NCYS Leadership

Wayne was appointed as Executive Director on July 1, 2018. He served as Senior Director, Sports, Fitness & Recreation for Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) for 15 years, and joined BGCA as Director, Program Planning in June 2003. He was responsible for program planning and assessment efforts. Wayne previously served as the director for the Cleveland (Ohio) and DeKalb County Georgia Recreation Divisions. He also has front office experience with the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Orioles. 

Wayne served as Chairman of the United States Olympic Committee’s Multi-Sport Organization Council. He holds a Master’s in Sports Administration & Facility Management from Ohio University and a Bachelor’s in Journalism from Howard University. He is married to Phillippa Moss and they have one son, Na’im.

Adam is the CEO of USA Artistic Swimming (USAAS). Formerly known as U.S. Synchronized Swimming, it is the United States national governing body for the sport. Adam has more than a decade of experience with National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). He previously served as Member Services Director at USA Field Hockey and Manager of Community Partnerships at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Born in Hawk Run, Pennsylvania, Adam played collegiate football and received his bachelor’s degree in sports administration from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. He earned a master’s degree in education with a focus in sport management from Old Dominion University.

Wanda is the first director of graduate business programs for the School of Business at New Jersey City University (NJCU), and was the former founding chair of the management department. An entrepreneur, sports management and sports marketing consultant, she has more than 30 years of experience as a senior global non-profit sports management executive, working on four Summer and one Winter Olympic Games. She is the newly appointed Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) for NJCU to the NCAA. Prior to entering higher education, Wanda was Deputy Executive Director of USA Baseball, the national governing body for the sport, and was responsible for the overall direction and management of marketing efforts for a new Olympic sport raising more than $3 million annually.

Jack is the Founder and Chairman, CoachSafely Foundation. Its mission is to limit youth sports-related injuries through research, advocacy and education of coaches, parents, physical educators and other influential figures in young athletes’ lives. Jack is a legendary college football coach. He was most recently the head coach at Jacksonville State University with stops at Auburn, Arkansas, Clemson, Baylor, Livingston and North Alabama. He formed the CoachSafely Foundation, which has grown from consultancy to policy-lobbying non-profit to 501(c)(3) research and education organization designed to set a higher standard for youth sports safety policy, education, research and community outreach.

Gil is a Sport Management Professor and Departmental Chair at the University of New Haven. He has some 30 years of experience in the sports sector. Gil is a specialist in sport law, finance and facility management. He has written more than 12 books on sport risk management, facility management, esports and sport finance and published more than 300 articles. Gil is the editor of Sports Facilities & the Law newsletter. He has served as general and outside counsel for various sports organizations over the years such as Dixie Baseball/Softball and the Sportsplex Operators and Developers Association (SODA). Newsletter. He was awarded the prestigious Betty van der Smissen Leadership Award from the Sport Recreation and Law Association (SRLA) for outstanding contribution to the field of sport law education.

Trish is Co-founder of the National Center for Safety Initiatives (NCSI). For nearly two decades, NCSI has been on the forefront of helping to protect athletes, families and organizations through market-leading safety and security programs. Passionate about child safety and well-being, Trish serves as a speaker and national thought leader on the importance of a holistic approach to safety in youth sports. Prior to NCSI, Trish was a corporate executive in the private sector. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Ursuline College, holds SPHR certification and was awarded her Master of Science in Positive Organization Development (MScPOD) degree with honors from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management in Cleveland, Ohio. Trish resides in Ohio with her family.

Ann is the Vice President of Lacrosse Operations for US Lacrosse which is the sport’s national governing body. Ann is responsible for managing a staff of 20 people at the NGB’s national headquarters in Sparks, MD. She provides strategic leadership and oversight of the Men’s and Women’s Game governance structures, the organization’s national sport development strategies, grassroots and granting initiatives, inclusion programming, health and safety efforts and the National Team program. Ann also serves as the US Lacrosse delegate to World Lacrosse and serves on the board as the technical director for the Pan American Lacrosse Association (PALA). Before joining US Lacrosse, Ann served as Director for Public Policy and Constituency Affairs for the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. Born in Long Island, NY, she a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo where she played, coached and officiated women’s lacrosse.

Joe is the Director of the Sports Safety Program at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. HSS is the world’s leading academic medical center focused on musculoskeletal health. He has 27 years of experience as a sports medicine clinician and serves on several committees with the National Athletic Trainer’s Association, the American Physical Therapy Association, the American Public Health Association, and the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Society. Joe also serves as an advisor to the Aspen Institute’s Project Play 2024 initiative. In addition to delivering education and research presentations nationally and internationally, Joe is currently completing a doctoral degree in Public Health.

Stan is the President, SK Advisory. He is an accomplished C-Suite technology professional. Most recently he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). Previously, Stan held global IT leadership roles at Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Plexus Corp. He has experience designing, delivering and operating customer-focused systems and with cybersecurity, data privacy, accessibility and related practices to protect youth, donors, volunteers and data.

Pam is the Director of Strategic Sponsor and Partner Services for the Amateur Athletic Union. The AAU has some 700,000 athletes, coach and volunteer members and offers 41 sports. She was the former AAU local District Officer, National Baseball Chair and the first women to serve on the Board of USA Baseball, joining the paid staff in 1997. Under Pam’s leadership, the AAU implemented technological changes including online registration, reporting of data at the local and national level and the issuance of insurance certificates for member organizations at all 57 of its District Chapters. Pam is married to Sam Marshall, and they have one son, Kirby and three grandchildren.

Talty is the Founder, Owner and President of Covey Communications Corp. Covey is a collection of national special interest niche magazines, e-newsletters, web sites, symposiums and social media internet sites including ConventionSouth, SportsEvents, Crossties, and Condo Owner as well as Speedlines, Coastal Design and Alabama Living. Tally previously worked with the Tuscaloosa News and Boone Newspapers, Inc., Antique Monthly magazine, Horizon magazine and others in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and New York, New York. He created the PlayItUp! Youth Sports Foundation in 2013 which provides financial support to under-served youth athletes. Tally holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Alabama. He is married to Carrie W. O’Connor, and they have three daughters – Bethy, Kelsey and Kerri.

Sally proudly served as the first NCYS Executive Director from January 1997-July 2018. Possessing extensive experience in business, leadership and organization management issues, Sally’s passion for working in the field of non-profit associations began as a community volunteer at the age of fourteen. She continued her work as an untiring and passionate advocate for youth issues particularly for the health, safety and welfare of children. Sally dedicated her career to maintaining respectable ethical and behavioral standards in youth sports organizations as well as society to make a positive difference for children of all backgrounds, genders, and economic diversities. Sally’s leadership achievements were honored with numerous prestigious national and international recognitions.