BOARD OF DIRECTORS - Strategic Plan

Denise Shively - PRESIDENT

First Elected: 2020 Current Term: 2022 - 2024

 

Denise Shively is a national judge and a past vice president of competitive operations for USA Artistic Swimming. Her involvement in artistic swimming began as a master’s athlete with the former Columbus Synch-or-Swim team. Throughout the years, her daughters participated in the sport and Denise coached for the Columbus Coralinas. A recipient of the Lillian MacKellar Distinguished Service Award and named to the Synchronized Swimming Hall of Fame, Contributor Category, she held several different positions in the Ohio Association and North Zone. In 2003 she was invited to join the national team staff as team manager and continued that role with the junior and senior national teams for more than 15 years. She attended many international competitions including World Championships, World Cups, Pan American Games and the 2008 Olympic Games. She said she was honored to return to the role of national team manager in 2019 in support of the current team working towards Olympic qualification.

 

Denise is a faculty member and past chair of the Department of Communication, Otterbein University, Westerville, Ohio, where she teaches primarily public relations classes. Prior to teaching, she worked in public relations for several nonprofit organizations including the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce where she was executive director. She and her husband, Jim, live in Westerville and have three married daughters and three grandsons.

 

Chris Leahy - VP COMPETITIVE OPERATIONS

First Elected: 2019 Current Term: 2021 - 2023

 

Chris Leahy has helped organize and run almost every national meet and USA Artistic Swimming hosted international meet since 2014. He served as the acting VP of Competitive Operations for the 2019 Junior Olympic Championship. Leahy has been involved in many different areas of the sport as a coach, swimmer and official. He has served as the sound manager for USA Artistic Swimming events, and he has worked to make sure swimmers and coaches are confident in excellent sound at national meets.  He has served as a coach and swimmer with the Cincinnati YMCA Synchrogators, and he is a swimmer with the Dayton Synchronettes. Leahy started his synchronized swimming career at a club in Alaska, and he still swims in USA Artistic Swimming sanctioned events.

 

Irene Hawes - VP OLYMPIC INTERNATIONAL

First Elected: 2020 Current Term: 2022 - 2024

 

Irene Hawes is a life member, has a Bachelor of Arts from The Ohio State University and a Juris Doctorate from Western State University.  She has worked for the Automobile Club of Southern California for the last 33 years.   As a FINA A Judge, she judged at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Qualifier and the 2016 Olympics. She has also judged at the 2007 & 2015 World Championships, at five Junior Worlds Championships, the 2011 and 2019 Pan American Championship and numerous other International Competitions. Hawes is a FINA Evaluator and most recently evaluated at the Inaugural 2019 Youth World Championship and the 2020 French Open World Series. She was the recipient of the 2018 USA Synchro Hall of Fame Contributor, the 2011 West Zone Contributor of the Year Award and the 2018 West Zone Coach of the Year Award. As a former head coach of the Huntington Beach Aquabelles, Long Beach Synchronettes and the Meraquas of Irvine she has worked with athletes of all levels from Novice to National Team members. Irene herself started as an athlete in the Age Group program in Buffalo, New York and has competed at the collegiate level for The Ohio State University where she was a 3 time National Champion. She has also served on the West Zone Board Officials Chair and as the Southern California Association Officials and Technical Chair and at the National level as Rules Chair.  Irene has a son in who is a Captain in the Air Force and a daughter who is following in her footstep training to become a national judge and coaching.   Irene Lives in Santa Ana, California with her husband Dennis.

 

Jocilyn Sayler - VP MEMBER DEVELOPMENT

First Elected: 2021 Current Term: 2021 - 2023

 

Ashley Johnson - VP DIVERSITY, EQUALITY AND INCLUSION

First Elected: 2020 Current Term: 2022 - 2024

Ashley has been involved in artistic swimming for 27 years with experience from many perspectives as a swimmer, coach and judge. As the coach of Coral Springs Aquacades, she has led the team to many successful National Championship title events and helped place ten swimmers on U.S. National teams over the years. Her coaching accolades include: 2017 13-15 USA National Team 2, USA National team development coach, coach of 7 High Point Trophy team winner at South Zones, five-time South Zone Coach of the Year, coach of the 2011 JO team Champion and coach of 2011 U.S. Open Trio Champion which was the only medal won for USA in Hawaii. Ashley’s unique coaching, choreography and consulting expertise has afforded her opportunities in South America, Central America, Canada and the Caribbean and allowed her to achieve a position as FINA Educator. Recently, she led two DEI zoom calls for BC Artistic Swimming Association of Canada. Ashley also brings governance experience in serving on the South Zone board and several committees over the years. She brings the same passion and care for members of USAAS as she does for her patients in her nursing career.

