CDW SPEAKERS
Have questions for the Speakers before the event? Ask Here!
.jpg)
Executive Coach, Consultant, and Recruiter Build a Vibrant Culture As the principal coach and CEO of Vibrant Coaching, Nicole Greer, PPCC helps individuals, corporations, government entities and ministries become the people they were created to be through defining and fulfilling a mission, to work better in teams, and exemplify excellent leadership. Using transcendent leadership programs and coach training gives Nicole foundational tools, uncommon wisdom and an advantage in the marketplace. For the last 20 years Nicole has worked as a coach, marketing director, master of first impressions, and sales trainer in the many facets of business. Her experiences working with all kinds of people led her to found Vibrant Coaching. Nicole is a speaker, trainer, facilitator, life and business coach.
Owner, Two Sparks Digital Kelly started her career in 2003 when she left Duke University to pursue professional tennis. After reaching the world stage and playing the WTA Majors, Kelly dove into her next career in Marketing. She started her own business in 2007 focusing on digital ad strategy, pay per click marketing and Facebook strategy. Kelly became the VP of Marketing at Fitness Holdings Northeast, a Crunch Fitness franchisee with 45 clubs and managed all aspects of the the marketing. She has worked with franchisees in both retail and subscription based businesses for the past 15 years. She now owns Two Sparks Digital, a marketing agency that focuses on strategy and paid advertising. Kelly loves diving into the numbers to maximize opportunities and reduce cost waste.
Director of Marketing and Promotions, USTA Southern Tracy McEvoy has been the Director of Marketing and Promotions at USTA Southern since June 2024. She brings a cumulative 25 years of USTA involvement at the local, district, sectional and national levels, including serving as the Director of Marketing staff at USTA Georgia and Executive Director of Grassroots Tennis & Education, a well renowned NJTL Chapter in Norwalk, Connecticut. Her volunteer involvement included serving as a Board member of USTA New England for the past 15 years. She started her career at USTA Southern in 1996 as a junior tennis programs coordinator, followed by working on Kellogg's promotions and served as the USTA Georgia Director of Marketing. McEvoy hails from Fairfield University (Connecticut) where she managed a large portfolio of partners and sponsors, which helped catapult the institution to become a top nationally recognized university by US News and World Report. She also aided in the management of all campus auxiliary services, which included licensing initiatives driven through the bookstore. Tracy captained the Women's Tennis Team at Georgia Southern University leading the team to historical winning seasons and two consecutive conference titles. She lives in the Atlanta area with her husband, daughter and family pets. Her son is a recent college graduate and lives in Houston.
Ashlyn Gibbons
Founder, Celestial Assistance Co. Ashlyn started Celestial Assistance Co. 3 years ago to help entrepreneurs achieve the business of their dreams. Through her experience in the weddings and events industry, she realized there is a large lack of support for creative business owners. Her passion for all things business and love for the arts has allowed her to step into this one-of-a-kind role. As someone who values authentic connections and genuine business relationships, Ashlyn has worked with 30+ small businesses across a wide variety of industries, including Wheel Serve NC!
Kim Coston
President, USTA North Carolina Senior Vice President, Bank of America Professionally, Kim Coston is a Senior Vice President within Bank of America’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Organization (GDIO) where she leads key processes and external partnerships governance. In this role, she is responsible for the successful design, delivery, communication and administration of core D&I processes. She works closely with the GDIO leadership team and key partners across GHR for the timely administration of key processes and line of business-specific D&I deliverables for the enterprise. Kim also developed and manages the governance framework for a $4 million portfolio of 64 external partners across Talent Acquisition and D&I. Kim lives in Concord with her husband, Travis and daughter, Roxie, Smokey (8 yr. old CavaPoo), and Kojak-ie (9 mo. 45 lb English Boxer). Outside of work she enjoys family time, quilting, embroidery, and “attempting” to garden. She began playing tennis as a 2.5 NTRP adult in Charlotte. She loves leagues, tournaments, and social tennis. She’s volunteered for over 15 years for the USTA Southern and a current member of the Southern Park committee, nationally she’s served for over 10 years and the current Co-chair of the Training Advisory Group Mentoring Subcommittee. In 2024 she became the President of USTA North Carolina after servicing in various capacities for 20+ years. These volunteer roles allow Kim to leverage her passion for the sport of tennis and her professional experience to increase inclusion within all communities.
