Geena Davis

Founder and Chair

Academy Award winner Geena Davis is one of Hollywood’s most respected actors, appearing in several roles that became cultural landmarks. Earning the 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama, Davis broke ground in her portrayal of the first female President of the United States in ABC’s hit show Commander in Chief.

In 1989, Davis received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the offbeat dog trainer Muriel Pritchett in Lawrence Kasdan’s The Accidental Tourist.  She was again nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise, in which she co-starred with Susan Sarandon.  Davis went on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of baseball phenomenon Dottie Hinson in A League of Their Own.

Joy Taylor, Moderator

On Air Host for FS1 and Fox Sports Radio

Joy Taylor is an On Air Host for FS1 and Fox Sports Radio and a Blogger on JoyTaylorTalks.com. With a quick wit, sharp tongue and some legendary football DNA, Joy Taylor has kicked the doors down on the boy’s club of South Florida’s sports talk radio scene and isn’t looking back. Originally from the Steel City of Pittsburgh, Joy fell in love with South Florida after frequently visiting her big brother, Miami Dolphins all-time great, Jason Taylor. She ultimately enrolled at Barry University where she hosted her own radio show, “The Noise”and served as Station Manager for WBRY Radio en route to a degree in Broadcasting. Joy cut her teeth in the media industry working with the likes of Joe Rose, DJ Laz, Sid Rosenberg and Dan Sileo before landing a position as the Executive Producer for the Hochman & Zaslow Morning Show on FM 104.3/790 AM The Ticket. Upon Hochman’s departure from the station, Joy smoothly jumped into the studio and began entertaining listeners every Monday through Friday from 6-10 AM along with co-host Jonathan Zaslow on The Ticket’s Morning Show. She was also formerly the Host of Thursday Night Live and Fantasy Football Today on CBSSports.com.

Alison Levine

Explorer and Mountaineer

The Alison Levine is a history-making polar explorer and mountaineer. She served as team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, climbed the highest peak on each continent and skied to both the North and South Poles—a feat known as the Adventure Grand Slam, which fewer than forty people in the world have achieved. In January 2008, she made history as the first American to complete a 600-mile traverse from west Antarctica to the South Pole following the route of legendary explorer Reinhold Messner. Levine completed this arduous journey on skis while hauling 150 pounds of her gear and supplies in a sled harnessed to her waist. She made history once again in 2016 when she completed the first ascent of Antarctica’s Hall Peak. Her success in extreme environments is noteworthy given she has had three heart surgeries and suffers from Raynaud’s disease, which causes the arteries that feed her fingers and toes to collapse in cold weather—leaving her at extreme risk for frostbite.

In 2005, Levine founded the Climb High Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of jobless women in western Uganda by training them to be trekking guides and porters in their local mountains, thus allowing them to earn a sustainable living wage through climbing-related tourism. Her efforts enabled the first group of local women to climb Uganda’s highest peak—Mt Stanley, and her work in Africa is the subject of the PBS documentary Living Courageously.

Levine spent four years as an adjunct professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership and is a strategic advisor for the Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point, an executive education a program that shares West Point leadership best practices with senior level-executives from the public and private sectors. She was a contributing author to the book Leadership in Dangerous Situations: A Handbook for the Armed Forces, Emergency Services and First Responders (Naval Institute Press). She also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics at Duke University.

A sought-after consultant and keynote speaker on the subject of leadership development, Levine has addressed audiences ranging from Fortune 500 companies to professional sports teams to the prestigious World Economic Forum at Davos. She is the author of the New York Times best-seller On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest and other Extreme Environments. Levine’s newest role is that of executive producer of the upcoming documentary film The Glass Ceiling which chronicles the life of Pasang Lhamu Sherpa (1961- 1993) and her quest to become the first Nepali woman to climb Mt. Everest.

Angela Madsen

Athlete

Angela Madsen is a Grandmother of five who loves to surf. She is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a life member of both the Disabled American Veterans and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Angela also enjoys working with newly injured to get them involved with adaptive sports. In February of 2003, the Amateur Athletic Foundation named Angela as a recipient of the Women Who Inspire Us Award; in September of 2003, she received the Leo Reilly, Jr. Award for outstanding spirit & determination,: In 2010 she was a Long Beach Aquatic Capital of America Aquatic Athlete Award honoree: In 2011 she received the California Paralyzed Veterans Association Legacy of Hope American Spirit Award and the City of Long Beach Press Telegram 2011 Amazing Woman Of The Year in Sports Category: In 2014 received the Athletes in Excellence award from The Foundation For Global Sports Development.