Currently residing in South Florida, Ashley loves taking care of her precious dog, Mimi, and is excited to add a diversity and inclusion aspect to all areas of the sport so that USAAS can become a more equitable organization.

 

Jennifer Jarboe - TREASURER

First Elected: 2019 Current Term: 2021 - 2023

 

Jennifer Jarboe has been involved in synchronized swimming since 2002. As the treasurer for USA Artistic Swimming, she will help oversee and be responsible for safeguarding the financial health of the organization. Jarboe has her Bachelors Degree in Biochemistry from the University of Richmond. She obtained her MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. She has served as a Business Analyst and Consultant for Deloitte Consulting and is the Co-President of the Wharton Women in Business. She has worked with multiple businesses to improve their financial position and to align spending with their vision and strategy. As a consultant, she has worked with multiple business and nonprofit organizations to analyze and interpret financial data to support organizational decision-making. Jarboe has been a part of Artistic Swimming at many different levels. She has worked with big and small teams as a coach, official and athlete.

 

Emma Tchakmakjian - AEC PRESIDENT

First Elected: 2020 Current Term: 2022 - 2024

 

Emmanuella Tchakmakjian began her artistic swimming career on the New Canaan YMCA Aquianas. She made her first National Team in 2013 and swam for Team USA from 2015-2020. Emma competed at the Comen Cup, FINA Junior World Championships, FINA World Championships, Pan American Games, and many FINA World Series Competitions. She served as the captain of the National Team from 2017-2019. Emma was an East Zone Athlete Representative from 2016-2018 and served on the Athletes Executive Council as the VP of Marketing and Membership from 2017-2019 and Secretary from 2019-2020. She was the recipient of the 2020 East Zone Athlete of the Year Award and the 2020 USA Artistic Swimming Team of the Year Award.

Emma is currently studying at Stanford University and swimming for their synchronized swimming team. 

 

Claire Barton - AT LARGE ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE

First Elected: 2021 Current Term: 2021 - 2023

 

Claire Barton hails from the Bay Area where she trained in artistic swimming with the Santa Clara Aquamaids. She competed as a member of the national team at the 2015 FINA World Championships where she helped the team to 10th in tech team, 2015 US Open where the tech team was awarded first and the 2015 UANA Pan American Games where the squad placed third. She also competed at the 2014 FINA World Junior Championships where she helped the junior national team to an 8th place finish. Claire’s extensive national team and competitive club experience makes her well-prepared to represent the USAAS athlete voice in organizational decisions.  

 

Bill May - GENERAL BOD ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE

First Elected: 2022 Current Term: 2022 - 2024

  

 

Natalia Vega - GENERAL BOD ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE

First Elected: 2021 Current Term: 2022 - 2024

A 2021 graduate of University of Incarnate Word, Natalia was instrumental in her team getting back on the podium at the 2021 U.S. Collegiate Championship where UIW claimed a third-place finish and Natalia was named a Collegiate Athlete of the Year. She has represented USA on the international stage as a national team athlete, including competing alongside Bill May in the mixed duet category at the 2019 FINA World Championships. Recently, Natalia has made the move to Los Angeles to rejoin the national team program and take her place as a senior national team athlete as the squad prepares for the 2022 World Championships. 

 

Morgan Fuller Kolsrud - USOPC-AAC ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE

First Elected: 2018 Current Term: 2021 - 2024

 

Morgan Fuller Kolsrud grew up competing for the Santa Clara Aquamaids before going on to swim for Stanford University, where she helped capture multiple event titles and the 2013 National Championship. While at Stanford, Morgan was a 3-time Collegiate All-American and 4-time Collegiate Academic All-American. Morgan was a member of the National Team from 2010-2013, and was a member of the 2012 Olympic Training Squad. Morgan has been a coach for the San Francisco Merionettes since 2014 and has also recently become a judge. Morgan graduated from Stanford in 2014 with a Bachelor's in Psychology and Minors in Human Biology and Sociology and received her Master's Degree in Sport Management from the University of San Francisco in 2018. Morgan works in the sports industry, specializing in volunteer programs and major events. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two cats.

