January 31 – February 2, 2025

2025 Organizer Convention

Organizer Convention

January 31 – February 2, 2025

Colorado Springs, CO

Cost: $350 through December 1  |  $400 through January 19
Registration Closes January 19

Erica Baruch
Erica Baruch Consulting, LLC

Erica is an independent Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion consultant focused on organizational transformation. She provides consulting services to non-profit organizations, schools, religious institutions, foundations, and government agencies and assists them in recognizing and implementing equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts that impact both the day-to-day operations of the organization and its ability to work successfully with diverse clients and communities.

Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Erica spent 11 years working on The Colorado Trust’s Equality in Health and Healthy People 2010 initiatives, delivering technical assistance to grantees across the state as they strove to improve health equity in their communities. Before moving to Colorado, Erica served as a policy analyst for WestEd, a research, development, and service agency, and as the Legislative Director of the U.S. Student Association, a national grassroots student organization dedicated to ensuring equity in higher education and developing future leaders.

Erica brings her experiences in advocacy, community engagement, and direct service to her equity work and grounds her partnership with each client in the unique context of the organization. She incorporates strategic planning, policy change, leadership development, communication skills, and sustainability practices into her consulting practice. She strives to be flexible, adaptable, and cognizant of competing organizational demands while holding organizations accountable to their own goals and their vision for a more equitable society.

Erica holds a Juris Doctor from the University of California at Berkeley, a Master of Arts from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University.

Mary-Clare Brennan
Sponsorship Director – National Strength and Conditioning Association

Mary-Clare is a sports industry sponsorship executive with more than 30 years of progressive responsibility and leadership experience in the academic and non-profit sports industries, including 10 years with the National Strength and Conditioning Association and 18 years of high-level marketing, sales and business development experience with the United States Olympic Committee. Her experience includes management of sponsorship and marketing programs in connection with two Division I collegiate athletic programs, two National Governing Bodies of sport, nine United States Olympic and Paralympic Teams and two U.S.-based Olympic Games. Mary-Clare has, additionally, served on the Board of Directors and Nominating Committee for USA Ultimate.

Will Deaver
Managing Director – Competition and National Team Programs, USA Ultimate
Mike Edmonds
Interim Headmaster – Colorado Springs School
Rick Mack
CEO – Association of Chief Executives for Sport

Rick is a nonprofit and human resources executive who has served as CEO of three nonprofit organizations. Since 2017, he has served as the CEO of the Association of Chief Executives for Sport (ACES), which is a sports chief executive officers’ trade association focused on member networking, industry best practices and mutual support. 80% of the members are the chief executives of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Rick’s HR career was launched while serving as a U.S. Naval Officer, where he was a founding faculty member of the U.S. Navy’s Human Resources Management School. After several HR management positions in the oil and gas industry in the 1980’s, he served for 13 years as Sr. Director/Managing Director of Human Resources for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC – now USOPC), where he was a member of the senior executive team during the majority of his tenure. Within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Family, he also served as Executive Director (CEO) of USA Archery. His final corporate position was Sr. Vice President of HR for AspenPointe, a Colorado Springs based behavioral healthcare provider.

Upon his retirement from corporate leadership positions in 2013, Rick launched an executive search practice with a primary focus on nonprofit CEO searches. He collaborated with the Boards of his client organizations to complete numerous successful CEO searches in the sports and behavioral healthcare industries. Then in 2017, he was appointed to his current position as CEO of ACES.

Rick has a long history of volunteerism in the Colorado Springs community. His board service included the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region where he was the Chair of its HR Committee, Chair of Ent Credit Union’s Supervisory (audit) committee, Chair of USA Badminton’s Nominating and Governance Committee, and service on The Independence Center’s and Pikes Peak United Way’s HR Committees. He is also a former Board Chair of Pikes Peak United Way.

Rick holds a B.A. in Communications from Penn State University and an M.S. in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas.