On February 7, 2007, she became the first paraplegic woman to ROW across the Atlantic Ocean. Her rowing partner, Franck Festor, an amputee from France, did not speak English and Angela does not speak French. They rowed nearly 3000 miles in 67 days, coming in 8th place in the pair’s class. There were 22 boats in the race and they were the only physically challenged athletes www.rowoflife.com

Angela competed on the US Rowing Team from 1999 thru 2008and competed in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, China. She is a 4 time World Championship Gold Medalist and a Level 3 Rowing Coach. She is the Founder, Director and Coach/instructor of the California Adaptive Rowing Program, www.carplb.net a non-profit program which teaches disabled people to row since 2000. She also assists in the startup of new adaptive rowing programs nationwide

2009 Angela rowed across the Indian Ocean from Geraldton West Australia 3,600 miles to Mauritius an Island east of Madagascar. A Crew of Eight on a 58 day adventure that set many world rowing records. She is now the First women and first and only person with a disability to row across the Indian Ocean and also the firstdisabled woman to row across 2 oceans.

2010 Angela was part of another world record setting rowing crew of 4 women. They became the first and fastest women’s crew to circumnavigate Great Britain and Angela has become the first and only person with a disability to have rowed the 2,010 miles nonstop and unsupported from London Tower Bridge to London Tower Bridge in 51 days.

2011 it was back to the Atlantic Differently for Angela as a skipper of 16 on Big Blue. They left Tarfya, Morocco on January 15th 2011 at 19:25GMT Arrived at Port St Charles, Barbados on March 4th 2011 at 13:25GMT. It was the first ocean rowing catamaran and 3rd ocean crossing

2012 At the Paralympics in London, Angela threw the javelin 21.2 meters setting a new America’s Record and earned 5th place in the mixed class F54-56. She threw the shot put 8.88 meters for a new Paralympic Record and earned the Bronze Medal in the mixed class F54-56..

2013 Book release:”Rowing against the wind” by Angela MadsenISBNs: 978-1-55571-750-6 (paperback) 978-1-55571-751-3 (e-book) Available through most retail and online booksellers. Published by Hellgate Press

2014 Angela rowed 2,600 miles from LB, California to Ho, Hawaii with Tara Remington from New Zealand in 60 days +1hour. They left the LBRA Pete Archer boathouse on May 20,2014 and crossed the finish line in front of the Diamond Head Lighthouse on Oahu at 5:30 PM on July 19,2014 It was a tribute row to Honor the Fallen. The Department of the Navy allowed Angela to row into Pearl Harbor to commemorate the row!

Angela has rowed 3 different oceans and is the only person in the world, male or female, who has rowed 4 ocean crossings and completed the circumnavigation of Great Britain in a row boat. Angela has multiple Guinness World Records for rowing oceans and is also the only Paraplegic to ever compete in “The Women’s World Championships of Longboard Surfing in Biarritz, France. Angela now coaches and helps out at Military and Paralympic sport camps & clinics in both Rowing and Track & Field.

2015 ParapanAmerican Games Toronto Canada 1st women’s 55/56 Javelin 18.77 Parapanamerican games record & 2nd women’s class 56/57 Shot put 8.02

Jennifer Welter

NFL Coach

Dr. Jen Welter is the first female to coach in the NFL. She served as an intern linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals. Welter’s time at the Cardinals has been defined by the bond she has fostered with the players. But this is not the first time Welter’s was the first to do something. In February 2015 she became the first woman to coach in a men’s professional football league, when she served as linebacker and special teams coach for the Indoor Football League’s Texas Revolution. Prior to that, in January 2014 Welter became the first woman to play running back in a men’s professional football season, when she signed with the Revolution.

Welter holds a doctorate degree in Psychology and Master’s in Sport Psychology. She has 18 years of experience in fitness, professional athlete and has provided expert advice on a wide range of topics in fitness and sports. Her background provides her with a unique insight—both as a player and academic—into the power of sport.

Her on-field experience dates back to her time on the rugby pitch at Boston College. She is a veteran of several women’s professional and semi-professional football teams and a member of the 2010 and 2013 gold medal-winning USA Team at the International Federation of American Football’s (IFAF) Women’s World Championship.

Ultimately, Welter is a team player. Devoted to those she plays with and coaches. Those who played for her years ago still call her Coach to this day. Welter has spoken to a variety of audiences about her experiences, the power of sport and the mental acuity it takes to achieve what other may say is impossible.

Welter graduated with a B.S. from Boston College, followed by a Master’s in Sport Psychology and PhD in Psychology from Capella University. The 37 year-old Welter is a native of Vero Beach, Florida.