Clemson Athletics announced the 16 participants in the 2023-24 CUADvance cohort. The professional development group, which is now in its third year, begins monthly sessions in late August and features up-and-coming members from a cross-functional athletics group.
Kevin Aje || Associate Director, Academic Services
Geoff Bell || Social Content Specialist, Creative Solutions, CAPCO
Kyle Chasse || Assistant Director, Business Operations
Jeuel Davis || Director of Life Skills & Community Service, P.A.W Journey, FB Player Relations
Liz Doherty || Director of Compliance Services
James Haynes || Assistant Director of Recruiting Operations
Christina Koon || Director of Olympic Sports Nutrition
Jayse McQuaig || Assistant Director of Football Internal Creative & Technology
JT Mellendick ||| Associate Director, Academic Services
Nash Newberry || Assistant Director of Development and Member Services
Ashley Persson || Assistant Director for Student-Athlete Development
Meredith Priest || Associate Director of Premium Hospitality and Donor Stewardship, IPTAY
Jared Sweat || Associate Director, Creative Solutions
Amanda Taylor || Assistant Athletic Trainer, Lacrosse
Erika Troutman || Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach, Lacrosse, Women’s Soccer
Shanelle Valentine || Assistant Director of On-Campus Recruiting, Football
CUADvance is a 10-month program, sponsored by Director of Athletics Graham Neff, which fosters opportunities for an annual cohort of employees who are early in their careers. The program features a core curriculum led by athletic partners AMPLOS and other athletics-centric speakers who can enhance employee skills and create opportunities for growth in collegiate athletics through personal development programs, industry exposure, networking opportunities and more. CUADvance is coordinated by Jordy Kirr and Henry Archuleta.
The monthly sessions are designed to take two hours each. The sessions rotated locations at different venues across the Athletic District to expose the cohort to our different departmental units. The first hour consisted of the core curriculum led by Dr. Cory Shaffer. The core curriculum for the first half of the program focused on personal development fostering self-discovery of what drives our talented employees and challenging them to identify their strengths and weaknesses to be able to lead others from the inside out. The second hour was structured as a “lunch and learn” featuring speakers from CUAD, the ACC, and peer institutions to tie in what AMPLOS covered as part of the respective month’s core curriculum.