Amy Franklin
Chair, USTA Southern Community Development Committee Amy is the Chair of the USTA Southern Community Development Committee, a member of the USTA CTA Committee and a board member of her local CTA in Beaufort, SC. She currently serves as the Executive Director for the SC Tennis Foundation. In her past life, she worked in various capacities with USTA North Carolina and the NC Tennis Foundation. During her tenure with USTA North Carolina, she developed a passion for working with non-profit organizations and volunteers while assisting them in their development process.
Director of Adult Play, USTA North Carolina Before starting at USTA North Carolina in 2016 as the Tournaments & Competition Coordinator I was a stay at home mom wearing many hats, two of those were coaching middle school tennis and junior team tennis. Since then, I have become the Director of the Junior Pathway and have seen firsthand how integral JTT programming is to the pathway.
Founder and CEO United Tennis Organization With almost twenty years of experience as a tennis coach, Belén Gómez-Jordana founded the non-profit United Tennis Organization in 2021 with the goal of bringing the sport of tennis to everybody regardless of their socio-economic status. Since 2021, almost 200 hundred children in the Gastonia area have gone through the program, playing tennis for their first time. The mission of United Tennis is to make a positive impact in the youth using Tennis and Education together to change lives and build community. United Tennis is also offering Abilities Tennis Clinics in Gastonia and Mint Hill and they recently added an Adult Tennis Program in Gastonia. United Tennis was recently recognized and selected one of the 5 NJTL nationwide to be granted with the 2024 Blueprint for Success and Capacity Building. United Tennis was awarded in 2023 with the USTA NC Diversity and Inclusion Award for its efforts to make tennis a much more accessible sport. Belen Gomez-Jordana is a USPTR coach and was recently granted with a scholarship to become a USPTR Level 2 Tennis Coach.
Byron Martinez
Founder and CEO Unidos We Stand Byron Martinez founded the 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 2015 to undertake action on the prevention of Civil Rights violations conducted towards the greater Hispanic community in North Carolina and around the country. Their goal is to provide services at legal proceedings, state educational shortfalls, social and political inequality issues, and to work alongside government officials at all three levels of government in the pursuit of Immigration Reform in the United States. Unidos We Stand has been working diligently to help those individuals that need their help. Since 2015, hundreds of immigrant families have received guidance and help on their immigration processes thanks to Unidos We Stand. Unidos We Stand was recently approved by the U.S. Department of Justice to become an Accredited Organization nationwide. Unidos We Stand received the MLK Unity Award in 2017.
Executive Director, USTA North Carolina Kelly Gaines grew up in Burlington, NC and began to play tennis at age 12. Kelly was fortunate enough to play college tennis at Peace College (now William Peace University) in Raleigh at a point in time when tennis scholarships or playing opportunities for women were not plentiful. After Peace, Kelly attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her Bachelor’s Degree. After graduating in 1984, she took her first full time job as an Assistant Tennis Professional at Olde Forest Racquet Club. In 1985, Kelly was named Head Tennis Professional at North Hills Club in Raleigh. She was there for three years and then at that time was offered the assistant tennis coach position for both the Men and the Women at NC State University. Two years later, in 1989 she was named the Head Women's Coach. Her NC State teams rose to a top 40 team ranking in the ITA rankings. She led the first NC State player to a bid to compete for the NCAA Singles Championship. Gaines had two players who were on the ACC 50th Anniversary Women’s Tennis Team. In 1995, Kelly Gaines was hired to be the Executive Director of USTA North Carolina. She has seen a staff grow from 2 to 14 and membership triple during her tenure. She remains there today. Her duties at USTA North Carolina include administration of multiple employees, tournaments, leagues, on and off court activities and representing USTA North Carolina’s interests at the USTA Southern and USTA level. She also serves as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Tennis Foundation, the 501c3 organization, sister to USTA North Carolina. Kelly serves on the Board of Directors for the Winston-Salem Open that oversees the ATP 250 event each year. She serves on the Board of Trustees for her alma mater, William Peace University and is a member of the Greensboro Sports Council. She volunteers regularly at her church, Adams Farm Community Church. Kelly was lucky enough to marry Greg Gaines more than 25 years ago. He is the best life partner one could have.
