Meet the NCYS Leadership

Wayne was appointed as Executive Director on July 1, 2018. He served as Senior Director, Sports, Fitness & Recreation for Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) for 15 years, and joined BGCA as Director, Program Planning in June 2003. He was responsible for program planning and assessment efforts. Wayne previously served as the director for the Cleveland (Ohio) and DeKalb County Georgia Recreation Divisions. He also has front office experience with the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Orioles. 

Wayne served as Chairman of the United States Olympic Committee’s Multi-Sport Organization Council. He holds a Master’s in Sports Administration & Facility Management from Ohio University and a Bachelor’s in Journalism from Howard University. He is married to Phillippa Moss and they have one son, Na’im.

Ann has over two decades leading mission-driven organizations to promote health, sports, and wellness for women and youth. Most recently, she was a Founding Partner at a start-up data science and network management platform supporting collegiate student-athletes’ career development and employment placement. Previously, Ann served as VP, Lacrosse Operations for USA Lacrosse, managing the U.S. National Teams competing worldwide and the Center for Sport Science promoting health, safety, and wellness. Ann has safety and governance leadership roles with USA Field Hockey, World Lacrosse, the Pan Am Lacrosse Association Board President and ASTM’s Lacrosse Equipment Committee Chair. Ann spent nearly a decade in public health advocacy, including as Director of Public Policy for the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. A Long Island native, Ann graduated from SUNY Buffalo, where she played and coached women’s lacrosse. She resides in Maryland with her husband and three children.

Jack is the Founder and Chairman, CoachSafely Foundation. Its mission is to limit youth sports-related injuries through research, advocacy and education of coaches, parents, physical educators and other influential figures in young athletes’ lives. Jack is a legendary college football coach. He was most recently the head coach at Jacksonville State University with stops at Auburn, Arkansas, Clemson, Baylor, Livingston and North Alabama. He formed the CoachSafely Foundation, which has grown from consultancy to policy-lobbying non-profit to 501(c)(3) research and education organization designed to set a higher standard for youth sports safety policy, education, research and community outreach.

Gil is a Sport Management Professor and the Associate Dean at the Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business, at the University of West Florida. He has over 30 years of experience in the sports sector. Gil is a specialist in sport law, finance and facility management, which are topics he teaches. He has written more than 13 books on sport risk management, facility management, esports and sport finance and published more than 300 articles. Gil is the editor of Sports Facilities & the Law newsletter. He has served as general and outside counsel for various sports organizations, such as Dixie Baseball/Softball and the Sportsplex Operators and Developers Association (SODA). He is well known in sport risk management, focusing on protecting participants and fans at sporting events/facilities. He has been an expert witness in many of the industry’s most important cases over the past 30 years.

Adam is the CEO of USA Artistic Swimming (USAAS). Formerly known as U.S. Synchronized Swimming, it is the United States national governing body for the sport. Adam has more than a decade of experience with National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). He previously served as Member Services Director at USA Field Hockey and Manager of Community Partnerships at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Born in Hawk Run, Pennsylvania, Adam played collegiate football and received his bachelor’s degree in sports administration from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. He earned a master’s degree in education with a focus in sport management from Old Dominion University.

Trish is Co-founder of the National Center for Safety Initiatives (NCSI). For nearly two decades, NCSI has been on the forefront of helping to protect athletes, families and organizations through market-leading safety and security programs. Passionate about child safety and well-being, Trish serves as a speaker and national thought leader on the importance of a holistic approach to safety in youth sports. Prior to NCSI, Trish was a corporate executive in the private sector. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Ursuline College, holds SPHR certification and was awarded her Master of Science in Positive Organization Development (MScPOD) degree with honors from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management in Cleveland, Ohio. Trish resides in Ohio with her family.

Dr. Joseph Janosky serves as Assistant Professor at Lasell University in Boston, Massachusetts and as Chief Scientific Officer for the Yellow Finch Consulting Group. He has 30 years of experience as a sports medicine clinician. Dr. Janosky has lectured nationally and internationally about sports injury prevention and athlete health issues and holds leadership positions with the American Public Health Association, the European Sports Medicine Associates (a division of the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery, and Arthroscopy), and the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Society (PRiSM). Dr. Janosky has earned a doctoral degree in Public Health.

Mark M. O’Brien serves as the president, CEO and a Board Director for LakePoint Sports, the premier travel and youth sports destination in the country. Before LakePoint Sports, O’Brien served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mizuno USA Inc., and Chairman and Officer of Mizuno Canada, Ltd. O’Brien has two decades of leadership with some of the most recognizable brands in the world, including, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, The Original HoneyBaked Ham Company, Johnsonville Sausage and Miller Brewing Company. O’Brien held front office roles with the Houston Rockets and multiple teams in the Texas-Louisiana Professional Baseball League. O’Brien earned a Master’s in Sports Management at Georgia Southern University and a Bachelor’s in Communication from St. Norbert College. Mark, his bride Michelle and their four daughters reside in Atlanta.

Shannon Shy, Senior Counsel (Land Use), U.S. Department of the Navy, served from 2007 to 2018 as the American Youth Football (AYF) National Membership Director. He co-founded the Northern Virginia Youth Athletic Association (NVYAA) in 2003. A retired Marine Corps Reserve Lieutenant Colonel, Shannon has authored three books on overcoming OCD, including his latest, Turning Points: Peer: Peer Support and a Strategy to Help Those with OCD, and a book about his daughter, Dad, I Love You All the Way to God and Back. In 2018, Shannon deployed to Afghanistan for a two-year tour as a civilian advisor to the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense. He earned a J.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia Law School and a B.S in Broadcast Management from Missouri State University, where he lettered in wrestling.

Sally proudly served as the first NCYS Executive Director from January 1997-July 2018. Possessing extensive experience in business, leadership and organization management issues, Sally’s passion for working in the field of non-profit associations began as a community volunteer at the age of fourteen. She continued her work as an untiring and passionate advocate for youth issues particularly for the health, safety and welfare of children. Sally dedicated her career to maintaining respectable ethical and behavioral standards in youth sports organizations as well as society to make a positive difference for children of all backgrounds, genders, and economic diversities. Sally’s leadership achievements were honored with numerous prestigious national and international recognitions.