Board of Directors
USCCE Board of Directors 2024 Nominations
Interested in getting more involved in the USCCE? Consider running for one of the open USCCE Board of Directors seats in 2024. There are four positions available this year – Treasurer, NCACE Chair, and two Member-At-Large Representatives. Deadline has been extended. Elections will be held in late April and the new board members will be announced at the North American Coach Development Summit in Columbus, Ohio on June 10-12. Self-nomination is encouraged and individuals must be members to apply.
Description of Duties
Board of Directors
Cam Kiosoglous
President
Cam Kiosoglous is an Assistant Professor at Drexel University and a long time National Team and Olympic coach. He currently serves as the Coordinator of Sport Science at USRowing and has worked with a variety of organizations in coaching development. His research interest includes long-term coach learning, reflective practices and professionalization of coaching.
Kristen Dieffenbach
Executive Director
Andy Driska
Accreditation Chair
Heidi DeLio Thibert
At-Large Board Member
Heidi is the U.S. Figure Skating Director of Coaching Development and Education. Heidi is a former competitive figure skater, a U.S. Figure Skating triple Gold Test Medalist, and a Master
Accredited Coach of figure skaters from the learn-to-skate level to the national and international levels. Heidi served on the U.S. Figure Skating Board of Directors and on the Professional Skaters Association (PSA) Board of Governors in the past. Always following her curiosity to discover better ways of coaching, she was awarded the USOPC “Doc” Counsilman Sport Science Coach of the Year Award in 2009. Heidi has been attending coaching education/ development conferences and summits since 2010 and completed the USCCE Coach Developer Academy in 2018. Drawing on the collective expertise from many of those events, Heidi and her staff have recently collaborated to create the U.S. Figure Skating Core Certification. This certification will serve as the foundation for a coaching development pathway and tiered coach accreditation system: “Coach I.C.E. (Inspiring Coaching Excellence)”.
Troy Engle
Secretary
Dr. Zeljka Vidic
At-Large Board Member
Zeljka is an Associate Professor and the Program Coordinator for the M.A. Sports Coaching and the Undergraduate Sports Coaching minor at Western Michigan University. Her Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Sport/Exercise Psychology. Her current research is in the area of sport and performance psychology examining the impact of mindfulness and psychological skills training interventions with college athletes and students. Dr. Vidic is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant through the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), certified HeartMath Trainer, certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator trainer, and has completed training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Originally from Croatia, Dr. Vidic is a former Division I collegiate tennis player and has coaching experience at the Division I, Junior College and High-school levels. She still enjoys playing tennis and exercising.
TBD
Member at Large
TBD
Melissa Otterbein
Member at Large
Melissa Otterbein, MPH, CHES, is the Senior Manager of Fitness & Healthy Lifestyles at Special Olympics International. She is the Managing Editor for the Journal of Emerging Sport Studies, a certified USA Triathlon Level II, and US Masters Swimming certified coach. She was previously the Coaching Education Manager at USA Triathlon, where she developed an elite triathlete and paratriathlete leadership development program. Her research has primarily focused on sport based youth development and athlete mental health, with emphasis now on health promotion for people with intellectual disabilities through fitness. As a coach for athletes across the lifespan for over 15 years and former Division I athlete, Melissa values sport as a catalyst for psychosocial development.
Cara Cocchiarella
Education Chair
Dr. Cara Cocchiarella (Ed.D., Educational Leadership) is a coach developer with Win Win Consulting and a Professor in Health and Physical Education at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. She is dedicated to empowering sports leaders in pursuit of excellence and to ensuring access and quality programming for all athletes. Her continued engagement and growth in the field of coach development is driven by her passion for inclusive, holistic, athlete-centered coaching, rooted in quality coach education and support.
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