USA Triathlon Announces Key Organizational Updates
By SGB MediaUSA Triathlon announced several key organizational updates, including the election of Jacqueline McCook as president of the USA Triathlon board of directors, and Joel Rosinbum as vice president of the board, becoming the first woman and elite paratriathlete, respectively, to ever hold these positions.USA Triathlon also announced the hiring of Nellie Viner as senior legal counsel, and shared the results of a compliance report issued by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), as well as the organization’s recent acceptance as a member of the Green Sports Alliance.Board of Directors Officer UpdatesJacqueline McCook (Bend, OR), an independent board member since 2013, replaces Barry Siff (Tempe, Arizona) as President of the USA Triathlon Board of Directors. Siff resigned from the role in April, but remains on the board as a Midwest Region Representative through his current term.McCook also serves on USA Triathlon’s Compensation, International Relations and Marketing Committees, and was a member of the CEO Search Committee in 2017. She was elected the first-ever President of the USA Triathlon Foundation Board of Directors in 2014, serving in that role until 2018. She was previously elected Vice President of the USA Triathlon Board of Directors in December 2018.McCook brings significant consumer-facing strategic, marketing and operational experience to the role. She has served in senior executive positions in the consumer foods, retail and restaurant industries, including PepsiCo, YUM! Brands, Diageo and ConAgra Foods. Her professional career also includes the consulting firm, McKinsey & Company; the national retailer, Target; and the investment-banking firm, Morgan Stanley. McCook received her Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Stanford University, and her Master of Business Administration with honors from the Harvard Business School.She completed her first triathlon in the early 1990s and was a founding member of the Stanford women’s water polo team. In her time on the board, she has qualified for the 2017 ITU Duathlon Age Group World Championships in Penticton, British Columbia, and the upcoming 2019 ITU Triathlon Age Group World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland.“I look forward to working with the board, CEO Rocky Harris and the world-class team at USA Triathlon as we continue to support our amazing multisport athletes — both elite and age-group — and the constituent communities that allow them to thrive,” McCook said. “I am proud of how far we have come in the last few years. At the same time, I look forward to continuing our efforts to grow, inspire and support the triathlon community and, especially, to expand participation in our sport by breaking down barriers and inspiring those around us to swim, bike and run.”Rosinbum (Austin, TX) was elected Vice President while serving on the board as an elite athlete representative since 2015. During his time on the board, Rosinbum has held a number of leadership roles, including chair of both USA Triathlon’s Athlete Advisory Committee (AAC) and the Nominating & Governance Committee. Rosinbum is a three-time USA Paratriathlon national champion, earning his most recent title in 2018. He is the 2015 ITU Aquathlon world champion in the men’s PT4 division, a two-time ITU Paratriathlon World Cup medalist, and the 2017 Edmonton ITU World Paratriathlon Series bronze medalist.Elections were also held for the board Treasurer and Secretary positions. Kevin Haas (Berkeley, Calif.) was re-elected as Treasurer, continuing in the role he has held since 2014. Mike Wien (Marietta, Ga.), who has served as Secretary since last January, was re-elected to the same position.Senior Legal Counsel Hire, Nellie VinerNellie Viner joined the USA Triathlon staff on May 13 as Senior Legal Counsel, a newly-created position within the organization, and is responsible for leading the organization’s strategic and tactical legal initiatives. In her role, Viner oversees SafeSport and anti-doping policies, processes and enforcement; risk management; and general business practices. She is a full-time staff member based at the USA Triathlon national office in Colorado Springs.During her career, Viner has gained significant experience in both the private and public sectors. She practiced insurance recovery litigation law at Reed Smith, LLP in Chicago, Illinois before working as Associate General Counsel for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and then as General Counsel of the Illinois Lottery. Prior to moving to Colorado, she worked at Enova International, a financial technology firm where she focused on regulatory and data privacy issues in its U.K. division. Viner earned her J.D. from the University of Iowa and her B.A. from the University of Washington, where she majored in theater.USOC Compliance ReportUSA Triathlon was one of a few U.S. Olympic and Paralympic National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to receive an initial score of 100 percent in the U.S. Olympic Committee’s recent compliance report, which evaluated all NGBs’ compliance with the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, the USOC Bylaws and certain USOC policies. The checklist is intended to demonstrate ongoing commitment to the values and requirements of membership in the USOC.Each NGB was assessed in the following areas: governance and managerial; financial capability; due process and athlete representation; SafeSport; and anti-doping. The full results of USA Triathlon’s report, along with those of all other NGBs, are available at teamusa.org.Green Sports Alliance MembershipUSA Triathlon has been accepted as a member of the Green Sports Alliance, an environmentally-focused trade organization that convenes stakeholders from around the sporting world to promote healthy, sustainable communities. Members share resources, experience and expertise to raise awareness of what is environmentally possible in sports, business and society, while working together to create sustainable progress and behavior change.USA Triathlon is just the second NGB in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement to become a member of the Green Sports Alliance, joining the U.S. Tennis Association. The alliance is made up of teams, venues, leagues, conferences and partners worldwide — including the Pac-12 Conference, Minor League Baseball, the Houston Astros, the World Games 2021 Birmingham, and several U.S. and international colleges and universities.Read the full article here.