The CCAA is committed to a diverse and inclusive environment in our conference - We are better together than apart. We value and embrace differing viewpoints to strengthen our collective voice.

Action Items

Meet the Committee

Aug. 3, 2020 -- In conjunction with the committee co-chairs San Francisco State Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Nicole Bolter and Cal State LA Director of Athletics Dr. Daryl Gross, the CCAA has announced the composition of the newly-formed Diversity and Inclusion Committee. 

Created in June 2020 in response to nationwide movements to combat systemic racism, the committee will examine ways that our conference can not only talk about the issues that cause division, but have a direct impact on the future of our institutions and our communities in direct and actionable ways.

Each of the conference's 12 member-institutions has one voting representative on the committee, joining Bolter and Gross as well as the CCAA staff, who serve as ex-officio committee members.

“We are pleased to announce this committee of amazing people that want to make a difference in terms of global solutions, Gross notes. ”I’m grateful for their willingness to share their experiences and ideas to create a platform for impactful, positive, social change. We are truly encouraged that this group will set a tone of fairness, diversity and inclusiveness that adds to student-athlete welfare and the greater good."

“This committee presents an opportunity for us to deeply examine our commitment to racial and social justice in athletics, and implement changes that result in greater equity and inclusion,” adds Bolter. “The individuals chosen for this committee are impressive and represent a mix of student athletes, coaches, and administrators, both in and outside athletics. Plus, we will have the opportunity to talk about issues across 12 institutions, which will inevitably lead to more comprehensive solutions. I am proud of the CCAA for making this committee a reality, and am excited to get to work.”

Dr. Nicole Bolter - San Francisco State

Dr. Nicole Bolter joined San Francisco State Athletics in 2018 as the department's faculty athletic representative. In that role, she serves as a liaison between academics and athletics.

A former student-athlete herself, Dr. Bolter was a member of the California women's golf team from 1996-00. She walked on at Cal and went on to earn a full scholarship and competed in 95 percent of the team's tournaments during her four years. She was a three-time Academic All-American and was awarded the team's most improved player three consecutive seasons.

Dr. Bolter has held the role of Assistant Professor in San Francisco State's Kinesiology Department since 2015. Prior to that, she was an assistant professor in the Boise State's Department of Kinesiology from 2012-15 and was a full-time lecturer at San Francisco State from 2010-12.

Currently, Dr. Bolter teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in research methods and sport and exercise psychology. Her research focuses on understanding how participation in sport and physical activity can be a growth experience for children and adolescents.

In 2010, she earned a PhD in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota, where she specialized in sport and exercise psychology. Dr. Bolter received her Master’s in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia in 2007 and her undergraduate degree in Psychology from California in 2000.

Dr. Daryl Gross - Cal State LA

Dr. Daryl Gross is entering his fifth year as the Executive Director of Athletics at Cal State LA. Under his leadership, the Golden Eagles have established a new culture of high expectations and success as many teams have achieved rapid national success, with many teams advancing to the NCAA tournament, while producing multiple national and conference academic honors. 

Gross was part of the team on campus that was instrumental in navigating one of the largest intercollegiate athletic facility enhancements in Cal State LA history, partnering with the professional soccer franchise LAFC, who reside permanently and practice in new facilities on campus. He is currently working with alumna Billie Jean King to create the Billie Jean King Legacy Center on campus, which will be a major beacon of hope and opportunity and an experiential, “Presidential Library” type landmark that will include global educational programming.

Prior to joining the Golden Eagles staff, Gross was the architect and leader for Syracuse becoming a member of the Power 5, ACC conference during his tenure at Director of Athletics. This resulted in elite competition participation, academic prestige and a significant increase in annual revenue. He led the Athletics Department at Syracuse University for 10 years as Director of Athletics before moving to his role of Vice President and Special Assistant to the Chancellor where he continued to serve on the Chancellor’s Cabinet. In addition, Gross was an Adjunct Professor in the David B. Falk College of Sports Management and Human Dynamics. 

Prior to his appointment at Syracuse, Gross served as senior associate athletic director at this alma mater, the University of Southern California. At USC, he directed coaching searches and contract discussions, served as the department’s spokesman, led marketing and corporate sponsorship efforts, negotiated television contracts, developed and contracted football and men’s basketball schedules, directed student-athlete academic services, and directly supervised 10 of the University’s 19 intercollegiate sports programs, among other responsibilities.

