Staff

Chris Nowinski, PhD
Co-Founder & CEO, CLF
Chris Nowinski, PhD, is co-founder and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, a non-profit organization leading the fight against concussions and CTE and dedicated to improving the lives of those...

Robert Cantu, MD
Co-Founder, Medical Director
Currently Dr. Cantu’s professional responsibilities include those of Medical Director and Director of Clinical Research, Dr. Robert ...

Lisa McHale
Director of Legacy Family Relations
Lisa McHale graduated from Cornell University, where she met her husband, Tom McHale, an All-American Defensive End for the Big Red. They m...

Julia Manning
Chief of Staff & Communications
Julia Manning joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation team in September 2018 after spending six years in broadcast journalism. Most recently, Julia worked as the 10PM producer at the CBS affiliate ...

Alan Blackburn
Director of Operations
Alan joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation in March of 2023. Prior to joining CLF, Alan served as the Chief Operating Officer for Fin3 Technologies, Inc. and the Director of Operations at Profess...

Samantha Bureau, PhD
Director of International Programs
Samantha Bureau, PhD joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation team in December 2021, following nearly five years with the Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada where she most recently acted as the Ass...

Michael Burke
Associate Director, Patient Programs
Michael Burke joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation in January 2017. Michael manages CLF's patient services, including the CLF HelpLine, peer support programs, and co...

Emily Crouch-Ponder
Database Manager
Emily joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation in August 2022 after moving from Austin to Tacoma when her husband got stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McCord. Growing up in a football-centric household...

Sagar Dave
Digital Technology Manager
Sagar joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation in August 2022 after working in technology and programming for a decade. In his previous role of programming services manager at Reading Area Community...

Morgan Hicks
Development Manager
Morgan joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation in January of 2021. A lifelong soccer player and self-proclaimed 'fangirl' of the US Women's National Team, she first heard about CLF when Brandi Chas...

Dan Molloy
Communications Manager
Dan joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation in February 2023 following a decade working in newsrooms as a sports reporter and anchor. After graduating from the University of Missouri with...

Emmy Schumacher
Donor Engagement Manager
Emmy joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation as the Donor Engagement Manager in May 2023. Driven by her unwavering passion for both athletics and public health, this new endeavor allows h...

Tyler Ambrose
Peer Support Coordinator
Tyler joined CLF in March 2023 as a peer support coordinator. Tyler’s passion for education, human development, and mental health care sparked early in high school while serving as a volunteer for ...

Megan Ashworth
Program and Research Coordinator
Megan Ashworth originally joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation team in May 2022 as an intern for the Patient Services Department, after which she transitioned into a new role as CLF's Program an...

Samantha Pyle Buono
Legacy Family Community Coordinator
Samantha joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation in August of 2022. She first became acquainted with CLF in 2015 when her father passed away after years of struggling with cognitive and behavioral ...

Matt Downing
Program and Events Coordinator
Matthew Downing joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation team in July 2023, after working in the Olympic and Paralympic movement for the last 3 years. He has experience planning and executing large ...

Nicholas Paik
Digital Content Coordinator
Nicholas Paik joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation as Digital Content Coordinator in April 2021. He comes from a marketing & communications background, and has had experience working at non-...

Niki Popyer
Finance & Administration Coordinator
Niki Popyer joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation as the Finance & Administration Coordinator in July 2022. Her first contact with CLF was as a high school basketball player who sus...

Tricia Ruiz
CLF HelpLine Coordinator
Tricia Ruiz joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation as the CLF HelpLine Coordinator in September 2022. She was born in central California and raised in eastern Montana, where hunting, fishing and s...

Katelyn Walker
Social Media Coordinator
Katelyn joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation in May of 2023 as the Social Media Coordinator. She graduated from Longwood University with a B.A. in Biology, where she developed a particular inter...

Courtney Welch
Patient Services Coordinator
Courtney Welch, ATC joined the Concussion Legacy Foundation in April 2023 as a Patient Services Coordinator. Courtney is a Certified Athletic Trainer and has previously worked in both the collegiat...