Our Speakers
Jillian Green Loughran
Keynote Speaker
Sr. Director of Regional Operations & Strategy, The Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport (CHJS)
Jillian’s work at the Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport allows her to engage with sport at every level. From community centers to juvenile detention centers to major college athletic conferences and professional leagues, Jillian and her team put a premium on teaching mentors and program providers to deliver healing-centered, brain-aware, experiences while protecting, nurturing and embracing athletes for every bit of who they are. Jillian is part of the faculty of the Neurosequential Model in Sport- a collaborative project with Bruce D. Perry, M.D. Ph.D. that integrates biologically respectful best practices into sport and brings over 10+ years of experience designing, implementing, and capacity-building in the sports-based youth development and OST spaces. Prior to her work with CHJS, Jillian oversaw the implementation of programming at DREAM (formerly known as Harlem RBI) and most recently at Philly Girls in Motion where she served as the Executive Director. Jillian holds an M.A. in International Relations and an M.P.A. with a focus in Nonprofit Management from Seton Hall’s Whitehead School of Diplomacy. She has also completed leadership training at the Columbia University Business School.
Mark Davis
Co Director / Presentation Coordinator
Athlete Support & Retention Manager, George Pocock Rowing Foundation
Head Coach, Seattle Prep
At GPRF Mark is the Athlete Support and Retention Manager. He is building a robust athlete support program while focusing on increasing participation and retention.
Before his time at GPRF, he was the executive director at Sammamish Rowing Association for three years and before that a long time collegiate rowing coach. Mark was Head Men’s Coach at George Washington University between the years of 2009 and 2020. With Davis at the helm, the Colonials enjoyed a pinnacle season in 2018-19, culminating in an all-time program best No. 13 finish nationally for the varsity 8 boat at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships.
When not working, Mark likes to spend time with his family outdoors in the wonderful PNW wilderness hiking and camping. Mark and Peter first met when they rowed together at Hobart in the early 90’s and have been friends and coworkers ever since (we don’t talk about the who won the seat races between the two, it’s a sore subject.)
Joe DeLeo
Cofounder and Lead Author, Science of Rowing
PhD Student of Exercise Physiology at University of Kansas
Joe is a lifelong rower who has been involved with the sport since age 12. Joe was a varsity oarsman at The George Washington University, and was named team MVP his senior year. He then spent the next three years as the graduate assistant coach for Syracuse Men’s Rowing under Head Coach Dave Reischman. Joe launched his business, LEO Training in 2014. Since then, Joe has consulted with junior, collegiate, masters, and national team rowing programs, as well as interviewed hundreds of rowers, rowing coaches, and strength coaches through the LEO Training podcast.
Joe moved to the Kansas City area in 2017 and worked three years as the strength and conditioning specialist for Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Joe served as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Portuguesa de Remo from 2018 to the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. During his tenure as Head S&C won a total of 10 international medals at World Cups and European Championships. The Portuguese LM2x qualified for the Tokyo Olympics and finished 13th. He has assisted with USRowing’s annual high-altitude training camps and provided strength and conditioning support to USRowing’s para rowers since November 2023 which recently resulted in a silver medal in the PR3 4+ at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Joe has also been a presenter at the USRowing Conference and Joy of Sculling Conference. Joe earned a Master of Science in Sports Performance with First Class Honors from the University of Limerick in 2021. He is currently a PhD student in Exercise Physiology at the University of Kansas under Dr. Andrew C. Fry and Dr. Kathryn Ackerman.
Doolittle came to CGA in 2021 after serving as head coach at Ohio Wesleyan for three years from 2018-2020 where they established a new Division III varsity rowing program. Prior to Ohio Wesleyan, they were an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Bates from 2015-2017 as the Bobcats won a pair of NCAA Division III national championships in 2015 and 2017. Coach Doolittle has also served as an assistant coach with the U23 team at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Vermont, taking numerous athletes the U23 World Championships.
Doolittle began their coaching career as an assistant coach at Wesleyan during the 2013 and 2014 seasons as the team qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in 12 years in 2014. They were a two-year member of the varsity eight at the University of Connecticut, the team captain during the 2011-2012 season, and were named an All-BIG EAST second team selection in 2012.
Director of Rowing & Head Women’s Coach, United States Coast Guard Academy
Andriel Doolittle
Franks is a 2016 graduate of Temple University, where she was a four-year member of the women’s rowing program and four-year Varsity 8+ coxswain. Franks’ first year as a Temple coxswain was under Grzybowski’s first year at the helm of the program. The pair spent four years as a collaborative coach-and-coxswain duo leading the team to historic finishes. In her senior year, Franks was an integral part of Temple’s finish at the 2016 American Athletic Conference, placing third – the highest in program history
Associate Head Coach, Temple Women's Rowing
Kelsey Franks
Paul Laursen
Author, Endurance Coach, Entrepreneur.
