About Contact

Contact U SPORTS

A team you can count on

At U SPORTS we are always happy to help! We have devoted staff that work hard on promoting university athletics and today's student-athletes. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact us. 

Meet our team below! 

National Office
45 Vogell Road, #701
Richmond Hill, L4B 3P6 (Ontario)
Canada
Telephone

+1 (905) 508-3000

Telefax

+1 (905) 508-4221

Staff

Pierre Arsenault, Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Officer

Office

+1 (905) 508-3000

Arsenault has more than two decades of executive leadership experience, most recently serving the last 13 years as the Director of Athletics and Recreation at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. He previously held the role of Executive Director with the New Brunswick Golf Association for seven years. His experience includes working as a Development Coordinator with Hockey Canada's Atlantic Centre of Excellence and the technical director with the Saskatchewan Hockey Association.

A graduate of the University of New Brunswick with a Bachelor of Physical Education (Concentration: Sport Administration), Arsenault was bestowed the Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal for the highest-Grade Point Average among graduating students before completing a Master of Arts, Sport Administration from the University of Ottawa.

While at Mount Allison, he spearheaded the development of a Mounties Strategic Plan, which has served as the framework for so many positive milestones and the development of sports, fitness, and recreation activities. Mounties athletic programs have developed and have had many successes in conference play during Pierre’s tenure and enjoyed increased profile and success in the region and at the national level. In 2013 Mount Allison hosted the national football semi-final, the Uteck Bowl, on campus for the first time in school history. He also played a leadership role in the construction of Alumni Field, undertook a rebrand of Mounties athletics, and brought ‘Mountie Pride’ to life.  

Arsenault is also familiar with the key issues facing university sport in Canada as a past member of the U SPORTS Board of Directors (2018-2020) and was vice-chair during his 2nd year on the board. He was President of Atlantic University Sport (AUS) from 2018 to 2020 and has served on numerous conference and national committees.

Lisa Beatty, Chief Operating Officer

Chief Operating Officer

Office

+1 (905) 508-3000 #231

Lisa Beatty was appointed as Chief Operating Officer in March 2020. As COO, Lisa ensures that the organization focuses on achieving its long-term vision, strategy and growth with particular attention to strategic leadership, governance, operations, finance, human resources, partner relations and revenue generation.
 
Lisa is an experienced leader with more than 20 years of experience in professional and amateur sport, including serving as Head of Division for the delivery of ceremonies at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Executive Director of the Ontario Soccer Association and working as the Director of Communications and Business Operations for the Canadian Olympic Committee. Most recently, she worked as a project manager for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
 
Lisa holds a degree in Sports Administration from Laurentian University, an MBA. from the Rothman School of Management and an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. She is also a certified Project Management Professional.

Lisette Johnson Stapley, Chief Sport Officer

Chief Sport Officer

Office

+1 (905) 508-3000 #232

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, 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 efficient 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 and is fluently bilingual. Lisette was born and raised in Kingston, Ont., 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, Ont., with her husband Robert, and three children – Sarah, Nathalie and Callum. Lisette has been involved as a participant and administrator in sport her entire life.

John Bower, Director

Director
Marketing & Communications

Office

+1 (905) 508-3000 #241

Mobile

+1 (780) 667-5646

Tara Hahto, Director

Director
Compliance & Eligibility

Office

+1 (905) 508-3000 #237

Tara Hahto is the U SPORTS Director, Compliance & Eligibility. Her main responsibilities are leading policy development, member education, and compliance with respect to eligibility, recruiting, and Athletic Financial Awards (AFA) portfolios. Additionally, she works with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) to manage U SPORTS’ efforts in anti-doping, and oversees the development and implementation of U SPORTS Central. Tara works extensively with the membership to develop and enhance U SPORTS’ work in these areas in order to provide outstanding environments and opportunities for student-athletes.

Tara was a Canadian Olympic Trials qualifier and NCAA Division I student-athlete, competing for four years with Boise State University’s swimming team. Following her undergraduate degree in Idaho, she completed her master’s degree at Texas Christian University while working as an assistant coach for the TCU Horned Frogs swimming and diving team. Tara began working with U SPORTS in spring 2013.

LinkedIn

Jennifer Smart, Director

Director
Sport Events

Office

+1 (905) 508-3000

As Director of Sport, Jennifer’s responsibilities include planning and managing one of U SPORTS’ core business properties in the 21 annual National Championships. She also works with industry experts and both internal and stakeholders on bid selections and processes, manages all Sport Technical Sub-Committees, as well as internally-run U SPORTS teams competing at international and special external events.  

Jennifer previously spent over 14 years at Rugby Canada, most recently serving as Director of Events. She is as an accomplished project leader within the sport industry, with over a decade of success both nationally and internationally.

Tony Martire, Manager

Manager
Finance

Office

+1 (905) 508-3000 #238

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.

Zach Weese, Manager

Manager
Governance & Special Projects

Office

+1 (905) 508-3000 #234

As the Manager of Governance and Special Projects, Zach works closely with the executive leadership team, in the areas of U SPORTS governance, business operations, and major corporate events (i.e., National Championships, Conference and Annual Meeting, the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards, and the Governor General's Academic All-Canadian Commendation). In addition, Zach’s portfolio includes the managing of CEO affairs, as well as the leading of the U SPORTS Internship Program.

LinkedIn

Jenna Blackburn, Coordinator

Coordinator
Sport

Office

+1 (905) 508-3000 #239

As the Sport Coordinator, Jenna offers general support to the Sport Department, including National Championships and Sport Technical, Coaching Programs, Compliance, Eligibility and Discipline, and International Programs.

Jenna graduated from Acadia University in May 2015 with a Bachelor of Kinesiology, and went on to complete a Graduate Certificate in Sport Business Management from Algonquin College the following year. She played varsity soccer for all five years of her university career, having played four years with the Acadia Axewomen and one season at Algonquin College, attending the CCAA National Championship in 2015.

Jenna was born and raised in Halifax, N.S., and has spent the majority of her life on the east coast. She enjoys coaching youth soccer and was the former Technical Lead at Halifax County United Soccer Club. Jenna was the Women’s Soccer Assistant Coach at Mount Saint Vincent University for three years, and attended the CCAA National Championship for her first time as a coach in 2018. She was also a member of the Nova Scotia Canada Games Team in 2009 (soccer) and 2011 (ringette). She has past experience with U SPORTS having been involved with the host committees for the 2016 CIS Women’s Soccer National Championship at Acadia University and the 2017 U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Final 8 Championship in Halifax.

LinkedIn

Elysse Pilon, Coordinator

Coordinator
Compliance & Eligibility

Office

+1 (905) 508-3000 #240

As Coordinator of Compliance and Eligibility, Elysse provides support to the Operations Department in the areas of student-athlete eligibility, recruiting, Athletic Financial Awards (AFAs), anti-doping and U SPORTS Central. In addition, she oversees the 2019-20 Academic All-Canadian Recognition Program.

Elysse began her career with U SPORTS as a marketing and sponsorship intern in 2019, before transitioning into the role of Coordinator, Digital Technology and Statistics – where she was responsible for managing the U SPORTS website, as well as national sports information and statistics with the membership.

She holds an undergraduate honours degree in Kinesiology and Health Sciences from York University, a Doctorate of Chiropractic from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, and a postgraduate Sport Business Management Diploma with honours from Humber College. Her experience in the industry – both in health care and on the business side – spans multiple sports organizations and events, including the Brampton Beast, Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, Skate Ontario and the IIHF World Junior Championship.

Elysse is particularly passionate about amateur and varsity sport and is looking forward to advancing university sport in Canada.