New members of the USA Ultimate Board of Directors for 2012
Mike Payne, USA Ultimate Board President
Posted: January 9, 2012 11:38 AM
I am pleased to announce a number of fantastic additions to the
USA Ultimate Board of Directors. Through a combination of general elections and appointments, we have 4 brand new Directors (Mike Kinsella, Ben Slade, Sandy Park, and Kathy Hendrickson) as well as 2 returning Directors (Gwen Ambler, John Terry) that will start new terms in 2012.
| |
|
Name |
Representation |
End of term |
| 2012 Directors |
1 |
Audrius Barzdukas |
Southwest |
2012 |
| 2 |
Kathy Hendrickson |
Mid-Atlantic |
2012 |
| 3 |
Mike Payne |
Northwest |
2013 |
| 4 |
Mandy Eckhoff |
Northeast |
2013 |
| 5 |
Ben Slade |
South |
2014 |
| 6 |
Mike Kinsella |
Central |
2014 |
| 7 |
John Terry |
South (through 2011), At-Large (2012) |
2012 |
| 8 |
Colin McIntyre |
At-Large |
2013 |
| 9 |
Gwen Ambler |
At-Large |
2014 |
| 10 |
Greg Downey |
At-Large (appointed) |
2013 |
| 11 |
Matt Farrell |
At-Large (appointed) |
2012 |
| 12 |
Sandy Park |
At-Large (appointed) |
2014 |
Departing
Directors |
1 |
Henry Thorne |
At-Large |
2011 |
| 2 |
Seth Grossinger |
Central |
2011 |
Our new board members bring an impressive array of capabilities and representation to the Board, which is necessary as we provide guidance to the USA Ultimate staff at a strategic policy level, and seek to represent the interests of USA Ultimate members.
For example, Sandy Park has experience in the governance of metropolitan Ultimate leagues in two areas (San Francisco and Chicago) that will help us support the growth of small to medium-sized leagues in the coming years. Ben Slade’s background as a D1 and D3 captain, college coach, and member of the USA Ultimate College Restructuring committee will help us ensure that our recent introduction of divisional college play and regular seasons is successful over the long term. Kathy Hendrickson’s background as a lawyer and President of a non-profit will be invaluable as the Board and USA Ultimate CEO seek to improve our governance practices, to support long term growth of the organization and the sport. And Mike Kinsella’s experience as a coach and local organizer in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois will help ensure that USA Ultimate is investing in the right types of programs to continue and even accelerate the growth in youth Ultimate that we’ve seen in the past 5 years.
Short bios of our new Board members are shown below.
| Mike Kinsella |
 |
In addition to Mike’s many years as as a player, other Ultimate roles include: captain (Northwestern, Climax, multiple leagues), certified coach (Hopkins HS, Madison Memorial HS), tournament director (Hopkins Hustle), sectional coordinator, observer, volunteer, and fan. Mike works in healthcare IT at a non-profit children’s hospital in Chicago. Mike holds BS degrees in Industrial Engineering and Economics from Northwestern University. |
| Ben Slade |
 |
Ben has spent his entire Ultimate career in the South region. He has been a player, Captain, and Coach of college Ultimate teams, and has played both league and club Ultimate. Ben works in the Organizational Capability office at NASA and is also is an instructor for Clemson University’s leisure skills department, teaching classes, writing curriculum, and training new teachers. Ben holds a BA in Psychology from Covenant College and a MS in Psychology from Clemson University (where he is currently pursuing his PhD in the same subject). |
| Sandy Park |
 |
In addition to her years as a player, league commissioner, co-captain (ABBQ, Darkhorse), and tournament director, Sandy has played a leadership role in enhancing governance of Ultimate associations in Chicago and the SF Bay Area. Sandy has a professional background in education and has worked as a high school teacher, administrator, and an education reform advocate. Sandy holds a BA in Psychology from Calvin College, and a Master’s in Education from DePaul University. |
| Kathy Hendrickson |
 |
Kathy’s involvement with Ultimate has largely been through her children Tommy, Drew, and Peter, who have played at a wide variety of levels as youth, college, and club players. In her professional life, Kathy consults with attorneys whose clients have disability related issues. For eight years, she directed The Family Trust in Pennsylvania. Previously, Kathy was a partner at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP (now K&L Gates) and a law clerk to a US Court of Appeals judge. She holds a J.D. from New York University and a B.A. from Trinity College (D.C.). |
Finally, I want to recognize the significant contributions of the two Directors whose terms will end in January 2012.
- Seth Grossinger has served on the Board for the past three years as the Central region representative. Seth has made significant contributions to the financial health of the organization through his work on the Finance Committee during all three years, including acting as the Treasurer in 2009 and 2010. Seth also helped with several staff efforts in the areas such as tournament stat-keeping processes.
- Henry Thorne has served for the past 6 years as an at-large representative. Henry is also the most –tenured Board member in the history of USA Ultimate, with a total of 14 years of service. Henry has been a contributor and leader in many areas for USA Ultimate, with highlights including strategic planning (he has been an integral part of our 2008 and 2012 planning cycles, providing USA Ultimate with a roadmap that runs from 2008-2018), financial policy (as 2011 Treasurer, he put in place our new Operating Reserves and Investment policies that help ensure financial stability of the organization over the long-term), staff hiring (Henry helped lead processes to hire USA Ultimate’s last 3 CEOs), Hall of Fame (acting as the link between the independent HoF Committee and USA Ultimate leadership), and general integration among different Ultimate constituencies (Henry has been instrumental in bringing/keeping divisions under the USA Ultimate umbrella such as mixed, college elite, youth, alumni, and grandmasters). As a successful entrepreneur, Henry has brought expertise in growing organizations to our Board discussions, and as the father of 2 youth/college players he has been an outspoken advocate for growth in these areas.
Looking forward to a great year for Ultimate in 2012,
Mike Payne
2011 USA Ultimate Board President