Cohen, Smith Jones, Walker, and Winkelfoos Named to Women Leaders in College Sports Board of Directors

Lynn Holzman to Serve as 2018-19 President

PRESS RELEASE

October 17, 2017
Contact: Rachel DeSchepper
Women Leaders in College Sports
[email protected]
816-389-8208

Kansas City, Mo.—Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA), the nation’s premier women’s athletic leadership association, has selected Jennifer Cohen, director of athletics at the University of Washington; Tamica Smith Jones, director of intercollegiate athletics at the University of California, Riverside; Tonia Walker, director of athletics at Winston-Salem State University; and Natalie Winkelfoos, associate vice president for athletics advancement and Delta Lodge director of athletics and physical education at Oberlin College to serve as 2017-2018 board of directors members. Julie Soriero, department head and director of athletics at MIT, will serve as incoming Women Leaders president and Executive Committee member.

The four-year board terms for Smith Jones, Walker, and Winkelfoos; and two-year term for Cohen (who replaces and continues a retiring member’s term) officially began October 10, 2017, when elected candidates were announced at the Women Leaders in College Sports National Convention in Dallas. In addition, Lynn Holzman, commissioner of the West Coast Conference, will serve as president after completing one year as president-elect.

“I am honored to be chosen to lead Women Leaders in College Sports,” Holzman says. “This is an organization that is moving full-steam ahead in providing leadership, networking, and advancement opportunities for women leaders in college athletics and beyond, and I’m thrilled to play an active role in shaping it.”

Cohen was named the University of Washington’s fifteenth director of athletics in May 2016. She been with the UW for 18 years and for much of that time has overseen the athletic department's fundraising efforts. Cohen and her team led the "Drive for Husky Stadium" campaign, in which the department raised over $50 million in gifts for the renovation of Husky Stadium, which was completed in August 2013. Cohen has also led development efforts for a number of other initiatives, including the renovation of Hec Edmundson Pavilion and the Conibear Shellhouse, the construction of the Dempsey Indoor Practice Facility, the Husky Legends Center, Husky Golf Center and various scholarship endowments.

Smith Jones was named UC Riverside’s director of intercollegiate athletics in June of 2015, and in her first year at the helm, UC Riverside Athletics enjoyed its most productive season in its Division I history. With the student-athlete experience as one of her primary focuses, Smith Jones has already overseen a renovation and rebranding of the Highlanders home basketball and volleyball arena, and begun the process for the creation of The Bears’ Den—a state-of-the-art locker room facility which will include team spaces, a study lounge, and a re-fueling station among other amenities.

Walker enters her fourth year as Director of Athletics and 17th season at Winston-Salem State University. She came to WSSU after completing a seven-year stint with the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). Walker boasts more than 22 CIAA Championships claimed by Winston-Salem State University sports teams over the past seven years. During her tenure as director of athletics, student-athletes have posted its highest departmental cumulative grade point average over the past two decades and continue to reveal a graduation rate over and above the general student-body.

The first female to hold the position at Oberlin College, Winkelfoos was named the Delta Lodge director of athletics and physical education in 2012 and promoted to associate vice president for athletics advancement in 2017. Named the Division III Administrator of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports in 2015, Winkelfoos inherited a department that was in the early stages of a capital campaign during which she has collaborated with the office of development to raise approximately $35 million dollars to date that has built the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex and a soon-to-be health and wellness center.

Holzman was named the third full-time commissioner in the history of the West Coast Conference in June 2014. As commissioner, Holzman is responsible for strategically building on the historical success of the West Coast Conference within the values and philosophy of the Conference membership. Holzman works closely with the Presidents’ Council and Executive Council to develop and implement strategies designed to achieve the mission and vision of the Conference and ensure long-term viability. Holzman also actively serves on NCAA, professional organization boards, and represents the Conference at a variety of events.

Cohen, Smith Jones, Walker, Winkelfoos, and Soriero step in for departing board members Missy Conboy, senior deputy athletics director at the University of Notre Dame; Jacqie McWilliams, commissioner at the CIAA; Julie Ruppert, commissioner at the Northeast-10; Miechelle Willis, special assistant to the athletic director at The Ohio State University; and immediate past president Vicky Chun, vice president and director of athletics at Colgate University.

View the complete Women Leaders in College Sports Board of Directors list here.

About Women Leaders in College Sports

Founded in 1979, Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA; www.womenleadersincollgesports.org) is the only nationally recognized collegiate professional membership organization whose mission is to develop, connect, and advance women leaders working in intercollegiate athletics. More than 3,500 members strong, Women Leaders promotes the growth, leadership, and success of women as athletics administrators, conference commissioners, professional staff, coaches, and student-athletes.