The Board is responsible for overall policy and direction of the organization, and delegates responsibility for day-to-day operations as it sees fit. The Board shall have no more than eighteen and not fewer than four members. The board receives no compensation other than reasonable expenses.
MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Executive Committee
TAMMI GAW is Founder and Executive Director of Advantage Rule, a consulting group focused on athlete health and safety, with an emphasis on amateur athletes’ rights. As one of only a handful of professionals licensed as both an attorney and an athletic trainer, her career has included in-house counsel positions, non-profit management and board participation, and C-suite level work with integrated planning for large and medium scale sporting events. Gaw’s expertise extends to the business of college sports, including name, image, and likeness (NIL) reform, Title IX, and medical welfare for athletes of all levels. Through Advantage Rule, she combines her extensive experience in sports medicine, business, and law with her passion for advocacy. She is an international speaker on issues around sports business, law, medicine, and social justice and has been featured in a variety of news outlets, podcasts, panels, and publications. She is a published author and continues to write in both fiction and non-fiction genres. Additionally, she was privileged to address the UK Parliament in 2009.
Executive Committee
BRENDAN COLE is Assistant Dean of Students, Charlotte Country Day School. Cole is the former Athletic Director at The Field School in Washington D.C. and a former three-time team captain and twice all-conference defensive back at Hampton University. Cole earned his bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communications with a minor in Political Science and a master’s degree in Sports Administration from Hampton University. Formerly, he was Assistant Athletic Director and Head Boys Basketball Coach at Christchurch School.
Executive Committee
INGRID WICKER MCCREE, Ed.D., Founder and CEO of WM Leadership & Legacy Coaching, LLC. Dr. McCree is a distinguished leader in higher education and intercollegiate athletics with over 30 years of experience. As one of the longest-tenured and first permanent athletic directors in North Carolina Central University’s history, she orchestrated the institution’s successful reclassification to NCAA Division I FCS and developed its inaugural long-range strategic plan. Her tenure is marked by a steadfast commitment to institutional growth, administrative integrity, and academic excellence. A recognized authority in sports governance, Dr. Wicker McCree has served on numerous influential boards, including several NCAA Committees, WeCOACH, and the Durham Sports Commission. Currently, she is the Founder and CEO of WM Leadership & Legacy Coaching, LLC, where she specializes in executive leadership and organizational development. Her impact on the industry continues through her concurrent roles as Senior Associate Director with the Duke Sports Sciences Institute, Vice President of The PICTOR Group, and Chief Operating Officer of Advancing Beyond in Sports (ABIS). A former coach and collegiate athlete, Dr. Wicker McCree remains a prominent advocate for equity and the professional advancement of college athletes and coaches nationwide.
Executive Committee
ANITA A. DANIELS, MSW, LCSW, LCAS, CCS, Immediate Past President, Alliance of Social Workers in Sports (ASWIS). Daniels is the owner and CEO of Actualities Limited and a prominent leader in the field of sports social work. As the Immediate Past President and a founding member of the Alliance of Social Workers in Sports, she has dedicated over thirty years to advancing the mental health and well-being of college athletes, professional competitors, and Olympians. Her clinical expertise spans performance anxiety, emotional intelligence, and substance abuse recovery. Daniels is a Governor-appointed member of the North Carolina Addiction Professionals Practice Board and a member of the Clinical Counseling Sports Psychology Association. An accomplished public speaker, she frequently delivers keynote addresses and clinical trainings on behavior change and athlete welfare, including serving as a commencement speaker for the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work. Based in Durham, North Carolina, Daniels remains a vital advocate for systemic reform and equitable mental health resources within the global athletic community.
Executive Committee
BRUCE SMITH is Director of Empowerment Strategies and CEO of the ACES Group. He has worked in K-12, higher education and intercollegiate athletics for more than two decades as a teacher, professor, administrator, and coach. As a higher education administrator, his work focused on student life, athletics, and equity and justice at both small private liberal arts colleges and flagship state institutions in California, Arizona, Colorado, and Oregon. Smith specializes in managing comprehensive student support, mentoring and supervising staff, creating connections between curriculum and co-curriculum, and developing equity and justice institutional strategies. As a professor, his work focuses on African American life and culture; the sociology of education, sport studies, and American studies with an emphasis on developing engaging, student-centered, identity-conscious pedagogy. He earned his BA in American Civilization from Brown University, M.S. in Education from the University of Southern, and Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Berkeley. Smith also serves as Secretary and Board member for The Drake Group Education fund.