Dr. Paul Laursen is a sport scientist, endurance coach, and CEO of Athletica.ai and HIIT Science. He helps rowing coaches turn physiology into simple, durable training that wins seasons. Paul led physiology for New Zealand’s Olympic program, has 150+ peer-reviewed publications, and serves as a Professor of Physiology. He’s also a 17-time Ironman finisher who keeps his work grounded in practice.
For rowing, his focus is getting dosage right: balancing 80/20 aerobic–high-intensity load, anchoring intensity with stroke rate, and using critical power/pace and MAF (Zone-2) to set clear targets—then letting HRV/readiness guide day-to-day adjustments. He co-developed AI-assisted rowing plans in Athletica with SR-based cues, Concept2-friendly testing (100 m, 1-min, 2k, 6k, 1-hr), and built-in deloads to reduce overuse.
Paul’s keynotes are coach-first: practical periodization across erg and on-water phases, clear session purposes athletes understand, and data that serves the program—not the other way around—so crews arrive healthy, confident, and fast.
Sarah Low
Executive Director, Sammamish Rowing
Sarah Low joined SRA in December 2023, bringing over 15 years of coaching and administrative experience to the program. Previously, Sarah was the Executive Director and Women’s Head Coach for the Atlanta Junior Rowing Association. During her seven years at the helm of Atlanta Juniors, the club sent 33 boats to the USRowing Youth National Championships, consistently qualified men’s and women’s boats for the Head of the Charles, and remains one of the top rowing programs in the Southeast. Sarah also has worked with several summer rowing development camps, including Penn AC Gold in Philadelphia, the USRowing Under-19 Women's National Team, and the USRowing Olympic Development Program. Sarah is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Washington, and earned her USRowing Level III certification in 2019.
Asiya Mahmud
Head Coach of Women’s Rowing, University of Delaware
USRowing High Performance Coach
Asiya Mahmud is the Head Rowing Coach at the University of Delaware and a respected leader in the national rowing community. Since joining Delaware in 2024, she has led the Blue Hens to multiple CAA Boat of the Week honors, produced two All-Conference athletes, and set a program record with 13 CRCA Scholar-Athletes in her first season. Prior to Delaware, she spent eight years at Drexel University—her alma mater—where she helped guide the Dragons to consistent CAA podium finishes, 24 conference medals, 20 Dad Vail medals, and a win at the 2022 Head of the Charles.
On the international stage, Mahmud has played a key role with USRowing, most recently coaching the U23 Women’s Four with Coxswain at the 2024 World Championships. She previously led the same boat class to bronze in 2022 and coached the U19 Women’s Four with Coxswain to gold at the 2021 World Championships. She also served as lead coach for the U.S. women's team at the 2023 CanAmMex Regatta, helping secure 14 medals, including eight gold.
Mahmud is a USRowing Level 3 High Performance certified coach and holds a Master of Legal Studies from Drexel’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law, with a concentration in NCAA compliance and sports law. Her coaching career spans the collegiate, high school, and club levels, and she is known for her athlete-centered leadership, program-building vision, and commitment to advancing women’s rowing.
Adrienne Martelli
Head Coach of Women’s Rowing, Clemson University
Adrienne Martelli was named Head Coach of the Rowing program on Friday, June 21, 2024. Martelli is an Olympic medalist and has spent the past five seasons at California, most recently as Associate Head Coach, finishing in the top ten nationally each season. Martelli was named to the coaching staff for the United States’ 2024 Paris Olympic Team on June 10.
During her time at Cal, the Golden Bears finished in the top ten nationally in all four NCAA Championship events they competed in, including a 9th-place finish in 2024, and coached six total All-Americans. The 2V8 that she coached finished third at NCAAs in 2023. At Cal, she was named the Assistant Coach of the Year as voted on by the Cal Athletics community.
A decorated rower herself, Martelli’s athletic career is highlighted by a bronze medal in the quadruple sculls at the 2012 London Olympics and participation in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she finished fifth. Additionally, she is a four-time medalist at the World Rowing Championships, including the Gold in the Women’s Straight Four in 2015.
Martelli attended the University of Washington, where she joined the Rowing team as a walk-on and eventually became a First Team All-American and National Champion in 2008 as part of the 1V4 boat. She was named team captain in her senior year, and she raced at the 2009 U23 World Championships, winning silver alongside Clemson Hall of Fame inductee Jessica Leidecker.
