Dr. Lacee’ Carmon-Johnson is currently the Manager for Basketball Advancement with the Toronto Raptors. As we discussed in the episode, Dr. LCJ is a true “jack (Jane) of all trades.”

With stints at Purdue University, Western Kentucky University, Marshall University, Stephen F. Austin State University, and Smith college, she’s spent time as an assistant track and field coach, professor, and athlete development specialist. She also has her own coaching/consulting business, AceD Coaching.

A former student-athlete, LCJ graduated from Rice University where she competed in the sprints, hurdles and triple jump and was a four-year letter winner and Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar. After earning her undergraduate degree, she went on to earn a master’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, where her graduate thesis examined the factors that affect Black women head coaches in Division I athletics. She also earned her PhD in Education-Athletic Administration from Northcentral University in 2016.

Dr. LCJ joined the Bloom Pod to talk about relaxed hustling, being unapologetic with your boundaries, and being the ultimate teammate.

Elliott Charles is a former college athletics administrator and the founder of both TracerSpace and the Hamilt0n Brand. He has completed consulting work in the Name, Image, Likeness space and has over 16 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics. He's had stints at Valparaiso University, Chicago State, Clemson, Florida A&M, South Florida, Alabama, Northern Illinois, Illinois State, and the Mid-American Conference. 

As the Athletic Director at Chicago State, Charles led the creation of the Cougar Pride Fund and entered into partnerships with Nike/BSN, BandwagonFanClub, Weiss Hospital and Teamworks/INFLCR. He also brought men’s soccer back to campus after a 30-year hiatus and enhanced student-athlete development programming.

As the Founder of TracerSpace and the Hamilt0n Brand, Charles focuses on athlete advocacy and consulting, connecting people and opportunities with a data-driven approach. 

Charles joined the Bloom Pod to discuss higher education, old school vs. new school mindsets in college athletics, and athlete advocacy. He also shared more about his latest ventures with TracerSpace and the Hamilt0n Brand, as well as what it’s been like traveling with his daughter for a broadway production.

Matt Brown is the creator of Extra Points, a newsletter that covers all the off-the-field stuff that shapes college sports, from the largest FBS schools to the smallest NAIA programs. Prior to going focusing on Extra Points full time in April 2020, Matt used to oversee SB Nation’s college team sites and regularly contributed to SBNation.com’s college football coverage. His coverage increasingly focused on off-the-field issues, from conference realignment to media rights to athletic department finances.

Brown is also the author of "What If? A Closer Look at College Football's Great Questions", a book covering pivotal moments through college football history like the Airplane Conference and the University of Chicago's descent from D-I greatness. Prior to getting into sports journalism, Brown taught elementary school, worked as a political organizer, and in executive search. He is passionate about open records, college football history, higher education, and building internet for humans, rather than algorithms.

Brown joined the Bloom Pod to talk about his experiences as an entrepreneur, what prompted him to start (and sell) Extra Points, and some of the off-the-field forces that help to shape college athletics.

Celine is a Senior Account Executive for Altius Sports Partners, where she oversees client relationships, serves in an advisory capacity in the evolving landscape, and grows stakeholder engagement to deliver the full client experience. ​Prior to Altius, Celine was the Director of Advancement and Engagement at Women Leaders in College Sports, working with sport executives and leading all membership touch points, stewardship, and experience. She worked hands-on with member development, connecting members, and enhancing leadership opportunities within Women Leaders. She began her career at Western Illinois University in College Athlete Development and Academics, overseeing football, men’s and women’s basketball, and track and field while assisting all sports. Celine also oversaw both S.A.A.C. and W.E. (Women Empowering), the group for female college athletes.

Tony Hull is an outside receivers coach on the University of Louisiana at Monroe Football staff. He's had coaching stints the Kansas University, the University of Hawai'i, Warren Easton High School, and Sarah T. Reed High School. A former student-athlete himself, Hull was a two-year starter on the offensive line at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology in 2004. Following graduation, Hull spent four years working in the engineering field, including three years at NASA before realizing his love of coaching and impacting athletes.

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Daron K. Roberts is a former NFL coach and author of the books A Kids Book About Empathy and Call an Audible. Call and Audible was a #1 New Release and Best Seller by Amazon and Sports Illustrated selected the book as one if its "Best Sports Business Books of 2017."

