Leadership

Katherine M. Babiak

Professor Babiak is an internationally recognized scholar in the area of sport management. In particular, her expertise lies in the areas of organizational governance and leadership, sport policy, social responsibility and individual and organizational philanthropy both in professional and Olympic-level sport. Professor Babiak’s work has examined issues related to ethics, social responsibility, justice, diversity, and representation in sport. She has examined athlete representation and involvement in decision making around policies and issues that affect them. Her most recent funded project examines athlete philanthropy, and uses gender as a variable to explore differences in focus, mission, and involvement of athletes in their own charitable foundations.

Professor Babiak was recognized as a research fellow for the Center for the Study of Sport in Society and has worked with the Sports Philanthropy Project as well as Athletes for Hope on various research projects related to corporate and individual social responsibility in sport. She has also lectured nationally and internationally on topics related to corporate social responsibility, the Olympic Games, athlete philanthropy, and athlete representation and involvement in decision making in international sport federations and Olympic committees.

Professor Babiak earned her PhD in leisure and sport management from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (2003).

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Carol J. Boyd

Professor Boyd is an internationally recognized scholar in the studies of gender, vulnerable populations, and risky health behaviors (e.g. smoking, misuse of medications, alcohol abuse, and other substance abuse). She is noted for mixed-method studies, including evaluation research for the State of Michigan and for Michigan schools. Her most recent studies, funded by the National Institutes of Health, are school-based and focus on adolescent and young adult populations and their lifestyle behaviors, with a particular focus on the medications they are prescribed and how they are used and misused.

Professor Boyd received her PhD in nursing with an anthropology cognate from Wayne State University (1987).

Click here for more on Professor Boyd’s research.

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Michelle Segar

Dr. Segar is nationally recognized for her interdisciplinary research in women's exercise goals, motivation, and behavior. Her research investigates the cultural norms and gender-specific pressures that undermine sustainable physical activity motivation, self-regulation, and behavior. Her latest research examines behavioral branding and gender differences in exercise marketing and messaging. Trained as an interventionist and translational researcher, Dr. Segar also develops and evaluates interventions and marketing messages to foster sustainable physical activity and self-care.

Dr. Segar has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, American Association of University Women, and the American College of Sports Medicine, among others. Her research has generated accolades from organizations such as the Society of Behavioral Medicine, the North American Menopause Society, and the State of Michigan's Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health, and Sports. She speaks to academic, health professional, and lay audiences about how to make behavioral changes that can be sustained overtime.

Dr. Segar has a doctorate in psychology, a master's of public health (health behavior-health education), and an MS in kinesiology, all from the University of Michigan.

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Donald F. Sabo

Professor Sabo is a nationally recognized expert on Title IX. As a former WSF trustee, he directed the development of the first national policy on sexual harassment in athletic settings. He is a former president of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport. He has directed, codirected, and/or authored many nationwide research studies and he has edited or authored eight books.

He is a frequently invited speaker at colleges, universities, and conferences. He is an eye-to-eye scholar, an avid keynoter, and a public intellectual who is regularly quoted in national media such as USA Today, The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Shape, Glamour, Dallas Morning News, US News and World Report, and Working Woman Magazine. He has appeared on television shows such as The Today Show, The Oprah Show, and The Phil Donahue Show. He is a public health advocate, a parent and fitness enthusiast, and a former NCAA Division I-A defensive football captain.

Dr. Sabo holds a PhD in sociology from the State University of New York at Buffalo (1980).

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Marjorie A. Snyder, PhD

Marjorie Snyder is currently a consultant in nonprofit management, research, and education and serves as the research director for the WSF. Previously she served as the WSF chief program and planning officer. During her nearly 22 years with the WSF she twice served the organization as interim CEO. She has authored papers, book chapters, and research reports on women in sport and presented at conferences and conventions across the United States and internationally. She has frequently been featured in the news as an expert on women’s sports in media outlets such as ABC World News, CNN, NPR, and the New York Times, USA Today, the LA Times, and other major media outlets.

Prior to earning her doctorate degree, Dr. Snyder was an assistant professor of physical education and head coach for women’s basketball, field hockey, and tennis at Hope College and the head women’s basketball and field hockey coach at Kalamazoo College. In January, 2006, she received the Girls on the Run International “Sole Mate” Award in recognition of creating positive change in her community. In 2003 she received the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports Pathfinder Award. She is a charter member of the Kalamazoo College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Dr. Snyder earned an MS in kinesiology from UCLA (1980) and a PhD in psychology of human movement from Temple University (1989).