In 2023, she was an Assistant Coach for US Rowing at the World Championships, helping the Women’s Eight to Silver and the Women’s Four to a fifth-place finish.
Before her successful stint at Cal, Martelli coached at Northeastern University, where she guided the Huskies to three consecutive Colonial Athletic Association championships and three NCAA Championship appearances.
Caitlin McClain
U19 Women's National Team Head Coach
Caitlin McClain currently serves as head coach for the U.S. U19 Women’s National Team, where she leads the country’s top junior athletes in international competition. She’s been involved with the U19 program since 2014, coaching in a range of roles before stepping into the head coach position. Most recently, she led the U.S. women’s eight to a gold medal at the 2024 World Rowing U19 Championships.
Caitlin has built her coaching career around developing strong, resilient athletes and cohesive teams. Before taking on the national team role full-time, she spent five seasons as head coach at Seattle Pacific University, guiding the team to four NCAA appearances, including a national title in the varsity four and the program’s highest-ever team finish. Prior to that, she spent over a decade building one of the top junior programs in the country at Holy Names Academy in Seattle, where her crews consistently medaled at national regattas and over 70 of her athletes went on to row in college.
Whether coaching juniors, college athletes, or national team crews, Caitlin brings a steady, thoughtful approach focused on long-term growth and team culture. In recognition of her impact on the sport, she received the Ernestine Bayer Award from USRowing in 2025.
Al Monte
Head Coach of Men’s Heavyweight Rowing, University of Pennsylvania
Al Monte was named the University of Pennsylvania’s Nicholas B. Paumgarten Head Coach of Men’s Heavyweight Rowing in September 2022, and his impact has been immediate and widely recognized. In his first season, Monte led the Quakers to capture the Clayton W. Chapman Trophy as the most improved program at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships. Under his leadership, all three varsity eights placed in the top 12 at IRAs, including the Varsity Eight’s best finish since 2016, and achieved strong results at the Eastern Sprints.
The momentum continued in 2023-24, as Penn’s Varsity Eight took fifth at the Eastern Sprints — their best result at that event since 2001 — and earned an eighth-place finish at IRAs, the program’s best since 2000. The second and third varsity eights also exceeded expectations by beating their pre-race seeds, contributing to Penn’s ninth-place finish in the Ten Eyck Trophy standings. Throughout the regular season, Monte’s crews secured prestigious trophies like the Madeira and Wray Cups, reaffirming Penn’s rise in collegiate heavyweight rowing.
Before arriving at Penn, Monte spent eight years at Dartmouth College as Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, playing a key role in the Big Green’s ascent to top finishes at the IRA Championships. Earlier, he served as head coach at Bucknell University and coached elite athletes on Boathouse Row, including at Fairmount Rowing Association and Vesper Boat Club. A former USRowing national champion and member of the US National Team, Monte brings a wealth of competitive and coaching experience to his role. A Philadelphia native, he graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, where he was a team captain and four-year letter winner.
Mike Purcer
Master Coach Developer, Coaching Association of Canada
Author, Notes on Rowing
Founder, Purcerverance
Mike is a Certified Master Coach Developer accredited by the Coaching Association of Canada, with fifty years of coaching experience. His company, Purcerverance (https://purcerverance.ca/), specializes in coach and athlete development. Since 2016, Mike has been analyzing videos of crews captured at the World Championships to correlate objective values relating rowing technique and rigging with performance. He works with numerous clubs and schools to identify opportunities for improving crew speed. Mike is currently working on his third book, Technique, part of his Notes on Rowing series, which also includes Training (2009) and the sixth edition of Rigging, published in the summer of 2024.
Cory began his rowing career at St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH where he was a three sport varsity athlete in football and wrestling in addition to rowing. He continued on as a four year varsity oarsmen at Bates College, and was the men’s team captain in both his junior and senior years. He spent time working at Northeast Rowing Center through college, as well as the St. Paul’s Advanced Studies Program teaching art and coaching rowing after graduating from Bates. He spent 3 years teaching and coaching at Hebron Academy in Maine, where he taught studio art, lived in a dorm, and was the defensive coordinator for the football team, led the strength and conditioning program in the winter, and coached baseball. His proximity to Bates College allowed him to be a volunteer coach under Peter Steenstra several days a week as well during that time.
Cory has been fortunate to spend the last 14 years working with the Men's Junior National Team system at the Pathways Development, Olympic Development Program, Development, High Performance, Youth Regional Challenge and Selection Team levels in Pittsburgh, Maine, Oregon, Florida, California, and Tennessee, coaching young men from programs all over the country.