Gross holds both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in educational psychology from USC, as well as a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California at Davis, where he was a football wide receiver and was teammates with future New York Jets quarterback Ken O’Brien.  He coached on the UC Davis football coaching staff, as well as coaching the UC Davis men’s and women’s tennis teams. Gross was a graduate assistant football coach at USC coaching quarterbacks and receivers before moving up the ranks to works for the New York Jets as a personnel scout and front office staffer conducting all psychological testing and analysis before moving into collegiate athletics administration. 

Des Abeyta - Sonoma State

Des Abeyta was named the new head coach of the Sonoma State women's basketball program prior to the 2022-23 season. Abeyta joins Sonoma State after 15 years on the sidelines for the UC Davis women's program. She began as an assistant coach for the Aggies in 2007-08, the school's first year in Division 1. After spending 11 years as assistant on Jennifer Gross's staff, Abeyta was promoted to the position of associate head coach in 2018.

As the associate head coach, Abeyta helped lead the Aggies to a 71-35 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances in the last four seasons. She was involved in all aspects of the program, working closely with the post players as well as on-court instruction of both the offense and defense, scouting, recruiting and camps.  

Prior to UC Davis, Abeyta spent two seasons as the varsity head coach at Forest Ridge High School in Bellevue, Washington and one season as an assistant coach at North Seattle Community College.  

Abeyta was also a student-athlete during her playing days as she was a standout player for UC Davis from 1996-99, playing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association prior to UC Davis making the jump to Division I. She helped lead the Aggies to a 94-22 overall record in her four seasons and was twice named to the All-Conference team. Abeyta still ranks among the school's career leaders in points, rebounds and blocked shots.  

Kat Benton-LaEzza - Chico State

Kat Benton-LaEzza is in her second year as a member of the Chico State women’s soccer coaching staff, and will represent the Wildcats on the Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Benton-LaEzza brought over a decade of coaching experience to Chico when she was named to head coach Kim Sutton’s staff in July, 2021. Prior to joining the ’Cats, she served as an assistnant coach at Division I Kansas State, and as the head coach of her alma mater Kansas Wesleyan. Benton-LaEzza led Kasnas Wesleyan to an overall mark of 17-3-2 and an 11-0-1 conference record on the way to capturing the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) title.

In addition to holding several top coaching certifications, Benton-LaEzza was selected to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) prestigious “30 under 30” class in 2014–15, spotlighting the top 15 women and 15 men in the country as the best up-and-coming soccer coaches under 30 years of age.
 
As a player, Benton-LaEzza was a two-time letter winner and two year team captain at Kansas Wesleyan, leading the Coyotes to back-to-back KCAC regular season and tournament crowns, plus a pair of NAIA National Championship Tournament appearances. Her 2007 squad was the first in KCAC history to win the NAIA Region IV title. Benton-LaEzza collected a number of honors playing at Kansas Wesleyan. She was a two-time All-KCAC First Team and NSCAA All-Region selection, and in 2007 was named KCAC Newcomer of the Year while earning an NAIA All-America Honorable Mention.
 
Benton-LaEzza received her Associate of Liberal Arts degree in 2007 from Santiago Canyon College in Orange, California, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kansas Wesleyan in 2009. She earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Sports Management from Kansas Wesleyan in 2011.

Brian Corpening - Cal State Monterey Bay

Brian Corpening joined the Cal State Monterey Bay executive team in June 2018 as Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and Chief Diversity Officer.

Corpening brings more than 30 years of experience in academic administration to Cal State Monterey Bay and most recently earned his Ph.D. in educational studies from the University of Oklahoma in 2017, where he served as the assistant provost for diversity & community partnerships at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center since 2006. 

His broad professional experience in higher education, and extensive experience serving in capacities focused on diversity, equity and inclusion will be pivotal to advancing Cal State Monterey Bay’s commitment to inclusion and equity for all members of the community.

Corpening's route to higher education began at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he joined the Black Student Union and had his first experience with activism when he participated in a sit-in at the president’s office to protest the school’s lack of African-American faculty. He became the first person in his family to graduate from college, and then was hired as an Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) counselor at Morrisville State College in New York.

Corpening has lived all over the country and abroad, but returning to Seaside and Cal State Monterey Bay has been like a homecoming. He was born on the former Fort Ord when his parents, Thomas Sr. and Vera Corpening, were stationed here with the Army in the 1950s. Now, he leads the Office of Inclusive Excellence’s activities aimed at promoting inclusion and equity across the university and helping to prepare students to thrive in the global, multicultural society of the 21st century.

Alexis Crimes - Cal State LA

Crimes is the new head coach for beach volleyball and she is also the department’s Senior Women’s Administrator in recognition of her outstanding contributions within Cal State LA Athletics.

