Authors

Katrina Galas

Trusted leader. Creative jedi. Multi-tasking wizard. Play-maker. Dedicated team player. Recognizes and nourishes opportunities. Passionate sports fan. Multi-sport athlete. Olympic enthusiast. Connector extraordinaire. Katrina is currently pursuing an MBA at the University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Centre focusing on sport partnerships and sport for social change. A business professional with 7 years of marketing, sponsorship and brand activation experience at top tier companies in the sport industry including Nike, MolsonCoors and VANOC. An integrative thinker who believes in connecting people and ideas to create positive change.

Follow Katrina on Twitter and connect with her on Linkedin.

Tyler Johnson

Tyler Johnson is an innovative thinker inspired by the likes of Bill Veeck, Jon Spoelstra, Pat Williams & Brooks Boyer. Most recently he worked as the New Business Development Executive with the Chicago White Sox. Tyler has also worked directly with the inventor and creator of Arena football and also for Mike Ditka’s former Chicago AFL franchise. As a former collegiate athlete and business sensed individual Tyler ventured to combine his passions to get into the business side of sports.

Follow Tyler on Twitter @TylerDjohnson or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia’s portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

You can follow Sam on Twitter @gosam and visit VaynerMedia.

Chris McKinney

Chris McKinney is completely obsessed with the sports career-launching process. His goal of helping college students and career-changers launch sports careers is what drives him. As president of SPORTS LAUNCH™, Chris is committed to developing the the most powerful career-launching tools ever created for the sports industry. His new book, How to Land Your First Job in Sports: 7 Simple Steps can be found on www.SportsLaunch.net.

Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisMcKinney and Facebook.

Kristen Sonsma

Kristen Sonsma has spent most of her sports career in ticket sales with experience in the AFL, MLS, and NHL. Connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Chris Conway

Chris is a strategic programs analyst at the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) focusing on, amongst other things, sponsorship research, analytics and acquisition. He holds a MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Business (AGSM). Chris took part in the school’s exchange program by completing a semester at Stern business school, NYU where he studied sports marketing and sports economics. Connect with him on Twitter and Linkedin.

Joseph Yi

Joseph Yi is the Social Media & Marketing Solutions Manger at GAGA Sports & Entertainment where he works with professional sports teams, including the Lakers, Clippers, and San Francisco 49ers, where he develops engaging content as well as social media and digital strategies to help teams better understand and engage their fans.

Read more from his website and follow him on Twitter.

Thomas VanSchaik

Thomas Vanchaik studied Communications in Amsterdam and has been working in international sports for over 15 years. He started his professional career at the Amsterdam Admirals in the NFL Europe and moved to Dutch professional soccer champions PSV Eindhoven in 1997. In 2001 he moved to Southern Germany to join Adidas. He’s filled a variety of roles with the sporting goods brand, including ‘Head of Global PR’. In 2011 he moved into the role of Global Brand Director.

Follow Thomas on Twitter and connect on LinkedIn.

Matt Crevin

Matt Crevin provides a unique look into the careers of many sports industry executives, revealing their success stories, advice and techniques you can put to use as part of your search strategy. Collaborate with Matt and start listening, learning, creating and executing your own action plan!

Equipped with business background and sports insider’s knowledge, Matt is ready to share his passion and knowledge with you! He delivers to his individual clients a unique process and format which gives sports industry hopefuls a unique look into the numerous career opportunities available in the sports industry and more importantly how to position yourself to break in.

Follow Matt on Twitter and his website.

Claire Kelly

Claire Kelly is a freelance writer, communications consultant and Australian beach volleyball player based on the Gold Coast, Australia.

Experienced in social media marketing, conducting interviews, ghostwriting, editing, generating publicity and photography, Claire is passionate about about helping athletes and businesses grow through the power of the media and the internet.

Follow Claire on Twitter and her Website

Mark Tudi

Mark Tudi is the Founder of SPORTSEARCH, with its primary business activities completely focused on Human Capital Change Management for leading Organizations in over 75 Sports, Recreation and Live-Event Industry marketplace segments. Founded in 1988, SPORTSEARCH specializes in sourcing the critical layer of Executive Management, customized recruiting assignments, “Professional Door-Opening”, and leadership development.

For over 30 years, Mark has established a high-profile track record in sports career development, with over 25,000 personal interviews and 850+ successful retained search assignments. He has represented the career interests and managed opportunities for many of the leading executives, personalities and organizations in Sports. His Client list includes members of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers’ Association (SGMA), the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), over 250 Professional Teams, Leagues and Sports Marketing Organizations, as well as several leading Corporate Sports Empires.

Follow Mark on Twitter and on his Website

Matthew Weinberger

Matthew Weinberger is a sports business enthusiast who is passionate about the intersection between the law and the sports business industry. He regularly writes on timely topics relating to sports business, law, entertainment, media, and technology.

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Mike Hurley

Michael Hurley is the President of Intangibles, a sports marketing and consulting firm in Cary, North Carolina. Previously, he was the Director of Broadcasting and Corporate Sales for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League, where he was responsible for all corporate sponsorships, suite sales and broadcasting. He has also managed sales organizations representing properties in the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, ACC, Big East and Minor League Baseball.

Follow Mike on Twitter and on his Website

Tyler Becker

Tyler is a student at New York University pursuing a B.S. in Sports Business. In addition to studying the sports industry, he is also passionate and heavily involved with social media and marketing. His most recent experiences have been interning for social media agencies, “Likeable” and “Affinitive” each based in New York. Tyler is an active volunteer at conferences and events in New York, a student panelist for the sports business program at NYU, and a spirited member of the university’s on-campus community.

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John Franco

A seasoned freelance graphic designer / design director. Specialties include logo brand work, event identities and publication design.

Follow John on Twitter and on his Website

Sam Miller

Sam Miller is the founder of SamsDreamBlog.com. A graduate of the University of Illinois, he worked with various teams in sports information and received the Freedom Forum – NCAA Sports Journalism Scholarship for his achievements. At the University of Illinois, Miller regularly wrote feature stories about the football team. He has also served as communications intern for the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate. Prior to that, he worked as a communications intern for USA Basketball and as an associate reporter for MLB.com.