The board of directors for the U.S. Center for SafeSport plays a critical part in achieving our mission. As the Center is the first and only organization of its kind, the board provides a depth and breadth of relevant experience to advise our team in a unique and dynamic landscape.
Our board is comprised of independent board members, including experts in abuse prevention and investigation, nonprofit and business leadership, ethics compliance, sports executives, and elite athletes. Together, these experts provide governance and key perspectives for growth as the Center evaluates opportunities to better serve athletes and all those involved in amateur sports organizations.
Champions for our Cause
April Holmes
April Holmes is a speaker and executive coach whose perspectives on overcoming adversity to achieve athletic success have her in high demand. After losing part of her left leg in an accident in 2001, she rebounded to become one of the century’s most accomplished athletes with four Paralympic Games appearances, three Paralympic medals (one gold, two bronze), six World Championship medals, and more than a dozen world and U.S. record performances in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and long-jump events. She is the cofounder and CEO of HeroHangout, a celebrity-driven learning community mentoring, engaging, and empowering youth through life experiences.
Chair of Board
Chair of Executive Committee
Speaker & Executive Coach,
Chief Executive Officer, HeroHangout
Chicka Elloy
Chicka Elloy is 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.
Vice-Chair of Board
Chair of Nominating and Governance Committee
Senior Vice President of Sales, Pearl Lemon Group
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.
Board Treasurer
Chair of Finance Committee
Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer, Women’s Tennis Association
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 Member
Owner and Licensed Counselor, Intermodal Interventions
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 Member
Chief Executive Officer, Employee Assistance Professionals Association International
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 Member
Senior Vice President of Partnership Development & Operations, National Football League
Katy Spaulding
Katy Spaulding is the chief operating officer at Method Communications, bringing over 16 years of strategic communications and operational leadership experience to her role on the Board of Directors at the U.S. Center for SafeSport. With a background consulting for major brands and a decade in senior operations roles, Katy offers valuable insights into internal and external communications and organizational management. Katy also volunteers on the SafeSport Athlete Advisory Team (SAAT), enabling her to bridge the perspectives of athletes and organizational leadership and contributing to the Center’s mission of championing respect and ending abuse in sports.
A lifelong multi-sport athlete, Katy is currently a weekend golfer and amateur equestrian in the sport of three-day eventing, competing and volunteering 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.
Audit Committee Member
Chief Operating Officer, Method Communications
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 Member
Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, NFP