Manager of Adult Play - Growth Leagues and Tournaments, USTA North Carolina Originally from Chattanooga, TN. Nick first learned to play tennis after walking over to the school tennis courts in middle school as he was waiting for his parents to pick him up. He and a friend asked the tennis coach to borrow some equipment to hit around and kill some time. Instinctively they grabbed a racquet and a yellow ball. After attempting to hit the ball back and forth with no tennis experience, they failed miserably and the tennis coach (who was giving a lesson on another court) suggested that we use a foam ball. Once we started hitting with the foam ball they fell in love with tennis and the rest is history.
.jpg)
Elicia Smith
Community Manager, Intercollegiate Tennis Association Elicia currently serves as the Community Manager for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), working closely with communities within the college tennis ecosystem, notably student-athletes and alumni. Previously, Elicia oversaw the USTA Tennis on Campus program at the national level, advocating for club tennis as a viable alternative to varsity tennis and an opportunity to remain engaged in tennis throughout college. Originally from northern Virginia, Elicia grew up playing tennis. It was a family affair, with both parents and grandparents playing tennis competitively. Elicia attended Florida State University and joined the club tennis team her first week of her freshman year. Club tennis became her home away from home and the experience inspired her to pursue a career in tennis. Elicia resides in Charlotte and in her free time enjoys strength training, paddle boarding, and stand-up comedy!
.webp)
Katie Shane
Manager of Adult Play - Try Tennis & Traditional USTA North Carolina Katie Shane, originally from High Point, NC, has a long-standing passion for tennis that began in elementary school. She actively participated in USTA North Carolina junior programs, including Junior Team Tennis, and later joined her school’s JV and varsity tennis teams. After graduating high school, Katie pursued her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing Strategy at UNC Wilmington. While there, she became a member of UNCW Club Tennis and served on the club’s Executive Board for three years. She was also elected as Vice President of the UNCW Sports Club Council, which oversees the more than 30 sports clubs on campus. Katie watched UNCW Club Tennis more than triple in size throughout her time there, expanding from approximately 30 members in her freshman year to over 100 by her senior year. The club was honored to be recognized as USTA Southern’s Tennis on Campus Club of the Year in 2019. Katie now serves as Manager of Adult Play (Try Tennis and Traditional) for USTA North Carolina. It is an honor for her to be able to assist in the growth of tennis in her home state alongside the rest of the USTA North Carolina team!
Matt Galles
Coordinator of Adult Play USTA North Carolina
Laura Weygandt
Executive Director Western Wake Tennis Association Laura is the chief operating officer for Western Wake Tennis Association who oversees day to day operations including contractors. She works with a volunteer boar and is responsible for communications, volunteer program, court and tennis advocacy, growing 10 and Under Tennis, maintaining website, and general community relations, activities, and events. Additionally, she acts as central focal point for new and transplanted tennis players, pros, school PE teachers, high school coaches, etc. Manages area community events as well as maintains relationships with public and private facilities.
Shelby Rhyne
Former Executive Director Rockingham County Tennis Association I am a passionate advocate for community tennis and the game of mahjongg. I love playing with beginners on the court and at the mahjongg table. I am the founder of Rockingham County Tennis Association and served as their Executive Director from 2014-22. I am a PTR Certified Level 1 coach. Additionally, I am an experienced non-profit board member currently serving as Vice-President for the Rockingham County Community Foundation. I've volunteered as a board or committee member for the Annie Penn Hospital Foundation, NC Tennis Association, NC Tennis Foundation, USTA Southern, and the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Tennis Association.