Cory coached at Nashville Rowing in Tennessee from 2014 to 2024, where he has also served as the Executive Director from 2017 to 2024 while also helping to develop and direct both head and sprint regattas. In that time Nashville had athletes earn 40+ invites to JNT camps, medal at CanAmMex, Junior World Championships, World Indoor Championships, HOCR, hold World Records, and graduate with scholarships earning medals at NCAAs, Eastern Sprints, and IRAs. Nashville Rowing qualified boats for the USRowing Youth National Championship every year from 2014 to 2024, with athletes competing in the 2x, 2-, 4+, Ltwt 4+, and 8+.
Cory now works in instructional and administrative program support for a K-12 independent school in Nashville, where he also currently coaches football and wrestling.
Youth Development Team Coach & Educational Consultant
Cory Sanderson
Kevin Sauer completed his 29th and final season as head coach of Virginia’s varsity rowing program in 2024, after leading the Cavaliers to 11 top-four and 17 top-five NCAA Championship finishes. Under his leadership, UVA won NCAA team titles in 2010 and 2012, nine NCAA boat championships, and 22 ACC team titles. He surpassed 1,000 Varsity Eight wins in 2019 and earned CRCA National Coach of the Year honors twice and ACC Coach of the Year 14 times. His coaching career spanned 53 years, beginning as a club coach at Purdue and Virginia before transitioning to varsity coaching at Yale and UVA. He was inducted into the CRCA Hall of Fame in 2017.
Sauer’s influence extended to the international stage, coaching multiple U.S. Under-23 National Teams to podium finishes, including gold with the women’s quad in 2007 and eight in 2008 and 2022. He coached the U.S. women’s double at the 2016 Olympics and mentored 19 UVA women who went on to become Olympians. His earlier experience as an athlete includes two U.S. National Team appearances in 1975 and 1977.
Beyond coaching, Sauer contributed to the sport through extensive work in rowing infrastructure—designing and building courses for major international competitions like the 1984 and 1996 Olympics, as well as multiple boathouses, including UVA’s facility and its later expansions. He also spent four decades leading coaching and leadership clinics and contributed over 20 years to executive education at UVA. His dedication extended to fundraising, having helped raise over $5 million for club and varsity programs.
Sauer is continuing to influence the rowing community through coaching consulting. With so many years of experience at all levels of the sport, he hopes to share his expertise with programs that are looking to take the next step.
Coaching Consultant
Kevin Sauer
Craig White
President, Brick City Rowing
Craig White is the President & CEO of Brick City Rowing, a non-profit and community organization, founded in 2020, with the explicit goal of creating a competitive rowing program that is open to youth and families from the City of Newark and its surrounding community.
Craig was born and educated in Newark, NJ. He graduated from St. Benedict's Prep and learned to row at the College of William & Mary. For four years he served as an active member of the club program’s leadership. In 2011, Craig returned to his hometown of Newark, NJ and began his work. While working at St. Benedict’s Prep, he successfully founded the school’s first rowing team months after being hired. From the beginning, Craig’s vision was to empower student athletes and their families through the sport of rowing. He believes the sport can instill a lifetime of achievement, both on and off the water, for everyone who has access to it.
Since the inception of the team, Craig has grown the rowing program at St. Benedict's from 8 to over 60 student athletes - who train and compete year round - making rowing the second most popular sport at St. Benedict’s Prep. The team has garnered great success over the years including helping student athletes advance themselves to some of the best colleges and universities in the country.
Mark Williams
Head Coach, University of Toronto
Mark Williams joined the Blues in February, 2018. Since arriving at U of T, Williams has guided the Varsity Blues rowing program to Top 5 finishes at both the Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC) and the OUA championships, along with 17 individual OUA medals. In that time, six Varsity Blues have gone on to compete at the Senior World Championships, U23 World Championships, Pan American Games, and FISU Games; five representing Team Canada and one representing Team USA.
Prior to arriving in Toronto, Williams served as head coach and director of rowing for the Ohio State University Crew Club (OSUCC). There, Williams was in charge of the program development, recruitment and fundraising, while also leading the team to top results. Under his guidance, the program garnered three Top 10 individual finishes at the ACRA national championships, along with two Top 6 team finishes and multiple medals at the MACRA regional championships.
Williams has also coached internationally and domestically outside of the academic year. In summer 2018, he coached the women’s double and lightweight women’s double for Canada at the World University Rowing Championships in Shanghai, China. In summer 2016, Williams coached the lightweight men’s program at Vesper Boat Club of Philadelphia to multiple club national championship titles and a Royal Canadian Henley title.