BROCKPORT, N.Y. — Lauren Cornthwaite, Tracey Fuchs, Katie Kloeckener, Jamie Montgomery, Cheryl Murtagh, and Chrissy Summers have been elected to serve as members of the NFHCA Board of Directors.
“I am excited to welcome Cheryl, Jamie, Katie, and Lauren as new members of our board and am honored to be able to continue working with Tracey and Chrissy,” remarked NFHCA president, Anne Parmenter. “The results of this election are both an end and a beginning. This announcement culminates a nearly year-long process of revamping our bylaws and laying the foundation for a new era at the NFHCA. It is also the start of great things for this association and I am confident that we will do important work with this incredible group of professionals.”
This election was also the inaugural work of the NFHCA Nominating Committee. “The focus of our group was membership engagement and a well-run election,” noted Nominating Committee chair and head coach at Allegheny College, Valerie Lohr. “From our outreach to encourage members to run for positions, through the vetting of candidates, and the multi-step digital and manual certification of the ballots, this election was a success. Thank you to the committee for hitting the ground running.”
Executive Committee
Tracey Fuchs will take her seat as the Vice President, Membership. Fuchs is the head coach at Northwestern University and has served on the Board of Directors in the role of Division I Representative for the past year. As Vice President, Membership, Fuchs will oversee the Nominating Committee, coordinate regular updates from NFHCA committee chairs, and facilitate communication with the membership. Hers is a three-year term.
Chrissy Summers will begin her two-year term as the NFHCA Vice President, Sport Development. Summers is the founder and owner of Beyond Sticks LLC. Over the past year has served as the First Vice President, the chair of the Awards and Hall of Fame Committee, and represented the board in the planning and execution of the NFHCA Virtual Coaches’ Caucus. In her new role she will serve as the primary point of communication and collaboration with USA Field Hockey and will oversee the Sport Development Committee. She will also be expected to promote programming and initiatives related to coach and playing rules education.
Cheryl Murtagh will take her seat as the Vice President, Finances. Murtagh is currently the technical director at the University of New Hampshire and previously served as the head coach at Northeastern University for 35 years. She has an MBA from Northeastern and is a Licensed Tax Preparer. Murtagh will be responsible for preparing and presenting an annual financial report to the membership, overseeing the Convention Committee, and verifying that members are in good standing before elections. It is expected that she will be actively informed of and involved in the finances of the association. Hers will be a one-year term.
Group Representatives
Jamie Montgomery will begin her three-year term as the representative for NCAA Division I coaches. Montgomery is in her third year as the head coach at the University of Richmond.
Katie Kloeckener will take her seat as the representative for NCAA associate and assistant coaches. Kloeckener is rounding out her fifth year as the assistant coach at Trinity College. Hers is a three-year term.
Lauren Cornthwaite will assume the role of Club Group Representative. Cornthwaite founded Aim Field Hockey in Saint Louis, Missouri which has been in operation for 15 years. Hers is a two-year term.
One- and two-year terms were purposefully designated for this election cycle to establish rotational slates. The group representative for honorary members will be elected in 2022 after the new 2021-2022 membership cycle begins. The Nominating Committee will now connect with scholastic coaches by region to populate the new Scholastic Committee, which will select a representative to the Board of Directors.
To learn more about the NFHCA Board of Directors and their responsibilities, review our bylaws. The newly elected board members will go through an onboarding process before meeting next month.