LiFEsports Team

Ph.D., M.S.W., University of Utah. M.S., B.A., B.S., Miami University

Dawn is a professor at the College of Social Work and affiliate faculty member in Human Sciences at OSU. Dawn serves as the Executive Director for Teaching/Research for LiFEsports. She is known nationally for her research in sport-based positive youth development, afterschool programming, and school mental health practice. She is a licensed independent social work (with supervision designation) in Ohio. Dawn was a college athlete, and also has coached soccer at the high school, Club, and community levels. Collectively she has over 30 years of experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating youth development, sport, exercise, and school mental health interventions for youth. Dawn has been at OSU since 2000, and joined the LiFEsports team in 2008. More information about Dawn Anderson-Butcher can be found at csw.osu.edu.

B.S.B.A., M.A., Ph.D., The Ohio State University

Jerome is currently the Director of Staff Development in the Department of Athletics, the LiFEsports Executive Director of Service & Outreach, and an Adjunct Professor in the College of Social Work and in the College of Education and Human Ecology. He is dedicated to providing a great experience to people of all ages through sport. He enjoys helping students excel at developing into great people, and to become effective members of society. He accomplishes this through his work in athletics, the LiFEsports Camp, and in the classroom.

B.S.W., Capital University, M.S.W., The Ohio State University

Rebecca is currently the Director of Operations for the LiFEsports Initiative. In this position, she is responsible for the day-to-day management and leadership of all current programming. In addition to this role, she supports and manages teaching/learning, research, and fundraising endeavors within LiFEsports. During the summer, she serves as the Assistant Director for the LiFEsports Summer Camp. Becky joined the LiFEsports Initiative in 2008. Outside of LiFEsports, Becky is an independent licensed social worker in the State of Ohio, serves as a field consultant for the National Summer Learning Association, and has coached middle school soccer in Grandview Heights City Schools for the past 11 years.

B.S., Bowling Green State University, M.S.E., University of Toledo

Stephen is the Program Manager for the LiFEsports Initiative. In this position, he is responsible for the management and leadership of the LiFEsports clinics and our Youth Leadership Academy. Stephen joined the LiFEsports Initiative in 2017. Outside of LiFEsports, Stephen is a licensed Real Estate Agent. He frequently serves as an instructor for the OSU Extension, Franklin County Homebuyers Education Workshops. Stephen has also served on the OSU department of Social Work’s Diversity Committee and Response Team. Stephen has a passion for helping youth succeed through education and professional development.

M.S.W., The Ohio State University

Catelen is a Licensed Social Worker in the State of Ohio and is currently Program Coordinator of the Community and Youth Collaborative Institute (CAYCI) in the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University. Her role in CAYCI is to coordinate day to day operations and grants management projects focused on the planning, implementation and evaluation of school-family-community partnerships and positive youth development, school climate, health and social service related interventions to support vulnerable youth and their families. Additionally, she also helps supervise and instruct OSU students as they learn social work practices. In her time outside of the office, she is a mentor to LiFEsports Youth Leadership Academy high school students.

B.S.U.S., University of Cincinnati, M.P.A., The Ohio State University

Noelle is a One Linden School-Family-Community Coordinator for the Community and Youth Collaborative Institute (CAYCI), within the College of Social Work. She serves Windsor STEM Academy and the Linden community, working to strengthen school-family-community partnership, and transforming schools as hubs for community transformation. She also supervises and supports College of Social Work students completing their field placement at Windsor. In addition to her role at CAYCI, Noelle supports LiFEsports’ Youth Leadership Academy and helps with summer camp and clinics.

B.A.C., The Ohio State University

Julie is the Community Engagement Coordinator. As a LiFEsports team member, with years of experience in the non-profit and for-profit setting, Julie's primary role is to support resource stewardship in partnership with other leaders of LiFEsports. She also provides support and teaching to staff related to their roles and responsibilities with volunteers or Advisory Council members who interface with programming and engagement opportunities. Outside of LiFEsports, Julie leads a small group at her church. She is founder of Welcome Warehouse in Dublin, Ohio, a nonprofit providing help to neighbors in need. She enjoys connecting and encouraging people to make a difference in the lives of others. Julie joined LiFEsports in spring of 2019.

Travis (he/him/his) is in his first year in the MSW-PhD program in Social Work at Ohio State and is a field placement intern with LiFEsports. He previously completed his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Wilmington College and his Master of Science in Sport & Exercise Psychology at University of Kentucky. While at WC, he competed in track and field as a sprinter and served as Student Body President. He also collaborates with the Center for Sport, Peace, and Society at University of Tennessee and is a Junior Associate Editor for the Journal of Advancing Sport Psychology in Research. Travis is interested in research related to sport for social justice, positive youth development, life skill transfer, and advocacy for gender and sexual minorities.

Taylor is a second year Master’s of Social Work student. She has worked with LiFEsports since 2018 as a camp counselor and currently works as field placement student. Taylor competed as a Division I student-athlete at Miami University of Ohio where she ran cross country and track & field while earning a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. After graduation, Taylor hopes to get a job within the social work field and has great interest in school-based social work. Taylor’s favorite sports are running and CrossFit.

Jay is currently a Senior at The Ohio State University and is interning at LiFEsports during the 2020-2021 academic year. While at LiFEsports, Jay works with the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) and has quickly become one of the main facilitators at our sport clinics this fall. Jay, originally from Asbury Park, New Jersey, joined the United States Air Force in 2006 and has lived in and traveled to Guam, Japan, South Korea, Niger, Germany, and throughout the United States. In 2014, he joined the Ohio Air National Guard relocated to central Ohio and began attending OSU in 2017. Majoring in Social Work, Jay looks forward to using his experiences at LiFEsports, OSU, and in the military to open a private practice where he can incorporate both fitness and social work into counseling services.

Obi is a 2nd year Ph.D. student who is studying Kinesiology with a cognate in pedagogy and youth sport. Obi has previous experience in sport working as the OSU Men’s Soccer team manager and a youth soccer coach at various locations for the past 10 years. Obi also worked as an Ohio State Master of Sport Coaching graduate assistant. His favorite sport is soccer and he hopes to have a career within academia or a national governing organization after graduation.

Danny is a design student and is in his 2nd year. His primary focus is graphic design and communications. Danny’s favorite sport is Ice hockey and would love to work for a professional or college sports team as their graphic designer. He is also fluent in French.

AM is currently a 2nd year master student at The Ohio State University and is conducting his field placement with LiFEsports during the 2021-2022 academic year. He previously completed his bachelor’s degree in recreational management with an emphasize in sports from Appalachian State University. While attending Appalachian State, he competed as a former student-athlete and served as an intern for their athletic department. AM holds a interest in focusing on the unique needs of student-athletes at both an individual and environmental level. This could include counseling , therapeutic intervention, and life skill development through clinical and evidences based services.