Josh Murphy
Manager – Competition & National Team Programs – Youth, USA Ultimate
Dan Raabe
Director – Youth Programs, USA Ultimate
Kimberley Sherwood
Nonprofit Coach, Consultant and Facilitator

Kimberley is a seasoned nonprofit coach, consultant, and facilitator passionate about great strategy and effective implementation. She thrives in the “messy gray” of nonprofit work, guiding organizations through complex challenges to achieve clarity and success. A trusted advisor in the Colorado Springs community, she empowers boards and executives to lead with vision and accountability. Kimberley and her husband, who’s also her business partner, have called the Pikes Peak Region home for more than three decades, raised their beloved family here, and she serves on several local and regional advisory boards. She’s excited to share her knowledge and experience with ultimate organizers from around the country!

Stacey Waldrup
Director – Member Services & Community Development, USA Ultimate
Gervon Williams
Manager – DEI & Youth Outreach, USA Ultimate

Location & Lodging

All sessions will take place at the Antlers Hotel in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Antlers Hotel
4 S. Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Book your room at the Antlers with USA Ultimate’s discounted rate!

Coach Convention

November 17-18, 2024
Virtual sessions via Zoom

Cost: Certified Coaches – $20/night  |  General Public – $35/night

Robin Davis
Head Coach – Stanford Superfly

Robin has been coaching Stanford Superfly since 2002 and has won five national titles during her time as coach. She is also a former Fury and CTR (Bay Area Mixed) team member. In her other life, she is a first-grade teacher and mom of two boys and a doodle named Strudel.

Alex Ghesquiere
U.S. National Team Head Coach

Alex has been playing or coaching ultimate for 32 years. He has played on teams such as Death or Glory, Jam, and Revolver and coached teams including Cal, Revolver, Scandal, the D.C. Breeze, and U.S.A. men’s and World Games teams. He has coached open, mixed, and women’s teams to national and international gold medals. He has won Lei-Out, Kaimana, SandBlast, Poultry Days, Fools Fest, and countless other fun tournaments. Alex lives in D.C. and has two kids. On the academic side, Alex has an engineering degree and an MBA. He still enjoys goaltimate and grandmasters ultimate (body willing).

Rob Gray
Skill Acquisition Specialist – Boston Red Sox

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Rob completed his BA in Psychology at Queen’s University and his MS and PhD in Experimental Psychology at York University. After receiving his PhD in 1998, he worked as a Research Scientist for Nissan Motor Corporation in Cambridge, Mass. In 2001, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the newly formed Applied Psychology Program at Arizona State University. In 2006, he was appointed Associate Professor and Program Head. Since 2005, he has also worked part-time as a Research Psychologist for the United States Air Force. From January-June 2010, he was appointed as a Visiting Professor in Sport Sciences at the University of the Mediterranean in France. From 2010-2014, he was a Reader (Associate Professor) in Perception & Action in the School of Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham, U.K.

Rob’s research focuses on perceptual-motor control with a particular emphasis on the demanding actions involved in driving, aviation, and sports. His goal is to conduct basic research that can be applied towards the improvement of training, simulation, accident prevention and human-machine interface development within these contexts. In 2007, he was awarded the Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology from the American Psychological Association and the Earl Alluisi Award for Early Career Achievement in the Field of Applied Experimental & Engineering Psychology. Since 2023, he has worked as a Skill Acquisition Specialist with the Boston Red Sox. He currently hosts and produces the popular Perception & Action Podcast.

Sean McCall
Assistant Coach – U.S. Beach National Team

FAQs

Will the Organizer Convention be held in-person or virtually in 2025?

The Organizer Convention will be held in person in 2025! All sessions will take place at the Antlers Hotel in downtown Colorado Springs.

How do I register if I am attending on behalf of a USA Ultimate affiliate or state-based organization?

Contact Leah Dolan-Kelley, and she can get you registered.

Are registration fees refundable?

If you are no longer able to attend the Organizer Convention, we will refund your registration fee until January 19, 2025. After that, no refunds will be granted.

We can also transfer your registration to someone else who will be able to participate in your place.