Clerc Bertrand
Executive Director, McNeese Athletic Foundation
Clerc is a Louisiana native. In her current role, she manages a portfolio of fundraising partners and corporate sponsors. She focuses on crafting and implementing strategies to advance community cultivation and university engagement through the lens of athletics. While at Lamar University, Clerc won 13 conference titles and earned 2 NCAA championship births. As a former collegiate runner, she is passionate about helping athletes realize the platform each person has to give back and to act on that opportunity to make a positive impact.
Shari Ciapka
Chief of Staff, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Charitable Giving, Cigna
For over 12 years, Shari has been a leader at Cigna, a global health service company, and currently serves as the chief of staff to the vice president of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Charitable Giving, and President of Cigna Foundation. As a trusted advisor to the executive leadership team, corporate board of directors, and Cigna Foundation board members, Shari consistently strives to move the needle on corporate responsibility. She earned an Executive MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia. She is completing an Executive Certificate in Sports Philanthropy from The George Washington University School of Business. As an adult competitive athlete, Shari strives to inspire others by demonstrating what can be possible at all ages. She competes in multi-event fitness and physique competitions, Spartan obstacle course races, tower climbing, 5Ks, and fitness fundraisers. Shari resides in Central New Jersey with her husband Mark and has two teenage sons.
John Dragelin
Vice President, Jones Lang Lasalle IP, Inc.
John B. Dragelin is a native of the Washington, DC metro area. As a lifelong athlete, he is a major believer in the power of sports, teamwork and physical activity. John swam competitively at Columbia University and currently resides in Washington, DC, working at real estate services firm, JLL.
Nicholas Freeman
Carl M. Freeman Companies
Nicholas Freeman is Director of Commercial Operations at Carl M. Freeman Companies, a family owned real estate firm based in Rockville, MD. Nick is responsible for the company’s management and acquisition of retail opportunities in the Delmarva region. He currently serves as a board member for the Carl M. Freeman Foundation and the Landon School, his alma mater.
Thomas “Tommy” Goodman
Strategy and New Business Senior Manager, CONCACAF
Tommy currently serves as Strategy and New Business Senior Manager with the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF, a continental governing body of FIFA), where he leads & supports a range of strategic business- and sports-focused growth initiatives across the organization.
Tommy is dedicated to various charitable causes and philanthropic endeavors and serves as a board member of Give2Cuba and the Schwechheimer Family Foundation, a nonprofit affiliated with the Wichita Wind Surge (Minor League Baseball team).
Tommy received a J.D. and B.A. from the University of Virginia and a Sports Philanthropy Executive Certificate from The George Washington University. He has traveled and worked in over 50 countries and is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Portuguese.
Rachel McNair
Athlete & Mental Health Advocate
Rachel is a native of the suburbs in New York. She is a former Division I Women’s Basketball player from George Mason University. She is passionate about sports, athletes, and mental health. She has worked at sports networks such as ESPN and CBS Sports. She is a 2-Time Emmy award winner for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (Outstanding Playoff Coverage) and NFL on CBS (Outstanding Live Sports Series). For the NCAA Men’s tournament, she produced One Shining Moment and for NFL on CBS she was one of the graphics producers on a top NFL crew. Currently she resides in West Palm Beach, FL and enjoys helping people around her. Sports changed her life and she wants to give back in any capacity that can impact the future.
Max Meltzer, CFP®
Senior Vice President, Wealthspire Advisors
In his role as an advisor, Max delivers customized financial solutions to high-net-worth clients and select institutions. Max also plays an instrumental role in the business development efforts of the firm. He finds it particularly rewarding to work with charitably inclined families as well as individuals that represent the second generation of family-owned and operated businesses.
Brandon Sanchez
Senior Manager of Social Impact, Mountain Philanthropies
Brandon Sanchez is the Senior Manager of Social Impact at Mountain Philanthropies, a philanthropic initiative that elevates issues of equity, social justice, sustainability, and other matters affecting society and the planet. Brandon is responsible for carrying out a range of functions related to the social impact of Mountain Philanthropies’ philanthropic efforts. Prior to this role, Brandon was the Program Manager at Athletes for Hope. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and a Master’s of Sports Management from Georgetown University.
Brandon was a four-year letter winner, co-captain of the basketball team at UCSC. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Brigitte and daughter Ryan.
Awvee Storey
Director of Player Development, Connecticut Sun
Awvee Storey is a former professional basketball player who played for four seasons in the NBA and for eight seasons in Europe and Asia. After his pro career ended, Awvee learned about on-court development and video editing skills with the Washington Wizards, which led to jobs with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky. After a leadership position with the NBA’s G-League Capital City Go-Go, Awvee accepted his current role as the Director of Player Development with the Connecticut Sun.
