Up2Us Advisory Board

The Up2Us Advisory Board oversees all aspects of Up2Us and formulates policies concerning Up2Us and its scope of services.

	Dr. Nicholas Cutforth, Professor, Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver Nick obtained his Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Evaluation from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1994. He has been conducting research with schools and community-based organizations for over 15 years. His research and teaching interests include school health and physical activity environments, physical activity and youth development, university/community partnerships, community-based research, and urban education. Using fieldwork and applied research methods, his writing focuses on the social consequences of this work, and draws on the belief that the diverse talents of academics, students, educators, and community members can produce excellent research that will strengthen the community as a whole and enhance the relevance of the academy in addressing real world problems. He is a Senior Teacher-Scholar and member of the Campus Compact Service-Learning Consulting Corps. He has written over 20 articles and co-authored two books: Youth Development and Physical Activity: Linking Universities with Communities (Human Kinetics, 2000) and Community-Based Research and Higher Education: Principles and Practices (Jossey-Bass, 2003). Nick coordinates the Colorado Community-Based Research Network and has supervised over two-dozen community-based research projects with students and faculty colleagues and community partners since 1999.
	Dr. Don. Hellison, Professor, College of Education, co-director of the TPSR Alliance at the University of Illinois at Chicago Don Hellison is a Great Cities Institute Faculty Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before coming to Chicago, he was professor of physical education and director of the Governor's Leadership Training program for High Risk Youth at Portland State University. He has also been Distinguished Research Fellow at Adelphi University & visiting professor at the University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, Ohio State University, Georgia State University, University of Oregon, Montana State University, and California State University, Chico. His honors and awards are numerous, including receiving the most prestigious award given by the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. Don's extensive publishing record includes eight books, the most recent being Teaching responsibility through physical activity (2010), and numerous articles and book chapters. He also developed a partnership with five other faculty members from universities around the country based on this work, one result of which has been the book Youth development and physical activity: Linking universities and communities (2000). He has received grant support for 25 projects, has served on three editorial boards, and was editor of Quest for two years. He has given keynote addresses, made presentations at professional meetings, and conducted workshops for teachers and youth workers in most of the fifty states, several Canadian provinces, and Israel, Korea, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, England, and Spain.
	Dr. Gil Noam, Founder and Director of PEAR, Harvard Medical School Gil Noam is the Founder and Director of the Program in Education, Afterschool & Resiliency (PEAR) and an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital. Trained as a clinical and developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst in both Europe and the United States, Dr. Noam has a strong interest in supporting resilience in youth, especially in educational settings. He served as the director of the Risk and Prevention program, and is the founder of the RALLY Prevention Program, a Boston-based intervention that bridges social and academic support in school, afterschool, and community settings. Dr. Noam has also followed a large group of high-risk children into adulthood in a longitudinal study that explores clinical, educational, and occupational outcomes. Since the establishment of PEAR, Dr. Noam and his team have been contributing to the effort to establish the field of afterschool education. PEAR works with Boston afterschool programs to develop a training and technical assistance structure, activities that PEAR coordinates with its partners at Achieve Boston, a seven-organization partnership that coordinates Boston's afterschool training infrastructure. PEAR is actively engaged in research on afterschool topics. Dr. Noam has published over 200 papers, articles, and books in the areas of child and adolescent development as well as risk and resiliency in clinical, school and afterschool settings. He has become the editor-in-chief of the journal New Directions in Youth Development: Theory, Practice and Research, which has a strong focus on out-of-school time.
	Lisa Delpy Neirotti, Ph.D. Associate Professor, School of Business, The George Washington University. Lisa Delpy Neirotti has been a professor of sport, event, and tourism management at the George Washington University for nineteen years. In this time Dr. Delpy Neirotti has established a strong academic program at both the undergraduate and graduate level and serves as the Director of Sport Management (MBA and BBA). Dr. Neirotti also developed the Certified Sports Administrator educational program for the National Council of Youth Sports and serves on the faculty of the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Masters In Sports Organizations in Management (MEMOS). Furthermore, she directs the GW Green Sports Scorecard that helps to educate, motivate, and evaluate the sustainability of sport facilities, organizations, and events. In addition to her responsibilities at the university, Dr. Delpy Neirotti works with a number of sport organizations and professional teams to conduct economic, spectator, and market research studies including Pacific Life Tennis Open, Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Marine Corp Marathon, Rock and Roll Marathon, Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Race, Army Ten Miler, EagleBank Bowl, Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, Washington Nationals, and Washington Redskins. Born and raised in California, Dr. Delpy Neirotti received her undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; a MS in Sport Management from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA; and a Ph.D. in Sport Administration from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Her doctoral dissertation was on the organizational structure and effectiveness of national sport governing bodies.
	Dr. Maureen Weiss, Professor, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota Maureen Weiss has recently joined the School of Kinesiology as a full professor and is the co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. Dr. Weiss was formerly a professor in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. Her research is focused on the psychological and social development of children and adolescents through participation in sport and physical activity, with particular interests in self-perceptions, motivation, observational learning, character development, and social relationships (parents, peers, coaches). Professor Weiss has published over 110 refereed articles and book chapters in her areas of expertise. She has also edited or co-edited 4 books on youth sport and physical activity. Currently she is conducting a longitudinal study of positive youth development through sport, funded by Philip Morris Youth Smoking Prevention Programs (PMYSP). In her professional career, Weiss has given over 90 invited lectures, 130 research presentations, and 100 workshops for coaches, administrators, and teachers and has chaired 31 master's theses and advised over 50 other master's students, who contribute to the field as coaches, teachers, and health and fitness professionals. Dr. Weiss received bachelor of arts degrees in kinesiology and psychology, and a master of arts degree in kinesiology, from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Her Ph.D. in education was obtained at Michigan State University, where she also served as a research assistant and clinician for three years with the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports. She competed at the college level in basketball, tennis, and softball, remains active in aerobic activities, and is an avid fan of professional baseball.

Account Login

Up2Us Advisory Board