espnW Campus Conversations Comes to Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Athletics, partnering with Amherst College Athletics, presented espnW Campus Conversations to more than 100 female student-athletes on Monday. espnW Campus Conversations is a forum for meaningful dialogue that supports, educates and inspires female student-athletes during their collegiate careers.

Moderated by ESPN columnist and commentator and Colorado basketball alum Kate Fagan, UMass and Amherst College welcomed Carol Stiff, Vice President of Programming at ESPN, Cassie Abodeely ('96 Amherst College, soccer), Dr. Kathy Coyner M.D. ('01 University of Massachusetts, basketball), Sasha Hanegby ('05 University of Massachusetts, tennis) and Dr. Nefertiti Walker Ph.D. ('05 Stetson University, basketball) to discuss "The Great Pivot", including leveraging your assets and adding value and presence and the power of networking.

Cassie Abodeely, '96 Amherst College, Women's Soccer
Cassie Abodeely is the Director of Auxiliary and Summer Programs for the Brimmer and May School, a small independent school located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts where she oversees all non-tuition revenue generating streams. Prior to joining the Brimmer and May school, Cassie spent 10 years as Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the Bronx County District Attorney, where she created and oversaw the anti-human trafficking unit within the Rackets Bureau, and specialized in firearms and narcotics trafficking prosecutions. Before her tenure in the Bronx, Cassie lived and worked in South Africa during the transitional, post-apartheid mid-1990's. As an educator, coach and aid worker, she developed a literacy program for young women and girls, built a community library and started the first girls' rugby and basketball programs in the region formerly known as the Transkei. Cassie attended Fordham Law School and graduated with a major in religion from Amherst College in 1996, where she was a member of the soccer and rugby teams.

Dr. Kathy Coyner M.D., '01 University of Massachusetts, Women's Basketball
Dr. Kathy Coyne is an Orthopedic Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Orthopedics at UConn Health. She is currently serving as a team physician for UConn Athletics where she provides coverage at numerous collegiate sporting events. Dr. Coyner is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and holds an additional Subspecialty Certification in Orthopedic Sports Medicine. She is also part of the UCONN Sports Medicine Program, a member of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine as well as the American Orthopedic Association's Emerging Leaders Program. Dr. Coyner earned her M.D. from Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine. She completed her residency in orthopedic surgery at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, and performed a fellowship in sports medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Prior to her arrival in Storrs, she spent six years at UT Southwestern Medical Center and was the Assistant Team Orthopaedic Surgeon to the NHL Dallas Stars and Head Team Physician for two local high schools. She also provided the official medical coverage for Denver Broncos Pro-Bowl cornerback Chris Harris' Underdog Football Skills Academy.

Sasha Hanegby, '05 University of Massachusetts, Women's Tennis
Sasha Hanegby is the Director of Citigroup's Global Equity Platform Sales Group in New York where she markets new products to prospective clients around the world. Prior to this position, she attended the University of Massachusetts after fulfilling her two-year Israeli military obligation. At UMass, Sasha enrolled on a full tennis scholarship where she excelled on the court and in the classroom. As a senior, she went undefeated in both singles and doubles, was named captain, and led her team to the Eastern Collegiate Doubles Championships.

Dr. Nefertiti Walker Ph.D., '05 Stetson University, Women's Basketball
Dr. Nefertiti Walker is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass. Dr. Walker was recruited and played basketball at Georgia Tech from 2001-03. Shortly thereafter, she transferred to Stetson University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. In 2005, as co-captain, she helped lead her team to an Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Basketball Championship, which was followed by Stetson University's first-ever NCAA Women's Basketball National Tournament appearance. Later that year, she graduated with a MBA from Stetson University. In 2011, after graduating from the University of Florida with a Ph.D. in Sport Management, Dr. Walker took a position as a sport management professor in the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management in the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts. To date, her work has been mentioned across the print and television spectrum including espn.com, espnW.com, TIME Sports and other sports news outlets. Her latest project, co-authored with Nicole Melton, "The Tipping Point: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation in Intercollegiate Sport," examines why sexual minorities, specifically those who are both women and racial minorities, tend to leave intercollegiate sports.

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