A former star player at Long Beach State who was also a member of Team USA’s national pool, Alexis Crimes returns for her second season with Cal State LA’s volleyball program as an assistant coach. After a sensational first year with the Golden Eagles in 2021, Crimes has already earned big promotions.

Crimes enjoyed a decorated playing career at Long Beach State and helped her team reach four consecutive NCAA Tournaments. She earned first-team All-Big West Conference honors all four years and was the conference’s Co-Player of the Year as a junior. Previously, she was named the AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year in 2004.
 
Crimes still holds the program’s career record for block assists with 494 and she ranks second in total blocks with 598, third in kills with 1,756, fourth in solo blocks with 104 and fifth in attack percentage at .364. During her junior year, she set the school’s single-match record by hitting .636 against Cal State Northridge, recording 21 kills on 33 attempts with no errors. She was inducted into Long Beach State’s Hall of Fame in 2013.
 
After college, Crimes enjoyed a 10-year professional career beginning in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico and including stops in Vienna, Austria, Bielsko-Biala, Poland, Bergamo, Italy, Azerbaijan, Baku and Sariver, Turkey. She was also an alternate on the United States 2016 Olympic team in Rio de Janeiro and was a member of Team USA’s national team, working with the program from 2009-16.
 
Crimes graduated from Long Beach State with a degree in criminal justice and earned her Master’s degree at Long Beach State as well in 2010 while graduating Magna Cum Laude.

Ryan Fields - Cal Poly Pomona

Four-time CCAA Track Athlete of the Week for first two weeks of season (Feb. 21-27 and Feb. 28-March 6), as well as weeks of March 14-20 and March 28-April 3

President of Cal Poly Pomona's 2021-22 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee... One of approximately 300 student-athletes, coaches and administrators selected to attend 2021 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum in Houston, Texas, from Nov. 18-21, and one of just three student-athletes selected from CCAA.

Dr. William Franklin - Cal State Dominguez Hills

Dr. William Franklin holds a Ph.D. in Psychological Studies in Education with an emphasis in Child and Adolescent Development from Stanford University. Dr. Franklin currently serves as the Vice President for Student Affairs at California State University, Dominguez Hills and is the former Associate Vice President of Student Success and Director of the Educational Opportunity Program and TRIO Programs. While at CSU Dominguez Hills, Dr. Franklin has been instrumental in securing close to $15 million dollars in grants to design and implement several student success initiatives for low-income, first generation students.

He served as an Associate Professor in Child and Family Studies at California State University, Los Angeles and he served as an Associate Professor of Human Development in the Center of Collaborative Education and Professional Studies at California State University, Monterey Bay. While there, he was also the Interim Director of the Liberal Studies Institute. He has also served as a lecturer at Santa Clara University and at Stanford University.

Dr. Franklin received his B.A. in Psychology and Masters in Educational Psychology from CSU Northridge. His teaching interests include adolescent development, child development, African-American family, early childhood themes and life cycle issues, African-American and Latino males, adolescent risk and resilience, at-risk youth, juvenile justice, and positive youth development.

Dr. Franklin currently spearheads a mentoring program for African American and Latino young men called the Male Success Alliance. The project works with close to 200 middle and high school boys and nearly 150 college young men. Dr. Franklin is often called on by community-based organizations, schools, juvenile justice facilities and universities to give motivational talks and/or conduct workshops to encourage, inspire, confront, challenge and to move youth to a higher level.

Lily Garcia - Sonoma State

Lily Garcia is a first-year member of the Sonoma State women's track & field team. She specializes in throws and is majoring in Criminology. She is a graduate of Edison High School in Fresno where she was a member of the volleyball and track & field teams. She was named volleyball's defensive player of the year and was a two-time thrower of the year.

Dr. Chelsea Herman - Cal State San Bernardino

A passionate advocate for equity and equality, Dr. Chelsea Herman begins her fifth year as Cal State San Bernardino’s Senior Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator after 17 years of senior-level experience at the Division I institutions in the Pacific Northwest. 

Herman spent six years at Seattle University, including the previous two years as its Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance/Senior Woman Administrator after four years as the university’s compliance coordinator.

At Seattle, Herman’s duties included coordinating the school’s NCAA compliance program, especially dealing with initial student-athlete eligibility and admissions as well as continuing rules education for student-athletes, coaches, and athletics staff. As SWA, Herman represented the athletics program at various Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and NCAA meetings, and responsible for handling matters relating to gender equity.