A highly sought after transition coach, Daron works with executives and elite athletes on strategies they can use to wage war against their status quo. Roberts also serves as founding director of the Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation (CSLi) at the University of Texas. He created CSLi in the fall of 2014. The Center is the first university-based institute dedicated to developing leadership and character curricula for high school, collegiate and professional athletes. Through the Center, Roberts teaches a course -- A Gameplan for Winning at Life -- to incoming freshmen student-athletes.

In January of 2018, the Center received the commitment and financial support of NBA All-Star, Kevin Durant. 

Roberts holds a faculty appointment at the Liberal Arts Honors Program. He has received the Silver Spurs Centennial Teaching Award, Creative Engagement Award and was named a distinguished faculty member by the School of Undergraduate Studies in 2015. His research revolves around issues of rejection, failure management and leadership. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 2007, Roberts served coaching stints with the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, West Virginia Mountaineers, and the Cleveland Browns. He holds a B.A. in Plan II Honors and Government from the University of Texas (2001) and an M.P.P. from Harvard’s Kennedy School (2004). 

In 2010, Daron launched a nonprofit football camp - 4th and 1, Inc. 4th and 1 provides free SAT prep, life skills development and football training to at-risk youth in Michigan, Texas and Florida. The camp has served nearly 500 student athletes since 2010. 

The Presidential Leadership Foundation, a joint venture between Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, tabbed Roberts as a Presidential Leadership Scholar for 2015. He was one of 60 members in the inaugural class. Roberts has been featured in ESPN the Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek and Sports Illustrated. His articles have appeared in The Dallas Morning News, Fortune, Houston Chronicle, and Time.

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Renee Washington is a TV personality, author, small business owner, and motivational speaker. She is a former three-time All-American soccer student-athlete at LaSalle University, and she was recently inducted into LaSalle's Athletics Hall of Fame. Renee played professional soccer with SkyBlue FC for a short time before hanging up her cleats to pursue her master's degree and coach women's soccer at Lehigh University. While at Lehigh, she worked in the Sports Media department covering games and creating media content for the athletics website. Additionally, she has received on-camera script reading experience, runway work, and modeling work with Image International, a modeling agency in the Lehigh Valley that worked with personalities such as Amanda Seyfried. For details on Renee's career experience, videos, articles, recommendations, her nonprofit work, and more check out her website.

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Matthew Raidbard is a former coach, an author, and a sports leadership consultant. A former men’s college basketball coach, he completed his doctorate in Educational Leadership before deciding to author “Lead Like A Pro.” His book provides coaches with foundational leadership knowledge and the tools to practice the best leadership style and behaviors that align with their personal values and beliefs. Raidbard has previously served as an athletic administrator, overseeing compliance, and he launched Raidbard Sports Leadership Consulting last fall. He joined the Bloom Pod to talk about his experiences working in college athletics, and to share some of the leadership insights he found during his doctorate research. 

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Tayler takes time to recap some highlights from Season 3 and shares some information about the layout of the show for Season 4.

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Ashton Henderson is a former football student-athlete, having played at Michigan State University (MSU). Ashton earned his advertising degree in 2010, after suffering a career-ending injury during his senior football season. As he pivoted and began to focus on life after football, he started a role as a graduate assistant in Student-Athlete Support services at MSU while earning his master’s degree in Public Relations.  Upon the completion of his master's degree, Ashton moved back home to Tallahassee, FL, and obtained a role as an Academic Program Specialist for football and the men’s and women’s track and field program at Florida State University. Before long, Ashton had the opportunity to serve as Associate Director of Football Academics at Clemson University before returning to Florida State to serve as the Associate Director of Football Academics and lead the Seminole Leadership Program.  Ashton transitioned into two new roles in 2021: one in professional athletics and one within the National Association for Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A). Ashton was appointed the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Detroit Pistons in January 2021. He also began his tenure as the N4A President, leading an organization with over 2,600 members.  Ashton joined us to discuss his background and how it shaped the professional experiences he has had to date. He also shared his thoughts and insights on transitioning from a career in college athletics to the pro sports realm, and how he believes it will aid him in achieving his ultimate goal of becoming an athletic director. 

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