GW Athletics Makes Key Hire and Restructures With Future in Mind

George Washington Athletics Director Tanya Vogel proudly announced today the hire of Jihad Ali as Associate Athletics Director of Business Administration, in addition to a myriad of strategic structural changes designed to enhance the experience of student-athletes and coaches while also increasing engagement with the greater community.

Ali comes to GW from Holy Cross where he led Business Strategy and Operations. He has also served stints at Oregon State and Georgia State, his alma mater, where he is a two-time degree holder and former student-athlete.

"Jihad is a rising star in the national landscape of strategic business thinkers and was recruited to GW to help us lay the foundation for our future projects and strategic initiatives," said Vogel. "He will pair well with our team of senior leaders as we push forward in an evolving landscape of intercollegiate sports."

"I am driven by a desire to serve the community, my curiosity, and an eagerness to learn and grow," said Ali. "To have the opportunity to live and work in a diverse city where I already have friends and a sense of community is something that I am excited about at this point in my life and career. I'd like to thank Tanya, a respected leader in our industry and someone who understands the complexity of what we do, for this opportunity. The vision for GW is exciting, so this opportunity to serve in this important role is a thrilling challenge that I look forward to."

In addition to Ali's hire, Vogel also announced the elevation of Danya Ellman to Senior Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations. Ellman brings a decade of experience with GW Athletics' student success areas combined with her strong acumen in systems thinking and programmatic implementation.

"Danya is a proven leader and this new role will allow her to execute on her strengths in program development and implementation," noted Vogel. "A three-time GW degree holder and career-long servant leader to student-athletes, she is well-equipped with her passion for students and coaches and her ability to strengthen our systems to build efficiencies and increase effectiveness."

Ellman's portfolio will continue to include the leadership of the GW Athletics' Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Taskforce. The composition of this taskforce has been reestablished with both veteran and new coaches and staff, including Kevin Burke, Kelley Flint, Andrew Lundt, Colleen McCaffrey, Stephanie Naylor, Sangmi Park, Marci Robles, Brian Sereno, Jordan Sheppard and Shatara Stokes. GW Athletics will continue to work with Return on Inclusion to educate and better prepare coaches and staff to support student-athletes across social and cultural differences.

Ellman will also join Associate Athletics Director, Chris Hennelly, as the primary facilitators for mental health first aid training. All coaches, administrators and student-facing support staff will become certified in mental health first aid by Spring 2023.

In addition to these senior leadership moves, Vogel announced a series of assistant athletic director positions. James Hellekjaer has been competitively promoted to serve as the Assistant Athletics Director for Educational Support Services and will oversee the day to day operations of that area. Hellekjaer has served as an academic advisor for student-athletes since 2019 and has served in multiple roles at the University of Maryland, Michigan State and Oakland University. In addition to Hellekjaer, three other employees were elevated to the assistant athletics director role in 2021-22, including Kevin Burke, Meagan Carren, and James Meyer.

In addition to the restructure, Vogel identified areas of focus that the department has started to review in an effort to best inform the next University strategic planning process. The areas of priority include Personnel, Career Readiness, Human Performance, Constituent Engagement, Facilities and Revenue & Resource Generation. Each of these areas of strategic focus are being led by a task force directed by department leaders with committees populated with current staff members, alumni and donors.

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