Graham Brown is currently the President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for U SPORTS Canada (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport – CIS).  Prior to his role with U SPORTS, Mr. Brown held the positon of both CEO of Rugby Canada and the Executive Director of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association. Mr. Brown taught for 10 years at the University of Toronto in the area of Sport Sponsorship and speaks regularly on the topic of sponsorship and event management. Mr. Brown has both an undergraduate and post-graduate Degree in Sports Management from the University of Windsor where he also played varsity football, varsity basketball and was a founding member of the University's rugby program.

As Chief Operating Officer of U SPORTS, David oversees all operational functions of the organization including Human Resources, Finance, Legal, and Technology. In addition, David plays an active role in governance of the organization, managing our Board of Directors and Standing Committees.

Prior to joining U SPORTS, David was a partner at the law firm of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, where he practiced commercial real estate law and sports law. David acted for a diverse set of stakeholders in the professional and high performance amateur sports industries, providing strategic legal and business advice and negotiating a wide variety of commercial contracts.

As a journalist, David is the author of the upcoming book, Alley-Oop to Aliyah: African American Hoopsters in the Holy Land. He has profiled NBA players in a regular sports feature for the Cincinnati Enquirer, and is also the author of Jamaal Magloire: A Biography. He is a frequent speaker and appears on radio and television discussing the world of sports. David is an Adjunct Professor in Sports Law at the University Of Toronto Faculty Of Law, and he also lectures on the topic at his alma mater, Osgoode Hall Law School. 

"U SPORTS is proud to introduce Lisette Johnson-Stapley as Chief Sport Officer effective mid-June 2016. Lisette Johnson-Stapley has worked in Canadian Sport for over 20 years in the areas of stakeholder relations, program management, event operations, partnerships building, human resources, broadcast, marketing, public relations and revenue generation. She has held leadership roles with the FIFA.

Women’s World Cup 2015 & 2014, Ontario Volleyball, CTV-Rogers, Own the Podium, VANOC (the Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler), Softball Canada and other national sport organizations, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and BMO Financial Group. Her experience on the international scene includes executing initiatives at World Championships in Canada and abroad, as a member of the Canadian Mission Team at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, 2006 Commonwealth Games and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Games as well FIFA Women’s World Cups.

As General Manager of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015, she led the operations, human resources and financial management as well as stakeholder relations and community engagement, all according to the governance of Canada Soccer and FIFA. She worked with many sport and multi-sport organizations through- out her career to further develop sport, help promote Canadian Athletes and Coaches and create more effi- cient systems to contribute to the improvement of the sport landscape in Canada. Some past responsibilities include working with technical committees and high performance staff in the areas of sport science, doping infraction processes, discipline committees and training and education.

Lisette holds a degree in Economics from Laurentian University. She is fluently bilingual. Lisette was born and raised in Kingston, ON; lived in Ottawa working for various national sport and multi-sport organizations; moved to Calgary to work for Own the Podium and VANOC and now currently resides in Whitby, Ontario with her husband Robert, and three children – Sarah, 13, Nathalie, 11 and 9 year old Callum. Lisette has been involved as a participant and administrator in sport her entire life. "

Matt is currently employed as the Manager, Corporate Partnerships at U SPORTS. In this role, Matt is the main point of contact between U SPORTS and all corporate partners. He also develops and executes upon the organization’s sponsorship architecture.

Prior to joining U SPORTS in 2014, Matt worked briefly with an NHL player representation agency, guiding its annual prospect development camps.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Matt is no stranger to U SPORTS, having competed for the Western Mustangs varsity soccer team from 2008-2012 while completing his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology (Bachelor of Arts, Honours Specialization in Kinesiology). Matt went on to complete his Masters of Human Kinetics (Sports Management) in 2014 at the University of Ottawa.

"Jocelyn Falbo is the Manager, Corporate Events and Awards.

Jocelyn is an accomplished hospitality, event planning and executive administrative professional. After studying Sociology at Western University, Jocelyn graduated from Humber College with a Diploma in Hospitality Management in 2006. She has spent the past 15 years working in hospitality and the past five years of that time as a Senior Event Manager. Her varied experiences in the world of small and large events and sales and customer service have yielded exceptional skills in project management, attention to detail, superior ability to multi task and excellent interpersonal/communication skills.

Jocelyn was born in Calgary, Alberta but was raised in Kanata, Ontario. She now lives in Keswick, Ontario with her husband Daniel. She is passionate about coaching Special Olympics Basketball, planning events for friends and family, and health and wellness."

"Tara Hahto is currently employed as the Manager of Compliance, Eligibility and Discipline. Tara’s portfolio encompasses recruiting regulation, anti-doping policy, compliance and discipline. She is working closely with the U SPORTS Eligibility Committee on eligibility regulation and appeals.

When Tara joined U SPORTS in the spring of 2013, she spent time in the marketing and communications departments. She also ran auxiliary events such as the Governor General’s Academic All-Canadian Commendation.

Tara swam at Boise State University for the duration of her undergraduate degree. Following her fouryears in Idaho, she was an assistant coach of the swimming and diving program at Texas Christian University (TCU) while completing her master’s degree."

The Coordinator, Communications is to be responsible to support the Manager of Communications in all media relations on behalf of the organization, working with media partners across the country at the national, local and university level.

