April 26, 2011

For the fifth year in a row, the National Association of Athletic Development Directors (NAADD) has announced the recipients of its Diversity Initiative Program. Recipients receive convention stipends to attend the 2011 NAADD Convention, which takes place from June 16-18 at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Fla.

"The NAADD Diversity Initiative Program allows our association to provide a quality professional development opportunity to top-flight minority and female administrators that are both members of our association and looking to further their careers in intercollegiate athletics development," stated NAADD President Marija Pientka, associate athletics director for development, University of Wisconsin. "Our Diversity Initiative Committee, which consists of Phillip McAlpin, director of athletics development at North Carolina A&T State University, and Doug Knuth, associate athletics director for external relations at the University of Utah, did a fantastic job of publicizing and promoting this initiative. NAADD looks forward to continuing this initiative in the future.

The 2011 Diversity Initiative recipients are:

Joy Bentley, Johns Hopkins University

Donald Brooks, Williams College

Lori Dobbins, North Carolina A&T State University

Kimberly Dumpson, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Sterling Frierson, Vanderbilt University

Megan Gormley, Bowling Green State University

Anthony Henderson, Old Dominion University

Karen Holmes, Norfolk State University

Rebekka Jackson, Xavier University

James McClinton III, South Carolina State University

Krysta Plato, Eastern Washington University

Beth Presley, University of Arkansas Fort Smith

Keith Richardson, Rutgers University

Kristin Scott, University of Missouri

Jennifer Thomas, DePaul University

About NAADD: NAADD is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities, enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics, and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of athletics development and fund raising. For more information about NAADD, please visit www.naadd.com. NAADD is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 44th year. For more information on NACDA and the 11 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.