Herman came to Seattle U from Boise State (2006-11) and prior to her service to the Broncos she served in the Gonzaga Athletic Department as an academic advising intern, taught graduate level statistics and educational measurement at Washington State University, and was a Research Assistant for the Center for ETHICS* at the University of Idaho.

Herman earned her degree in Physical Education and Health from Gonzaga in 1997 where she captained the women’s basketball team at point guard.

After her playing career, she earned her master’s degree in sport ethics and sports administration, and her Ph.D. from the University of Idaho. Her dissertation was Athletic Identity and Transitional Loss of Division I Student-Athletes and she helped author a Life Skills/Character Curriculum for University of Georgia freshman football players.

Damion Hill - Cal Poly Pomona

Damion Hill begins his 21st season on the sidelines with the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team in 2022-23, and his 11th season as the Associate Head Coach. Hill's main responsibilities are player development, travel coordinating and recruiting.

Hill graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 2002 with a Bachelor's Degree in advertising and has his Master's Degree in education.  He is a graduate of Palm Springs High School and also played basketball for two seasons at Sacramento City College, where he earned second-team All-Conference honors and was his team's Most Valuable Player as a sophomore. He then played one season at Cal Poly Pomona (2001-02).

Troy Johnson - Stanislaus State

Troy Johnson enters his 10th season as head coach of the Stanislaus State track & field program, his second stint with the Warriors. He also served as assistant coach from 2000-07, where his emphasis included coaching student-athletes in the sprints, jumps and multi-events disciplines before he returned to Turlock in 2013 in the head coach capacity.

Prior to his first appointment at Stanislaus State, Johnson was the head coach for track & field and cross country at fellow CCAA institution, Cal Poly Pomona, from 2007-12. 
  
Johnson, who is actively involved with serving on committees of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), has served on the executive committee as first vice president and is currently serving as a conference representative.
 
A native of Akron, Ohio, Johnson began his collegiate career at Cuesta College, where he remains the 400-meter school record holder. He is a 1994 graduate of Utah State, where he competed on the Aggies’ track and field team focusing on the sprints. He obtained his Master's degree in Human Performance in Sport from New Mexico Highlands in 2010. Post-collegiately, Johnson earned a provisional qualifying time in the 400-meter hurdles for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials.
 
Sure to bring a unique perspective to the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Johnson also spent three years with the Utah State University Police Department, located in Logan. 

Michaela Kelsey - Cal State East Bay

Michaela Kelsey was named Cal State East Bay Strength and Conditioning Coach in July 2021. Kelsey's role includes establishing and maintaining a strength and conditioning program for all of CSUEB's 15 sports, with the three major goals of improving athletic performance, reducing athletic injuries, and teaching lifelong fitness and movement skills.

Prior to East Bay, Kelsey spent one year as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Dakota State University (2020-2021). She designed and managed the 2020 Internship program and curriculum at DSU while implementing a Nutrition program that included monthly seminars for all athletes, monthly informative flyers and weekly social media recipes. She also developed annual programs for Softball, Women's Volleyball, Men's and Women's Track and Cross Country while assisting Football with lifts and conditioning sessions.

Before becoming an assistant coach with the Trojans, Kelsey spent a little over three years working at her alma mater the UNLV as an assistant strength and conditioning coach (2017-20) working with Track, Cross Country, Women's Tennis, Men and Women's Swim and Dive, Men and Women's Basketball, Volleyball and Softball.During this time, she served as an assistant coach for the UNLV's women's soccer program from 2018-19, while performing as Strength and Conditioning Coach at Zumanity Cirque du Soleil, Las Vegas (2019-20).

Kelsey earned a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Business Management from UNLV, where she was a member of the Dean's Honor List every semester. She completed her master's degree in Exercise Physiology at UNLV.

Jennifer Milo - Cal State San Marcos

Jennifer Milo was appointed as Cal State San Marcos' fourth Director of Athletics by former University President Karen Haynes in April 2012. From 2014 – 2017, Milo spearheaded CSUSM’s transition from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to NCAA Division II, while maintaining the goals of developing and graduating student-athletes, competing for championships and working more closely with the campus and the North County community of San Diego.

Milo has been a mainstay at CSUSM since 2005. Originally hired to be the school’s inaugural softball coach in October 2005, Milo added the title of Associate Director of Athletics for Development the following school year. She became a full-time administrator after the first CSUSM softball season in 2006.

As Associate Director, Milo was responsible for leading and managing all athletic fundraising, in addition to formulating annual and long-term action plans aimed at raising scholarship money. She oversaw all external affairs in Athletics, including the sports information office, ticketing and marketing, game management and athletic trainers. She was also tasked with managing day-to-day internal operations.