Alan Hudes joined U SPORTS as Coordinator of Communications in May 2016, with a focus on content creation and translation, social media, archive and data management.
Alan previously spent time with Maccabi Canada as its Communications Coordinator, where he built the organization’s communications division. He also interned with the Canadian Olympic Committee’s communications team in 2011.

Alan completed his Bachelor of Journalism at Ryerson University in 2013.

Jeremy joined U SPORTS leading into the 52nd Vanier Cup, and currently assists in the Marketing department, as well as leading U SPORTS social media efforts. Previously, Jeremy had positions with the Toronto Blue Jays, Brock Badgers, and Vancouver Canadians. 

He holds a Bachelor of Sport Management degree from Brock University, and lives in Toronto. 

"The Manager of Finance reports to the Chief Operating Officer and contributes to the overall success of the organization by effectively managing all financial tasks, overseeing budgeting and accounting.

Tony is an accounting and finance professional with over 20 years of experience from numerous industries and has held various titles, from an Accountant at Ontario SPOR Support Unit to Director of Finance at The Art Institute of Toronto. In his diverse roles, Tony’s duties have included financial reporting, administration of budgets, directing forecasts and managing the day to day operations of accounting departments.

Tony earned a Diploma in Accounting and Finance from Seneca College. He currently lives in Toronto with his wife and two kids."

The goal of the Web and Statistics Specialist is to provide timely, accurate, quality information to universities, fans, the public and other key stakeholders in an ethical and professional manner through the CIS website.

Renee Ridout is currently employed as the Web and Statistics Specialist. She recently began her role with CIS in May 2016.
Renee previously worked at AthletesCAN, the association of Canada’s national team athletes, as the Chief Content Curator. She started her path in amateur sport in 2014 as an intern, eventually taking on larger roles within AthletesCAN, including assisting with the CIBC Team Next over the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.

Renee completed her Bachelor of Arts in New Media and Anthropology at the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Information at U of T. While at the University of Toronto Renee was also the captain of the Varsity Blues Women’s Fastpitch Team.

As Manager, Sport Technical and National Championships, Scott is charged with leading all areas of sport, including Sport Technical Sub-Committees, Rules and Regulations and Coaching Associations. He also is the main point of contact for all championship hosts, and manages deliverables internally for National Championships, while also seeing through championships from bid to evaluation.

Scott was hired into the CIS in September 2014 as Events and Programs Officer, after completing a three month contract with the government of Canada. He moved over with the office, from Ottawa to Toronto as it transitioned from CIS to U SPORTS in October 2016. Scott graduated from Bishop’s University in April 2014, with a Bachelor of Business Administration, concentration in Marketing and Major in Sports Studies. At Bishop’s, Scott was the captain of the varsity basketball team, who participate in U SPORTS. He helped guide the team to back to back conference finals in his last two seasons as a varsity athlete and was named MVP of the team in 2013, and the male academic athlete of the year at the institution in 2014. Throughout his time at university, Scott also took part in numerous fundraising initiatives, earning him the RSEQ leadership award in 2014. He was also the lead coach for a program called Small Ball, where young children of the community could learn the fundamentals of basketball. This program earned accolades in the community of Lennoxville, winning the sport program of the year in 2014. Scott is an avid volunteer in the sport community as well, and has been involved with major events, such as the 2013 Sherbrooke Canada Games, where he was a planning volunteer for the Athlete’s Village. Scott is pursuing a career in sport, in the marketing and events area, and has true passion for amateur sport in Canada.

"Ken joined U SPORTS in September 2016 to lead the communications department and to design and coordinate the implementation of the communication strategies of the organization, including Media Relations, Public Relations, Broadcast and Digital communications.

Ken previously worked in Marketing and Communications agencies for brands such as the NFL, ESPN and major European sponsors (ATP Circuit, ITU World Triathlon Series). He also worked as a consultant for major sport events such as the 2015 PanAm / Parapan Am Games, UEFA Euro 2016 and the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games."

"The Manager, International leads major planning and execution of all mission operations for the Summer and Winter Universiades. This role develops and controls the budgets for international programs and manages international representation to FISU committees and events. It is the responsibility of the Manager to maximize the opportunity for Canadian post-secondary students and coaches to participate in international events by working with Sport Canada, National Sport Organizations, Multi Sport Organizations, Medical Expert Groups, Canadian Interuniversity Sport and CCAA member institutions and other nations.

Lia joined U SPORTS in April 2013 as a University of Ottawa Masters student intern. Following her role as an intern, Lia was appointed as the part-time International Programs Coordinator where she coordinated all Team Canada mission operations for the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia and the 2013 Winter Universiade in Trentino, Italy. Lia took over as the acting Manager of Sport and International programs in the spring of 2015 and led the delivery of Team Canada’s participation in both the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain and the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea.

Lia graduated from the University of Ottawa with an Honours Bachelor of Science with specialization in Human Kinetics. She continued her studies at the University of Ottawa and completed her Baccalaureate in Education, Intermediate/Senior, Physical Education and Biology immediately followed by her Master of Human Kinetics with concentration in Sport Management. Her interests lie in sport management, logistics and administration of international events. Lia currently lives in Toronto and enjoys soccer, skiing and traveling. "