Member-At-Large
JAMES DEITRICK is Professor Emeritus in Accounting at The University of Texas at Austin. During his 40 years at Texas, Dr. Deitrick served on Intercollegiate Athletic Councils for both men and women, and still chairs the Women’s Athletic Hall of Honor Selection Committee. Professor Deitrick was elected to the Faculty Senate, directed the Texas MBA and Masters in Professional Accounting programs, served on numerous University, College and National committees as well as being an award-winning educator and administrator. His primary research and writing have been in the areas of auditing, financial reporting and analysis, and accounting education. Jim is a life-long sports fan and participated in basketball and baseball at the D3 Level. He is a native of Western Pennsylvania, graduated from Grove City College (B.S. Mathematics); Kent State University (M.S. Accounting) and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (Ph. D. Accounting).
Member-At-Large
RICK ECKSTEIN, PH.D. has been a sociology professor at Villanova University since 1990. For the last fifteen years, his research and teaching have focused primarily on “sports and society,” with an emphasis on college sports’ role in the corporatization of higher education. He is the author of How College Athletics are Hurting Girls’ Sports: the Pay to Play Pipeline (2017, 2023 — Bloomsbury). Since the book’s release, Rick has written and spoken to academic and non-academic audiences about the many problems in youth and college sports, while always couching these critiques in the fundamental joy that can and should be associated with sport. In 2023, he provided on-air expertise about college athlete admission advantages for the penultimate episode of HBO Real Sports. Currently, Rick is co-producing a research-based documentary series titled, Beyond Stigma: Mental Health in Women’s College Sports (www.beyondstigmadoc.com). The documentary explores the systemic elements of college sport that have increased emotional distress among women college athletes. It will be released sometime in 2026. Rick has been a member of The Drake Group board of directors since 2024.
Member-At-Large
JEN FRY, Ph.D. is a Sports Geographer, sought-after speaker, educator, and successful businesswoman. She owns JenFryTalks, a firm that navigates the intersection of conflict and culture, working with clients to deliver powerful and engaging education, skill-based learning, and tools that create personal, professional, organizational, and cultural change. How we handle conflict is intricately linked to our background, and conversely, the evolution of our cultural identity profoundly influences our approach to conflict management. Fry is also the founder of Coordle, a business-to business tech company solving youth sports travel issues by simplifying tournament logistics for parents, coaches, and athletes. The Coordle proprietary app and web platform streamlines communication with real-time info, messaging, and a dynamic itinerary, in addition to managing food orders and hosting. Dr. Fry also founded Hyreable, is a career development company focused on scaling the careers of Black and brown professionals in the world of sports. Fry received her PhD in Sports Geography from Michigan State University.
Member-At-Large
WILLIAM HILL, MD, MPH is a former University of Virginia (UVA) 4-year letterman on the University of Virginia football team and a 2012 season Captain. He then was a member of the 2013 Indianapolis Colts Rookie Minicamp and an NFL free agent. He obtained his Masters of Public Health at UVA in 2015 and completed his Medical Doctorate at Howard University College of Medicine in 2019. After graduation from medical school, he completed his orthopaedic surgical residency training at the world-renowned University of Southern California + Los Angeles General Medical Center in Los Angeles. During the Covid World Crisis he developed Athlete Forever, an athlete-centric ecosystem that includes all the professional services that support athletes from the recruit to the retiree phase of life. As an orthopaedic sports medicine physician, he helps patients return to living their desired active lifestyles.
Member-At-Large
KIM LLOYD, D.N. Kim has a comprehensive background including a decade as Associate Head Swimming Coach at Denison University. As Associate Head Swim Coach, she played a vital role in securing four NCAA Division III national championships, 10 NCAC conference championships, and multiple Olympic trial qualifiers. While at Denison, Kim also served as advisor for the student-athlete advisory council, placing student-athletes in leadership roles on both conference SAAC and National NCAA SAAC committees. Her efforts were focused on NIL (name, image and likeness), anti-bullying/hazing, and mental health of student-athletes. Prior to Denison, Kim coached both swimming and diving at Colby-Sawyer College and owned her own Taekwondo school. Kim is also a World Champion master swimmer, a 5th degree Black Belt in Taekwondo, and was an All-American swimmer at Northwestern University where she received her BA in Linguistics. Alongside her extensive coaching experience, Kim holds a Doctorate in Naprapathy, specializing in connective tissue disorders and biomechanics to achieve optimal health. Kim is currently attending law school part-time at the University of Akron where she is a member of the Akron Law Review.
Member-At-Large
KASSANDRA RAMSEY, Esq., is the founder of The Law Office of Kassandra Ramsey, P.L.L.C., assisting entrepreneurs, athletes, entertainers, and social media influencers with creating, operating, and protecting their businesses. Ramsey is the Sports Law Chair for the District of Columbia Bar’s Arts, Media, Entertainment, and Sports Law Community and an advocate for college athletes’ rights. She has written extensively on the name, image, and likeness (NIL) issue in college sports and has authored two e-books to assist current and prospective college athletes to advance their emerging NIL opportunities. She is passionate about educating athletes and their families on the ways college athletes may use these new opportunities to advance themselves for life after sports. Formerly, Ramsey served as the Compliance Assistant for the University of Maryland, College Park Athletics Department. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Virginia State University and her J.D. from Howard University School of Law.
Member-At-Large
CHRISTOPHER ROSS, ESQ. is an equity partner at Keegan & Keegan, Ross & Rosner, licensed to practice in New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Federal District Courts. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Ithaca College and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School. His legal career is uniquely informed by his previous professional experience with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, the Women’s Sports Foundation, ABC/ESPN, and the Disney Internet Group. A dedicated leader in the local sports community, Ross is the Founder of the Bellport Sport Foundation. He is a veteran coach of youth lacrosse and football in Suffolk County, focusing on expanding athletic opportunities and mentorship for young athletes. Deeply immersed in the Long Island lacrosse tradition, Ross is the father of three children who have all competed as varsity scholastic athletes. Throughout his career and community involvement, he has maintained a practical, lifelong commitment to the development of youth and college athletes.
Member-At-Large
WAYNE SOUZA, Attorney, retired as General Counsel, Executive VP, Law, of Walton Global. A Washington, D.C. native, he brings nearly five decades of private practice and in-house legal experience, overseeing legal and governmental affairs for Walton in the US, Singapore, Hong Kong and Hamburg, Germany. Souza has served 2 terms on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives (the largest US organization for non-traded REITS), where he founded the Private Placement Securities Committee and co-founded the Policy Advocacy Committee. He received the organization’s Award of Distinction for leadership in the direct investments securities industry. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of North Carolina Wesleyan University and is a member of the Board’s Executive Committee. He is co-owner and CEO of Conte’s Bike Shop, a 21-store, seven-state retailer ranked in the top 10 of the nation’s independent bicycle retailers, and co-founder and Vice Chair of the Bicycle Industry Employers Association (a 501(c)(3)), advancing collegiately accredited workforce development programs. In private practice, Souza represented professional sports organizations and athletes, including the New York Mets (transactionally) and LPGA Hall of Famer Pat Bradley, and negotiated international endorsements with leading brands. He has testified before Congress, testified as an expert witness, and served as an Adjunct Professor of Sports Law (Regent University).
Member-At-Large
JESSICA SWOBODA, Ph.D. is an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Advising at the University of Virginia and co-founder of Ascend Field Hockey Club, a youth sports club in Charlottesville, VA. At UVA, Jess helps students in their first- and second-years figure out their academic paths and teaches a course called “The Ethics of Sports,” which considers various ethical issues in the contemporary sports landscape, such as gender and equity, the implications of NIL, whether athletes should be political activists, fans and fandoms, and the like. She received her Ph.D. in English Literature from UVA in 2023. Before UVA, she was a Division I field hockey player at Villanova University, where she graduated in 2015 and was a four-year starter, an All-Big East Team selection, a 4-time NFHCA All-Academic Team and All-Big East Academic Team Selection, and inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. While at Villanova, she also served as a research assistant for Rick Eckstein’s book How College Athletics Are Hurting Girls’ Sports: The Pay-to-Play Pipeline (2017).