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Jacquelynne S. Eccles

Professor Eccles has served on the faculty at Smith College, the University of Colorado, and the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on topics ranging from gender-role socialization and gendered life choices, classroom influences on motivation to social development in the family, school, peer and wider cultural contexts. She served as chair of the Combined Program in Education and Psychology repeatedly over the last 30 years and was the assistant vice president for research at the University of Michigan from 1987 to 1989. She is past president of the Society for Research on Adolescence and of Division 35 (the Psychology of Women) of the American Psychological Association (APA), and past chair of the National Academy of Science/National Research Council (NAS/NRC) Committee on After-School Programs for Youth. She is a member of the National Academy of Education and now serves on its governing board. Most recently, she helped create and then direct two international graduate and postdoctoral training programs in developmental sciences.  Dr. Eccles's  awards include: the Spencer Foundation Fellowship for Outstanding Young Scholar in Educational Research, the Sarah Goddard Power Award for Outstanding Service from the University of Michigan, the American Psychological Society (APS) Cattell Fellows Award for Outstanding Applied Work in Psychology, the Society for the Study of Social Issue's Kurt Lewin Award for outstanding research, the Life-Time Research Award from SRA, Division 15 (Educational Psychology) of the APA and the Society for Research on Human Development, and the Mentor's Award from Division 7 (Developmental Psychology) of APA.

Professor Eccles earned her PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1974.

Click here for more information about Professor Eccles’s research.

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Ronald Zernicke

Dean Zernicke’s research focuses on the adaptation of bone to exercise, diet and disease, and joint injury and osteoarthritis. With more than 570 research publications and three books, his research has been supported by high-profile organizations such as the Arthritis Society of Canada, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Alberta Ingenuity Fund, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research among others.

Dean Zernicke earned his PhD in biomechanics and anatomy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. (1974).

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Kathryn Olson

Kathryn Olson was named chief executive officer of the WSF in April, 2010, having served as a board trustee since 2005. She is the former SVP, chief marketing officer of Shutterfly. Prior to Shutterfly, Ms. Olson was SVP, chief marketing officer of LeapFrog Enterprises, a developer of technology-based learning products. She was in senior marketing roles for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company and Nordstrom, after a decade with The Quaker Oats Company, including several years with Gatorade Europe.

Ms. Olson previously served in board roles with Chicago Community in Schools, the Association of National Advertisers, and the Women’s Board of the Joffrey Ballet. She is on the board of Regen Living, a creator of electronics powered by light.

Kathryn Olson earned her MBA from the University of Chicago.

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Christina Camilli-Whisenhunt

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Terri D. Eagen-Torkko

1136C Lane Hall
734-647-9534

Terri is responsible for IRWG's public events—the brown-bag discussions, conferences, and lectures that IRWG hosts each academic year. Before joining the IRWG staff in 2005, she worked as an editor and communications expert in the U-M schools of Social Work and Education.

Terri earned her undergraduate degree at the University of St. Catherine (1993).

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Debra M. Schwartz

Debra is responsible for communications, public relations, and development activities at IRWG. She has more than 30 years of communications and administrative experience at nonprofits and universities and she is the author of numerous articles about university life. One of Debra's first jobs was as a slide projectionist for the U-M History of Art Department, a career path that has since disappeared along with most of the Chinese she learned on her way to her master's degree.

Debra earned an AB in the history of art (1975) and an AM in Asian studies (1980), both from the University of Michigan.

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TJ Truskowski

T.J. Truskowski brings more than 10 years of experience in fund-raising, development, and strategic planning in higher education and cultural institutes. Prior to joining the School of Kinesiology, T.J. was a regional director in the College of Engineering. In the course of his duties, he partnered with the Center for Entrepreneurship to develop a funding model and help direct a fund-raising plan for a 60,000+ square-foot addition to the George Granger Brown Building for the Mechanical Engineering Department.

TJ Truskowski received his BA in public relations from Eastern Michigan University and an MBA from Davenport University.

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Michael Rodgers

mrodgers@womenssportsfoundation.org
Vice President, Development
Women's Sports Foundation

1899 Hempstead Turnpike, Suite 400
East Meadow, NY 11554
516-542-4716

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