Board

Meg Seng, CAA - President

Meg Seng brings to her leadership position at TASL decades of experience in competitive athletics, both as participant and coach. A multi-sport scholarship athlete at Indiana University, she excelled in volleyball and softball. As a sports educator, she has spent more than 20 years teaching and coaching, the last 17 of them at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor, where she currently serves as Director of Athletics. A co-founder of TASL, Seng has developed several leadership and mentoring programs for students and adults and continues to provide leadership opportunities for girls and women throughout the state of Michigan. She received the 2004 Pathfinder Award from the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport. In 2005, the Girl Scouts of Huron Valley honored her with their Leaders and Best Award.

Joan Cowdery, PhD - Secretary

A former Ohio State basketball captain and professional triathlete, Joan Cowdery has over 20 years of experience in competitive and instructional sports-including swimming, running and mountain biking. She received her doctorate in Health Education and Health Promotion jointly from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Public Health. In 2001, she became a co-founder of TASL and has continued to help guide the organization. Currently, Cowdery is a faculty member in the School of Health Promotion and Human Performance at Eastern Michigan University.

Jeanine DeLay - Treasurer

TASL is the second grassroots nonprofit organization Jeanine DeLay has helped to found. The first was Aquademics, an educational and competitive aquatics program organized in 1988 for youth of color in Washtenaw County. In 1994 and again in 1999, this program received awards for achievements on behalf of young people. DeLay also developed the sport ethics course now taught in the Division of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan, where she taught for a decade as a lecturer in the Department of Sport Management. Her dedication to TASL is based on her experiences as a pre-Title IX athlete and high school swimming coach, and as a longtime advocate of fair play and social justice-on and off the playing field.

Kerin Jones, MD

Kerin graduated from Northwestern University, where she was a successful two-sport scholar athlete in field hockey and lacrosse. After graduating, Kerin moved to Ann Arbor and earned a Master's degree in Kinesiology from the University of Michigan.

Also a medical doctor, Kerin has also coached at the University of Michigan as a graduate assistant field hockey coach, at Ann Arbor Huron High School as the varsity field hockey coach. Further, Kerin started the girls' lacrosse team at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School.

Kerin currently works as the Associate Residency Director in Emergency Medicine at Detroit Receiving Hospital, part of the Wayne State University medical system. Dr. Jones has earned numerous teaching awards as well. Kerin's experience in both education and health care in addition to her extensive teaching and proven leadership skills attracted her to TASL and its mission.

Margaret A. Talburtt, PhD

Margaret A. Talburtt, Ph.D, is currently the Chief Executive of The Lovelight Foundation, a private women's fund. From 2004 to 2010, she was the Executive Director of The James A. and Faith Knight Foundation. Between 1996-2003, Peg was the President/CEO of the Michigan Women's Foundation. Previously, she co-founded and was a Partner at Formative Evaluation Research Associates (FERA) where she directed many projects related to philanthropy, education innovations, gender, and program evaluation. Peg was selected by Crain's Detroit Business as one of its "100 Most Influential Women in Southeast Michigan" and by Corp! Magazine as one of "Michigan's 95 Most Powerful Women." Other awards include selection as the Distinguished Leadership Honoree in Philanthropic Service by the Michigan Business & Professional Association, 2000 Saturn Women at Their Best Award and also the Women of Distinction Award from the Huron Valley Girl Scout Council. She was honored to be a speaker at The White House Conference on Philanthropy in October 1999.

Deb VanKuiken, CMAA

Deb VanKuiken, CMAA, is the Director of Athletics for the Holly Area School District. She has been an athletic administrator since 1994. Prior to that she taught math and coached tennis, volleyball and softball. Deb earned both her Bachelor of Education and Masters of Educational Administration at Central Michigan University, where she also played field hockey.

Deb is active in the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators' Association (MIAAA). She is currently in the midst of a five-year commitment on the executive board, serving as MIAAA president during the 2007-08 school years. While first vice president she organized the summer workshop in which participants developed a DVD containing vital information for critical incident planning. She is also the chairperson of the Constitution Committee and a member of the Public Relations Committee. In 2004, Deb earned her Certified Master Athletic Administrator (CMAA) credential.

Jane Bennett - Honorary Board Member

Jane Bennett co-founded TASL in 2001, while serving as Athletic Director of Huron High School in Ann Arbor, and was principal speaker at the Academy's first Women's Sport Summit in 2005. She is currently Principal of Hellgate High School in Missoula, Montana. Among many honors, Bennett was the first woman to be elected to the presidency of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators' Association. She has also earned numerous awards for her contributions to high school athletics. In 1995, she was inducted into the Michigan Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Two years later, she received the State Award of Merit, the highest honor bestowed by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators' Association. In 2000, that same organization honored her with its Thomas E. Frederick Award of Excellence.