Prior to CSUSM, Milo served as the Academic Counselor for Student-Athletes at San Diego State University (SDSU) from 2000-03. She was responsible for monitoring and communicating academic progress of men’s basketball, women’s crew, men’s soccer, women’s tennis and softball student-athletes with professors, coaches and administrators. Milo conducted career development workshops, discussed academic services with prospective student-athletes, assisted student-athletes with mentoring and tutoring support, traveled with teams to ensure academic success, and helped student-athletes develop four-year plans for graduation. From 2003-05, she served as the assistant softball coach for the Aztecs.

Prior to her time at SDSU, Milo was the first assistant for the softball team at her alma mater, University of San Diego (USD), between 1997-01. While at USD, she provided detailed hitting instruction and analysis, recruitment of prospective student-athletes, organized team practice and travel itineraries, and supervised work-study. In addition, Milo served as the program’s conditioning coach, oversaw field maintenance and directed USD’s annual tournament.

Milo earned her Master of Arts in College Counseling and Student Services concurrently with her coaching career at USD. From 1993-97, Milo played four seasons of intercollegiate softball during her undergraduate studies at USD and had her jersey number 44 retired upon her departure from USD.

Bryce Mitchell - Cal Poly Humboldt

Bryce Mitchell is a sophomore guard and a member of SAAC at Cal Poly Humboldt. He has been a fantastic ambassador for the Lumberjacks. He has served as the representative from Humboldt at the NCAA Leadership Conference in Anaheim in 2021-22. He also attended the in-person CCAA SAAC representatives meeting in fall 2022 in Ontario. His brother, Christopher, plays for Cal Poly Pomona. 

Kiora Ridgeway - Cal State San Marcos

A senior on the Cal State San Marcos volleyball team, Kiora Ridgeway has aspirations of becoming a defense or civil rights attorney. Ridgeway cares a great deal about social justice and wants to help have the conversations to create change.

The middle blocker/outside hitter from Portland, Ore., enjoyed a successful prep career at Central Catholic High School, where she was twice named to the All-Mt. Hood League Conference team and earned All-State distinction in 2017. Also a track & field athlete in high school, Ridgeway threw the javelin. 

She began her collegiate career at LIU-Post, competing in the East Coast Athletic Conference in 2018 and rating second on the team in total blocks in her freshman season. Ridgeway transferred to Cal State San Marcos in 2019, and serves as a SAAC representative for the Cougars. She was named an All-CCAA performer as a senior after leading the team and ranking in the CCAA top 10 for blocks (0.97) .

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ridgeway has visited 10 countries outside the United States.

Natasha Smith - San Francisco State

Natasha Smith is set to enter her fifth season at the helm of the San Francisco State women's basketball program, and is in the midst of rebuilding the Gators' efforts on the court as evidenced by a postseason berth in her first year. 

Prior to joining the Gators, Smith spent two years at Division I San Francisco, serving as assistant coach for Molly Goodenbour. Before joining Goodenbour's staff on the Hilltop, Smith was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Southern Oregon where she helped the Raiders to a 33-2 record and an appearance in the NAIA Division II championship game.
 
Before her appointment at Southern Oregon, Smith served as an assistant on Goodenbour's staff at Cal State Dominguez Hills for two seasons (2013-15), each concluding with appearances in the NCAA Championship tournament bracket.  Her coaching career began at her alma mater Chico State, where she served one season as an assistant as she completed her degree. That season the Wildcats reached the CCAA Tournament Championships and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Championship.
 
A 2013 graduate of Chico State, the Sacramento native was a four-year standout on the basketball team and ended her career as the school's all-time leader in games played, and sees her name in the program's top ten in multiple categories. 

Andrea Webb - Cal Poly Humboldt

Andrea Webb was named the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance and Student Success at Cal Poly Humboldt in August 2022. Andrea's role includes oversight and implementation of NCAA Compliance for Cal Poly Humboldt's 12 athletic programs as well as working directly with student-athletes and coaches on overall student success, retention, and graduation. 

Prior to coming to Athletics, Andrea worked for 11 years in the Office of the Registrar also at Cal Poly Humboldt as a Transfer & Graduation Counselor assisting students on their path to graduation while also certifying the academic eligibility for Cal Poly Humboldt's student-athlete population. Prior to Cal Poly Humboldt, Andrea spent one year in Admissions at Portland State University. Andrea is a native of the Humboldt area and a 2007 graduate of Chico State with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology.