Our Team

Dr. Jessica Reo is Chief Administration Officer for Kennesaw State Athletics, a role she assumed in January 2026. A veteran athletics administrator and educator, she brings more than 30 years of senior leadership experience in collegiate athletics and higher education.

Reo previously served as Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator at Temple University (2019–2025), where she oversaw strategic partnerships, health services and varsity sport operations and led Temple's successful bid to host the 2023 NCAA Rowing Championship. Before Temple, she held senior leadership roles at Florida International University (2015–2019) and spent 12 years at the University of Central Florida (2003–2015), including service on the Director of Athletics' Executive Leadership Team. Her career spans compliance, Title IX and gender equity, sports medicine oversight, strategic planning and NCAA championship event management.

An adjunct faculty member at Temple and UCF, Reo is committed to mentoring the next generation of leaders in sport and hospitality management.

Stacy Danley, a veteran college athletics administrator, joined Brentwood Partners in January 2023 with a focus on its search and executive consulting practice.

Danley has served as Director of Athletics at three institutions: South Carolina State, Alabama State (2010–2012) and Tuskegee (2008–2009). At SC State, he established the department's first-ever capital campaign, the R.I.S.E. Major Gift Initiative, which raised more than $1.62 million toward its $2 million goal for scholarships, track facility upgrades and a new turf surface at Willie E. Jeffries Field. He spent eight years (1997–2005) at Auburn, rising to Associate AD for External Affairs and men's sports coordinator, and also worked with the Southeastern Conference office, the J.F. Smith Group and SLD Sports Marketing Group.

A four-year letterman and All-SEC running back at Auburn, Danley was named SEC Sophomore of the Year and later signed NFL contracts with the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts. He and his wife, Stephanie, have three children: Lawson, Trace and Landon.

Charles Nieves is Deputy Athletics Director and Chief Revenue Officer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a role he assumed in April 2026, where he also serves as sport administrator for men's basketball.

Nieves came to Charlotte from Georgia Tech, where he served as Executive Associate AD and Chief Revenue Officer (2023–2026), overseeing the Legends multimedia-rights partnership, ticketing, marketing, brand, communications and broadcast services. He has spent more than 15 years in revenue roles at Georgia, Penn State and Miami (Fla.). At Penn State, his Learfield team earned back-to-back National Property of the Year honors in 2017 and 2018, a first in company history, and at Miami he managed more than 85 corporate partnerships. He also served as Vice President of Marketing and Team Partnerships for GameDay Vodka (2021–22).

A Chapel Hill native, Nieves was a three-year football letterwinner at Fayetteville State. Charles and his wife, Amy, have two daughters, Elle and Ivy, and a Yorkie, MoJo.

Courtney Vinson is Deputy Chief of Staff, Executive Associate Athletic Director for Sports Administration and Senior Woman Administrator at Northern Illinois University, a role she was elevated to in August 2026. She serves as NIU Athletics' liaison to the Board of Trustees, the Horizon League and the offices of the President and Provost, and as sport administrator for men's basketball, women's soccer and gymnastics.

Vinson joined NIU in 2018 and was promoted to Executive Associate AD in 2024. She previously served as Associate AD for Sports Services and Senior Woman Administrator at Memphis, Assistant AD for Compliance at UCF (2011–15), Director of Compliance at Clemson (2008–11) and Assistant Director of Compliance at Akron (2006–08). She is a graduate of the NCAA Pathways Program (2019–20).

A Long Island, N.Y., native, Vinson competed in track and field at Florida A&M University. She is known as a purpose-driven leader dedicated to student-athlete welfare, equity and inclusion.

Melissa Dawson is Director of Learning Services for Purdue Athletics, a role she assumed in 2026. She brings more than 35 years of experience in education, including extensive leadership in Division I student-athlete academic support.

Dawson previously served as Assistant Athletics Director for Spartan Academic Support Services at UNC Greensboro, Executive Associate AD and Senior Woman Administrator at South Carolina State (2020–22), Senior Associate AD for Academic and Student Services at Northern Illinois (2014–20) and Associate AD for Student Services at Tulsa (2008–14). Earlier, she held academic support roles at Iowa, South Carolina and Kentucky. She has also taught at the K–12 level in Richland School District 2 (Columbia, S.C.) and Lake Zurich School District 95 (Illinois).

A Barrington, Ill., native and former volleyball student-athlete at Drake University, Dawson has built her career around helping students succeed in both academics and athletics.

Mike Harris is a sports licensing, marketing and communications consultant with MRH Sports, bringing three decades of experience in brand management and revenue generation across college athletics, professional sports and retail.

Most recently, Harris served as Director of Business Development and Partnerships at Rally House and led licensing for Colosseum Athletics and Original Retro Brand. At Dyehard Fan Supply, he oversaw partnerships with 18 collegiate partners, including Auburn, North Carolina, Michigan State, Ole Miss, West Virginia and UConn, along with retail for Super Bowl LIV and the U.S. Open. As Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Communications for the Orlando Apollos, he worked with Coach Steve Spurrier to build the league's top ticket-revenue team. As Director of Licensing and New Revenue Generation at Arkansas (2013–18), he managed one of the nation's 20 largest collegiate brands.

Harris began his career leading marketing, media relations and broadcast efforts at Miami University, Cincinnati and Towson.

Jamaal Mayo is Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations at South Carolina State University, a role he assumed in March 2026, with executive oversight of athletics development, corporate partnerships, ticket operations and fan engagement.

Mayo previously served as Senior Associate AD for Advancement at San José State, where athletics achieved a 50% increase in annual philanthropy over two years, a record $4.13 million annual giving year and an 87% rise in football and basketball ticket sales. At North Carolina Central, he drove a 54% overall revenue increase, a 77% rise in philanthropic giving and a 238% increase in corporate sponsorships. As Director of Athletics at Harris-Stowe State, he led the program to a record 3.1 student-athlete GPA and a 175% revenue increase.

A former Western Carolina quarterback, Mayo began his career at his alma mater. He and his wife, Dr. Michelle Mayo, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Claflin University, live in Orangeburg, S.C.

Brian Hutchinson is Chief Development Officer at Community Ventures in Lexington, Ky., following more than two decades in higher education at Morehead State University.

Hutchinson served as Morehead State's Director of Athletics from 2004 to 2019, after earlier roles in athletics development, marketing and operations. Eagle teams won 23 conference championships under his leadership and made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, and MSU earned the Ohio Valley Conference Institutional Academic Achievement Award seven times. He twice chaired the OVC Council of Directors of Athletics and three times chaired the Pioneer Football League's council. Nationally, he served as President of the FCS Athletics Directors Association (2013–14), chaired the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee (2016–17) and served on the NCAA Division I Council.

Hutchinson was inducted into the Morehead State Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of its 2025 class.

Bob Leffler has built one of the most distinctive careers in American sports, spanning education, professional football and advertising.

After starting out as a teacher, Leffler became Sales Director for the Baltimore Colts, leading marketing and ticketing during one of the franchise's most eventful eras, including the John Elway draft and the team's "Midnight Ride" to Indianapolis. In 1984, he founded The Leffler Agency, which grew into the nation's leading boutique sports advertising firm. For more than three decades, the Baltimore-based agency, with offices in Tampa and Providence, represented more than 40 clients in 20-plus markets, including 25 Division I athletics programs, NFL, MLB and NHL teams, and racetracks in Maryland and Virginia. Among its signature work: designing the Preakness Stakes logo for 18 consecutive years.

In his book, The Guy on the Wall, Leffler offers a frank, behind-the-scenes account of the decisions, missteps and triumphs he witnessed in stadium boardrooms, political negotiations and sales campaigns.