INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 27, 2018 – At a meeting yesterday, the interim Board of Directors of USA Gymnastics selected six independent directors to serve on the interim Board, including Karen Golz, who was elected to serve as the Board chair.

The five other independent directors are: Lois Elizabeth Bingham; Dr. James Crawford-Jakubiak; Deborah Slaner Larkin; David Rudd; and Julie Springwater.

The complete interim Board of Directors is listed below.

Chair: Karen Golz

Athlete directors

  • Ivana Hong, women’s gymnastics
  • Dylan Maurer, acrobatic gymnastics
  • Ava Gehringer, rhythmic gymnastics
  • Steven Legendre, men’s gymnastics
  • TBD, trampoline and tumbling

Membership directors

  • Kittia Carpenter, women’s gymnastics
  • Randy Jepson, men’s gymnastics
  • Stefanie Korepin, rhythmic gymnastics
  • Claudia Kretschmer, women’s gymnastics
  • Scott Lineberry, trampoline and tumbling
  • Bob Meier, acrobatic gymnastics
  • Justin Spring, men’s gymnastics

Advisory Council directors

  • Cindy Bickman
  • Bobbie Cesarek
  • Evelyn Chandler

Independent directors

  • Lois Elizabeth Bingham
  • James Crawford-Jakubiak
  • Karen Golz
  • Deborah Slaner Larkin
  • David Rudd
  • Julie Springwater

In addition to oversight of USA Gymnastics’ governance on behalf of its members, one of the priorities for the interim Board of Directors is to evaluate the current Board structure with the following goals:

  • Reduce the board to no more than 15 members.
  • Assure that a majority of the directors going forward are independent.
  • Athlete directors must make up at least 20 percent of the board, as required by the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act and the USOC Bylaws.
  • Members of the Advisory Council will have representation on the Board in a manner consistent with requirements of the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act.

To identify the six independent interim directors including the chair, the USA Gymnastics Nominating and Governance Committee conducted a public call for expressions of interest. The independent director candidates are required to meet the standards of independence described in Article 4.2.c and the qualifications for service outlined in Article 2.4 of the USA Gymnastics Bylaws. The Nominating and Governance Committee retained Boardspan to advise it in this process and help assess the potential candidates so that the committee could create a slate of nominees to present for election by the Board. Boardspan provides board and governance expertise to public, private and nonprofit companies through traditional consulting and technology enabled advisory services.

Commitment to athlete safety
USA Gymnastics is committed to creating a culture that empowers and supports our athletes. The organization has and will continue to take specific and concrete steps to promote athlete safety and prevent future abuse by adopting and vigorously enforcing the USA Gymnastics Safe Sport Policy, which requires mandatory reporting, defines six types of misconduct, sets standards to prohibit grooming behavior and prevent inappropriate interaction, and establishes greater accountability. Other efforts taken to strengthen that commitment include establishing a dedicated, toll-free number, 833-844-SAFE, the safe sport email address of [email protected], and online reporting to simplify the process for reporting; building a safe sport department that is developing a comprehensive education plan for members; and adopting bylaw amendments to provide the basis for further developing our safe sport programs and governance. USA Gymnastics also has established an Athlete Assistance Fund, in cooperation with the National Gymnastics Foundation, to provide the financial means and guidance for gymnasts who have suffered sexual abuse in the sport of gymnastics to obtain counseling services. The Athlete Assistance Fund, a designated fund of the National Gymnastics Foundation, will be administered by an independent third party.

Brief biographies of the six independent directors

  • Lois Elizabeth Bingham. Based in Detroit, Bingham works for Yazaki North America as its vice president, general counsel, CCO and secretary. She is a board member for Just the Beginning Foundation, president of the Detroit Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and has served on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women Bias Interrupters Working Group, as a board member for National Tots and Teens, Inc., and as chair for the Minerva Education and Development Foundation and the Legal Aid and Defender Associates, Inc. Bingham graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and from Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law.
  • James Crawford-Jakubiak. Crawford-Jakubiak is the medical director of the Center for Child Protection at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland in Oakland, Calif., with certifications in child abuse pediatrics and pediatrics. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Crawford-Jakubiak lives in the San Francisco Bay area. He is a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, as well as a fellow with the Ray E. Helfer Society.
  • Karen Golz. Golz resides in Meredith, N.H., and recently retired as a global vice chair of Ernst & Young. Her career at Ernst & Young spanned nearly 40 years in several different positions that involved ethics and independence, risk management, compliance, financial reporting and controls, and general management. She currently serves as an external advisor to The Boston Consulting Group’s Audit and Risk Committee and a trustee of the University of Illinois Foundation. She also previously served on the Financial Stability Board’s Enhanced Disclosure Task Force, chairing the Market Risk Committee. Golz received her bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
  • Deborah Slaner Larkin. Larkin served as the chief advocacy officer (2017) and CEO (2014-16) for the Women’s Sports Foundation, as well as a past executive director of the U.S. Tennis Association’s Foundation. Larkin currently is a board member for the National Women’s Law Center and an honorary board member for My Sister’s Place. She previously was on the board for SUNY Purchase and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Larkin, who lives in Vermont, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oregon and with a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland.
  • David Rudd. Rudd is of counsel to Rudd Resources, a communications, messaging and public relations firm in Chicago. His previous experience includes communications leadership roles at the University of Chicago Medicine, Weber Shandwick, Motorola, the State of Illinois and Chicago Public Schools. He began his career in journalism at the Chicago Tribune. Rudd serves as a board member for Prevent Child Abuse America and is the treasurer for the Black Public Relations Society. He earned his journalism degree from Northwestern University.
  • Julie Springwater. Springwater, a resident of Andover, Mass., is an adjunct professor at Boston University’s School of Social Work and interim chair of Macro Practice (non-clinical social work). She specializes in child welfare, positive youth development and human service management. Springwater also serves as the director for the New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors, located at Boston’s Judge Baker Children’s Center. She is currently serving as the chair of governance for the Child Welfare League of America. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in sociology at the University of Massachusetts and her Master of Social Work at Boston University.