Colorado Springs, Colo. (December 18, 2024)—Voting is now open for the 2025-27 USA Ultimate Board of Directors election. All current and eligible members are encouraged to cast a vote through their online member accounts at play.usaultimate.org.
This cycle, there are two board seats up for election – one At-Large seat and one Elite Athlete seat.
All current USA Ultimate members in good standing are eligible to vote in the At-Large election, while only elite athletes as defined by Section 5.6(b) of USA Ultimate’s bylaws, are eligible to vote in the elite athlete election.
As part of the campaign process, and to help USA Ultimate members learn more about each candidate, applicants were asked to either answer a series of questions or provide a public statement. Read below to meet and learn more about this year’s candidates.
At Large Candidates
Alexia McCaskill (Boulder, Colo.)
Describe your professional experience, expertise and/or skill set(s) (e.g., finance, legal, marketing, etc.) and how they relate to and add value to supporting USA Ultimate’s mission of advancing the sport of ultimate in the United States.
Before pivoting to my current career in higher education, I practiced law as in-house counsel for labor unions. I advised their national officers, staff, regional leadership, and affiliated local unions in their relationships with employers, including Fortune 100 companies. My union practice gave me substantial experience in internal governance, compliance, and organizational structure and function. That work also taught me to listen to affiliates about their needs and to collaborate with them to achieve their goals.
Currently, I work at the University of Colorado Law School supporting students and alums as a career adviser. I manage and have managed programs critical to student success. I have developed short and long-term policies and worked to ensure clarity and program integrity for students and alums. Daily, I collaborate with colleagues in and outside of my department to ensure our programs and work are responsive, evolving, and beneficial to students.
This combination of professional skills and experience is transferable to USA Ultimate’s mission of advancing the sport of Ultimate and serving USA Ultimate’s membership.
Provide a brief description about what you would uniquely bring to USA Ultimate to support and accomplish the goals outlined in USA Ultimate’s current strategic plan.
My identity as a Black woman and the varied roles I have enjoyed within Ultimate give me unique insights I can employ to support and accomplish the strategic plan’s goals. I have almost 3 decades of involvement in our sport. Among other activities, I have been a local youth coach, a club coach, and a player. I have seen how Ultimate has grown, changed, and progressed. I have also seen how and where it has not progressed.
I coached a National Champion team (Molly Brown), and a Top Select team (Small Batch). I also coached high school Girls’ Division and Mixed Division teams for nearly 10 years. I was a USAU Girls’ Outreach Coordinator and now serve on USAU’s BIPOC Advisory Board. I was a Selection Assistant for the 2024 Mixed U-20 National Team. I entered Ultimate as a WAFC adult recreational league player and continue to play league through Grass Roots Ultimate, based in Boulder, Colorado. I competed as a club player in the Women’s and Mixed Divisions. I have volunteered on subcommittees for Altitude Ultimate, Colorado’s state-based organization. In short, my Ultimate experience is a holistic one.
As a Black woman coach and player of Ultimate, I have often been the “lonely only” in most of my experiences within the sport. That is an all-too-common experience for other Black participants at all levels and in all contexts of Ultimate. I think a great deal about who has access to our sport and how we call people in or if we call them in at all. I also think about the opportunities available to people with traditionally underrepresented identities once they are in our sport – particularly if they do not come to Ultimate through the traditional college or youth pipelines. Additionally, I also think about why they choose not to stay. Bringing in more players is only part of the work. The rest of the work is figuring out how to retain those players and acting on that knowledge.
As a former youth coach, I know what it means to try to help players build and sustain a program with little to no resources and the challenges in doing so. I also know the effort it takes to build a trusted relationship with school administrators so the club can have a presence within the school and some degree of buy-in. As a former high school Girls’ Division coach, I know the challenge of recruiting and keeping girl-matching players and sustaining a Girls’ Division team over time. I have watched our area lose Girls’ Division teams while it has seen growth in Open teams and boy-matching players entering the sport.
Provide a brief statement outlining why you feel you are a strong candidate to serve on the USA Ultimate Board of Directors and/or why eligible USA Ultimate members should vote for you.
I care deeply about Ultimate. I want it to grow and improve. I spend considerable time thinking about what Ultimate is and can be. I believe in service and using my skills to help the things I care about thrive. I want to leave Ultimate better than I found it. Serving on the Board will give me another opportunity to do that.
My varied experiences give me a vast network, but more importantly, they let me hear about the experiences of others as players, coaches, and organizers. Access to and within our sport, youth in Ultimate, and the challenges facing organizers and local communities matter to me. As a Board member, I would welcome expanding my knowledge and enjoy working to help USA Ultimate be responsive to its constituencies.
Chris Novielli (Purchase, NY)
Describe your professional experience, expertise and/or skill set(s) (e.g., finance, legal, marketing, etc.) and how they relate to and add value to supporting USA Ultimate’s mission of advancing the sport of ultimate in the United States.
I work in wealth management. My team and I manage assets for individuals, corporations and nonprofits like USAU. I’m familiar with the struggles that these companies struggle through since we take time to cater our solutions to their specific needs. Many of their needs have been evolving since the end of the pandemic and keep evolving. Having a pulse on the economy and the evolving situations brings perspective to how USAU can move forward, and how other nonprofits, companies and others are navigating these rocky times.
Provide a brief description about what you would uniquely bring to USA Ultimate to support and accomplish the goals outlined in USA Ultimate’s current strategic plan.
As a board member during the creation of the current strategic plan I am quite passionate about bringing it to a point of success. My professional job makes me wear many hats and feel that I can lead and or support us on any of the goals in whatever capacity the organization needs me.
Provide a brief statement outlining why you feel you are a strong candidate to serve on the USA Ultimate Board of Directors and/or why eligible USA Ultimate members should vote for you.
I feel as if I’m a strong candidate because of my previous experience not only on this board but a few others that I currently sit on or have in the past. I also believe that during a time of transition from CEO to CEO it is good to have some stability from board to board to continue to support the organization and our new CEO. My career experience, board experience and leadership roles in various areas makes me a great candidate. I play in local leagues, club and a former college player so I hear and feel the needs of what our community wants and I would like to help push towards getting there.
Joe Strong (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Election Statement
I have spent the last 15 years dedicated to improving the youth experience in Ultimate, driven by my own lack of access to youth ultimate as a teen. This has given me a deep sense of responsibility to build a foundation for future generations. As President of Utah Ultimate and coach of some of the nation’s top high school and youth club programs, I’ve worked to create opportunities for players in Utah and elevate their presence on the national stage.
Youth Ultimate is about more than just competition. It’s about fostering personal growth, teamwork, and providing a space where kids feel free to be themselves while striving to improve and compete. Spirit of the Game and conflict resolution are key elements, teaching young athletes values like integrity, respect, and resilience—skills they carry with them both on and off the field.
I understand the challenges youth ultimate development faces, from limited resources to balancing the needs of beginner and experienced players. With USA Ultimate’s renewed focus on youth, there is a tremendous opportunity to create stronger systems for development, expand outreach, and build competitive pathways. As a board member, I will leverage my experience to support these efforts and help ensure the next generation of Ultimate players has the tools and opportunities to thrive.