Awvee collaborated with AFH in 2014 to start the Power Up! Program with a DC area charter school which has evolved into our current AFH Fit program. He is also a father, friend, and passionate AFH ambassador of our work in the community.
Tyler Rudy
Senior Consultant, Deloitte Consulting
Tyler Rudy is an Olney, Maryland native currently working within Deloitte Consulting’s Government & Public Services practice focusing on Operations and IT Modernization. He is a former collegiate and professional soccer player, graduating from Georgetown University and spending time with Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution and North American Soccer League’s Puerto Rico Football Club.
Tyler is passionate about helping athletes realize their potential to use their respective sport as a vehicle to drive positive change in communities. Tyler is also a proud father, husband, brother, and son and is excited to continue his role as an AFH ambassador.
Christin Blyumin
Owner & Operator, Max Fitness and Wellness
Christin is a native of the Washington, DC area. A collegiate athlete turned Personal Trainer and Integrative Health Coach, Christin shares a deep passion for health and fitness. She has spent the last 15 years training and educating people of all ages, as well as partnering with schools to provide nutrition and fitness education to students.
In addition to her passion for health, Christin has also spent the last few years volunteering in Fundraising in the nonprofit sector.
Christin played Division I lacrosse at James Madison University and currently resides in Mclean, VA with her husband and two children.
Alayah Hightower
Incoming Consultant, Deloitte Consulting
Alayah Hightower is a Prince George’s County, Maryland native. She went to Howard University where she played both soccer and lacrosse as well as obtained multiple degrees. In May of 2023, she graduated with her Masters of Science in Finance. Before that, she obtained her Chemical Engineering degree in 2020 and then received her MBA with a concentration in Supply Chain Management in 2022. She will be starting her full-time job in October as a Consultant within Deloitte Consulting Commercial practice focusing on supply chain and network optimization out of the Mclean, VA office.
Alayah’s passions are giving back to her community and staying active. Throughout her time at school, she was constantly volunteering with other student-athletes by teaching children health equity topics in DC middle schools. Alayah previously worked with Athletes for Hope as the Howard University Campus Liaison from 2021- 2023 where she connected student-athletes to various community service events across the DC community. She looks forward to working with more athletes to empower them to use their platform in their community.
Robb Dehney
Law Clerk, Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz
Robb currently resides in Wilmington, DE, where he serves as a law clerk to Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz, Jr. of the Delaware State Supreme Court. In May of 2023, Robb graduated from Harvard Law School (HLS), where he matriculated after spending three years at the University of Virginia (UVA). At UVA, he earned a major in Media Studies and a minor in Religious Studies while working as the student voice of the Virginia Cavaliers football team for WUVA News.
When he wasn’t in class, he was fortunate to intern for organizations like the Wilmington Blue Rocks, MLB Network, the Miami Dolphins, and (most importantly) Athletes for Hope. At HLS, Robb founded HL Football, a 501(c)3 committed to creating community through recreational sports in Cambridge, and served as the first commissioner of Harvard University’s graduate intramural sports leagues.
David T. Roach
David T. Roach is a longtime Athletic Director and Administrator, holding over 30 years of experience as an athletic director at Fordham University, Colgate University, and Brown University. Over his career, Dave has been very active in shaping the landscape of intercollegiate athletics, holding many leadership roles, including serving as President of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) as well as an esteemed board member. Additionally, Roach served as the head swimming coach at the University of Tennessee and Brown University. Roach was also appointed as the assistant coach of the United States National Swimming Team, which competed at the World University Games in Kobe, Japan.
His commitment to student-athlete wellness and leadership extends beyond the playing fields, most recently having created the Fordham Athletics Leadership Academy for its student-athletes. The Academy aims to cultivate, test, and aid the school’s student-athletes and coaches as they work towards becoming world-class leaders in athletics, academics, and life.
A native of Waterbury, Connecticut, Roach received his bachelor’s degree from Springfield College, where he also earned a master of science degree in physical education. He was a member of the Springfield College men’s varsity swimming team.
After receiving his master’s degree, Roach served in the United States Marine Corps, attaining the rank of Captain.
Roach and his wife, Anne, have three daughters, Elizabeth, Michelle, and Alexandra.
Annie Gleason
Vice President of Corporate Partnerships, PNC
Annie has over 25 years of experience working in sports specializing in marketing and sponsorships. She has worked for teams, properties and brands managing multi-million dollar sponsorship portfolios. She is passionate about using the platform of sports to make the world a better place and creating purposeful partnerships.
Annie grew up in Milwaukee, lived in the Twin Cities, and now resides in Denver. She has a BS from the University of Minnesota and certificates in ESG Strategy from the University of Colorado and Sports Philanthropy from George Washington University. She is a lifelong Packer fan and loves being in Colorado near the mountains.