Mariya Koroleva - USOPC AAC ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE (Non-Voting)

First Elected: 2022 Current Term: 2022 - 2024

 

Kim Kohut - SECRETARY (Non-Voting)

Kimberly Kohut has been involved in the sport of artistic swimming for more than 30 years beginning in introductory classes and as a member of the Fairview High School Synchronettes in Fairview Park, Ohio.   As a Miami University student, Kim competed with the Miami Marlins.  After graduating with a B.S. in Elementary Education, she began her coaching and judging career with the Cincinnati Synchrogators.  In 2002, she returned to the Cleveland, Ohio, area and continued coaching and judging with the Brecksville Blue Dolphins. Kim pursued her post-graduate studies at Kent State University and earned her M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction in 2008 and an Educational Specialist degree in K-12 Administration in 2011.  Due to the demands of her career, she focused on judging and became a national figure judge in 2008, a national judge in 2011 and a FINA/UANA judge in 2015.  Kim has served in many leadership roles at the association, zone, and national level.  She is the current Administrative Chair, Technical Chair, and Officials Chair for Lake Erie Association and the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) chair for the East Zone.   Previously, Kim served as the East Zone Officials Chair and was the recipient of the East Zone Contributor of the Year Award.   During the 2013-15 international seasons, she served the 13-15 national team as team manager. As a K-12 educator, Kim is entering her 20th year as a teacher and an administrator, and is currently an assistant principal in a middle school.   Kim enjoys traveling and the lifelong friendships she has made as a life member of USA Artistic Swimming. She resides in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.

 

 

INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS 

 

Kerhyl Gantt

First Elected: 2020 Current Term: 2020 - 2024
Kerhyl Gantt is a Senior Brand Marketing Director at Nike with 12 years of brand leadership orchestrating campaigns across Global, North America and Territory regions, and Nike’s sub-brand, the Jordan Brand. She currently leads North America Marketing for Men’s Sports. Throughout her career she’s had the pleasure of leading Nike Inc’s most successful digital product launch in North America – the Air Jordan XI - developing Superbowl and NBA All-Star plans, launching Nike’s Equality campaign across the retail landscape, helping execute the NFL X Nike licensing deal, and building plans to sign football, golf, baseball and UFC athletes to the brand.

 

As a child, Kerhyl excelled in swimming and is a proud product of the USA Swimming club team Harris County Aquatics Program. Kerhyl is an alumna of Howard University where she was a Division I collegiate athlete on the swim team. She also holds an MBA from The Wharton School. In her spare time, Kerhyl aims to give back as she hopes to do through her time on the USAAS board. Kerhyl also currently serves on the board for the national non-profit, Bright Pink. 

 

Jennell Lynch

First Elected: 2020 Current Term: 2020 - 2024
Jennell Lynch has over 15+ years’ experience as a dancer and cheerleader. She had held roles as Camp Instructor / Competitive Judge for the Eastern Cheerleaders/Dance Association, Cheerleader and Dance Captain for Norfolk State University, Marketing and Communications Manager for the National Football League Players, Inc., Board Member of the Hampton Roads Youth Foundation and professional cheerleader for a AF2 team, the Norfolk Nighthawks.

 

As an MBA, a career executive, and mother of four competitive athletes, Jennell is a trained doula and founder of the Executive Doula Agency. Jennell now helps women and businesses navigate the intersection between career, giving birth and personal life.

 

After 20 years as an executive working in politics and private equity, along with earning a master’s degree in organizational management and marketing, Jennell has learned the granular details that can create a healthier workspace for working women. Throughout her career, she recognized that companies commonly lacked the internal support, knowledge, and resources for working women who are expecting or already mothers.

Joanne Pasternack

First Elected: 2020 Current Term: 2020 - 2024

Joanne Pasternack is a dynamic and visionary philanthropic leader who, over the past two decades, has galvanized community impact with internationally recognized brands including the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco 49ers, City of Mountain View, and Special Olympics. In September 2018, she joined ServiceNow as their Head of Global Impact – a newly created role where she will be developing a global corporate social responsibility portfolio for the cloud computing company based in Santa Clara, California.

Stacey Chapman

First Elected: 2020 Current Term: 2020 - 2024

Stacey Chapman has over 20 years of experience in the sports industry including leadership roles in brand, sports marketing, partnership activation and youth coaching education for brands like NIKE and the Portland Trail Blazers. She began her career at the LA84 Foundation, the legacy of  the ‘84 Olympic Summer Games, designing and implementing youth sport coaching education programs. She then joined NIKE, where she spent the next 12 years in leadership roles in Brand Management, Sports Marketing and Community Affairs. Stacey played collegiate  soccer at  U.C Berkeley and participated in the NCAA Division I Final Four. Her mother is an active USA Synchro Swimming Masters swimmer. Stacey lives in Vancouver, WA where she leads marketing for Burgerville, a PNW restaurant chain that prides itself serving high-quality, locally sourced ingredients.