Collegiate Athlete Thought Leader Group
The USOPC’s collegiate athlete thought leader group was established to integrate feedback from current and graduated student-athletes into the collegiate partnerships department's priority areas: NCAA policy initiatives (pathway project), leadership structures (alignment project) and advocacy efforts (messaging project). The thought leaders are comprised of sport-specific collegiate national team athletes that are at different stages of their performance journey and represent a variety of schools, conferences and sports.
Photo | Name | Information |
|---|---|---|
 | Jamie Redman | Chair, AAC representative Yale University Rowing |
 | Alison Gibson | University of Texas Diving |
 | Katie Holloway | CSU - Northridge Sitting Volleyball |
 | Rachel Garcia | University of California, Los Angeles Softball |
 | Ashton Eaton | University of Oregon Track and Field |
 | Hunter Woodhall | University of Arkansas Para Track and Field |
 | Sara Studebaker-Hall | Dartmouth University Skiing |
 | Daria Schneider | Columbia University Fencing |
 | Megan Keller | Boston College Ice Hockey |
 | Sho Nakamori | Stanford University Gymnastics |
 | Haleigh Washington | Pennsylvania State University Volleyball |
 | Nathan Adrian | University of California, Berkeley Swimming |
 | Tony Ramos | University of Iowa Wrestling |
The thought leaders are assembled into three subcommittees and have been charged with developing short- and long-term recommendations that will shape key projects within the collegiate partnerships department’s priority areas: pathway, messaging, and alignment.
The pathway subcommittee aims to identify and remove impediments facing athletes (current and post-grad) that are utilizing the collegiate system and competing internationally. Specifically, the group is focused on challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, including improved communication across all stakeholder audiences and collegiate training facility access.
The thought leaders are assembled into three subcommittees and have been charged with developing short- and long-term recommendations that will shape key projects within the collegiate partnerships department’s priority areas: pathway, messaging, and alignment.
Given the continued evolution of sport at the collegiate level, the messaging subcommittee focused efforts around the relaunch of the Olympians Made Here and Paralympians Made Here collegiate solidarity campaigns. The group has created new narratives for the campaign, which are focused on the value of college sports, unifying school communities and exploring why athletes play their sports.
The thought leaders are assembled into three subcommittees and have been charged with developing short- and long-term recommendations that will shape key projects within the collegiate partnerships department’s priority areas: pathway, messaging and alignment.
The alignment subcommittee recognizes the importance of aligning stakeholders between the collegiate and Olympic/Paralympic landscapes. The group provides guidance in shaping and formalizing athlete engagement at multiple levels of sport (colleges, National Governing Bodies and USOPC).