing software-as-a-service (SaaS) company. Chicka, an Australian-American, has for two decades been a human resources executive specializing in global employee engagement, experience, and diversity. He began his career as an educator teaching students around the world on brain-based learning and culture. He has served on the American Camp Association national board as treasurer and obtained a master’s of human resource management from Cornell University.
Nominating & Governance Chair
Kevin Flaherty
Kevin Flaherty previously led the National Football League’s Club Finance team responsible for leaguewide financial analysis, modeling and benchmarking used to inform ownership on the overall league economic model and drive decision-making related to league financial policies, new stadium projects, debt financings, revenue-sharing, labor negotiations, and new league initiatives. Kevin also served as liaison to the NFL Investment Committee, which oversees management of the NFL’s pension plans. Prior to joining the NFL in 2008, Kevin was a research analyst at GE Capital, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs. He began his career in technology investment banking at PaineWebber. He holds a bachelor of science in biology from Yale and is a CFA charter holder.
Finance Committee Chair
Autumn Ascano
Autumn Ascano (JD, MS Clinical Psychology, PhD Developmental Psychology [in progress]) is a licensed counselor and owner at Intermodal Interventions. Intermodal Interventions provides mental health services with an emphasis on trauma intervention and court related services. Ms. Ascano specializes in developmental psychology and working with young children with trauma history, as well as those who are exceptional. She also consults on legal matters which have a child development component. Prior to being a counselor, Ms. Ascano practiced law as a guardian ad litem and custody investigator. In both career paths she investigated recent and historic child abuse allegations. She continues to provide teaching on topics such as juridogenic harm, the developmental considerations of children in legal matters, and developmental considerations of trauma for exceptional children.
Audit Committee
Craig Bradley
As vice president of finance for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Craig Bradley works closely with executive management, oversees all club financial operations, and is a member of the risk management and Dominican operation committees. He joined the team in 1997 as business manager of baseball operations, became controller in 2004, and was promoted to his current position in 2006. In 2012, Bradley was awarded the D-backs’ first-ever Innovation Award for his efforts creating the team’s Give Back League to increase community volunteerism, identify and develop leaders, and build upon team culture. He graduated from Arizona State University in 1988, is an active board member of Dignity Health Foundation, East Valley, and is a founding board member of About Care, Inc.
Finance Committee
Kimberly Fields
Kimberly Fields is Senior Vice President of Partnership Development and Operations for the National Football League and one of few women to have achieved such a high ranking in the NFL. Prior to her current position, Fields served in other NFL leadership roles, including Senior Vice President for the Office of the Commissioner; Vice President of Football Strategy, Business Development, and Analytics; and Vice President for Player Engagement. She was an accomplished NCAA Division I track-and-field athlete while an undergraduate at the University of Virginia and went on to earn a graduate degree from UVA and her J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law.
Finance Committee
Shakira Henderson
Shakira Henderson is a hospital-based nurse researcher, health educator, and certified neonatal nurse. Currently, she serves as the Vice President, Research Officer/Clinical Research Integration Officer for UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine. She previously served as founder and senior administrator of the Vidant Health Center for Research and Grants. She holds dual doctoral degrees, PhD and DNP, and master’s degrees in public health, anatomical sciences, and advanced nursing practice with a sub-specialization in nursing education. She serves as an elected member and neonatal expert on the national board for the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses and has recently been elected president for 2022-23.
Nominating & Governance Committee
Scott Rochelle
As president and chief executive officer, Scott Rochelle oversees the National Basketball Retired Players Association’s overall strategy and execution of its mission to successfully transition former NBA and WNBA players into life after basketball. With a focus on organizational growth, his leadership prioritizes leveraging strategic partnerships for the benefit of former players. Scott has previously served the Association as General Counsel as a senior executive leading the areas of partnerships, programming, and chapter development. He has served on the Board of Trustees for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame since 2018. Prior to joining the Association, Scott led the Sports and Entertainment practice group for a Chicago law firm, with a focus on professional athlete business consulting, contract, and endorsement representation. Scott earned a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College, a master’s in education, and juris doctor degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Nominating & Governance Committee
Katy Spaulding
Katy Spaulding is the chief of staff for a global integrated communications agency, where she supports business operations, cross-functional collaboration, and employee engagement. She has more than 15 years of strategic communications experience, consulting for some of the biggest consumer and technology brands in the world and has spent the last nine years in senior operations roles, including as general manager and senior vice president of client service and operations, overseeing the company’s Northwest region. Katy is an amateur equestrian in the sport of three-day eventing and competes and volunteers throughout the Pacific Northwest. She graduated with a degree in public relations and business administration from the University of Oregon and lives in Portland with her husband and two dogs. Katy is a member of the volunteer SafeSport Athlete Advisory Team (SAAT) and will remain in that role acting as a liaison between SAAT and the board.
Audit Committee
Julie Fabsik-Swarts
Julie Fabsik-Swarts, MS, CFRE, CAP, CEAP, is a skilled and dynamic nonprofit, association, and sports leader with more than 35 years of experience. Raised in New York City, Julie has worked for Pennsylvania State University, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the Seattle Organizing Committee of the Goodwill Games, the Purple Heart Foundation, UC Berkeley, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania, and the American College. Julie also led the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association and served as executive director of USA Synchronized (Artistic) Swimming. In addition, she led the National Postdoctoral Association, serving over 80,000 early career researchers. In her spare time, Julie has served as a nationally-rated women’s gymnastics judge and is certified to officiate collegiate tumbling and acrobatics (NCATA) competitions. Julie is currently CEO of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association, an organization dedicated to supporting thousands of professionals through employee assistance programs throughout the world.
Finance Committee
Pamela Wheeler
Pamela Wheeler is senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer at insurance firm NFP, and a lecturer in Columbia University’s Master of Science in Sports Management program. Among numerous firsts, Wheeler was the founding director of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, the first woman to lead a professional sports union, and the negotiators of the first collective bargaining agreement in women’s professional sports. She also recently consulted with NFL Operations on their diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts, as well as executive leadership development. She was named one of the 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports by Sports Illustrated and one of the 50 Most Powerful Blacks in Sports by Black Enterprise. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and her J.D. from Boston University.
Nominating & Governance Committee