In her current role as Senior Associate AD, Carey oversees the Leadership Institute and is the sport administrator for women’s basketball, men’s and women’s fencing, gymnastics, synchronized swimming, and the spirit program. Prior to joining the athletics administration, Carey served as the head coach for women’s gymnastics from 2005-2017 and in 2012, she led the program to the best national finish more than 25 years.  That same year, she was honored as the National Coach of the Year and her team held the highest team GPA for two consecutive years in 2013 and 2014.

Hoyt, a 1998 graduate of Penn State, completed (2) Bachelor of Art Degrees; one in Speech Communication and the other in Media Studies. She was a full-scholarship gymnast at Penn State and qualified to the NCAA National Championships all four years as a student-athlete. Most recently, Hoyt completed her Master’s Degree in Sport Coaching at The Ohio State University.

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Jerry has spent his career educating student-athletes, staff, students, and children throughout Columbus. He thrives in helping people reach their personal goals, improve their skills, and become leaders. He assisted in the creation of the Wolstein Leadership Academy, Bucks Go Pro 1.0, numerous professional development programs, and the LiFEsports Initiative. In addition, he has taught 90 college courses at four universities. Since 2007, he oversaw 21 NCAA championships, 6 Big Ten Championships, 3 ITA Championships and the creation of the Columbus ATP Challenger. In addition, he served as the Director of Camps for 5 years.

Before returning to Ohio State in 2007, Jerry received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Master’s in Sport Management and PhD in Education from Ohio State. During this time, he worked in various capacities for Ohio State Football, the Ohio State Department of Recreational Sports, the Ohio State College of Education, and the Ohio High School Athletic Association. He also worked full-time for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nationwide Arena. Jerry and his wife Jackie live in Delaware, Ohio with their two kids Brandon and Tessa.

Makena began working with the Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute in January of 2019. Her primary focus includes the day to day operations, and program analytics. Makena assists with program curriculum design and oversees implementation, assessments, and data reporting for The Institute, while tracking and analyzing participation and involvement across programs.

She has been with the Department of Athletics since 2014, serving as an intern for (2) years and Assistant Director of Camps and Clinics for (3) years prior to transitioning into her current role. She is a former Ohio State swimmer and graduated from The Ohio State University with an undergraduate degree in Marketing. She then earned a Master’s Degree in Sport Management from The Ohio State University in 2015. She recently completed her PhD in Sport Management with a focus on Leadership Development Effectiveness.

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Melissa brings a unique combination of corporate and coaching experience from an impressive (8) year career in corporate human resources with Abercrombie & Fitch where she last served as a Director of Human Resources-Associate Relations and Leadership Development. She leads the 6-time National Championship Dance Team. Her focus in the Leadership Institute will be on student athlete professional development, career preparation including of the Bucks Go Pro 1.0 Internship Program and the Wolstein Leadership Academy.

A native of Toledo, Ohio, McGhee graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.S. in Business Administration and was a member of the Fisher College of Business Honors Cohort Program. She was a four year member of the dance team where she was named Captain and MVP her senior season. She received the Pacesetter Award and was a Distinguished Morrill Scholar.

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Logan, a native of Zanesville, Ohio, joined the Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute in July of 2021. His primary focuses will be actively assisting student-athletes with professional development topics, coordinating and executing programs within the Real Life Pillar of the Institute, and remaining involved with all other Institute initiatives.

Prior to joining the staff, Logan was a Graduate Assistant at the University of Tennessee where he worked as an Assistant Academic Counselor with Football. Logan was a graduate of The Ohio State University where he earned an undergraduate degree in Sport Industry and a minor in Business while being an active member on The Ohio State Football Team. He is an alumni of the Bucks Go Pro 1.0 Internship Program where he assisted in operations with multiple different athletic teams, and also gained experience working with the Leadership Institute in 2019.

Omari began working in the Eugene D Smith Leadership Institute directly after his graduation from Ohio State in 2021. His primary focus is in assisting the student-athletes with their professional development and coordinating programs with in the Institute. He works closely with the Director of Student Athlete Development in the placement of student-athletes in programming, while assisting in all other initiatives of the Institute. Additionally, Omari is responsible for maintaining the Institutes social media presence and constant website updates.

Prior to his current role he was a Bucks Go Pro 1.0 intern as well as a Digital media intern for the athletic department in 2019. He is a former Ohio State men’s lacrosse player who graduated from Ohio State with a degree in Sport Industry and a minor in business. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Sport Management.

Kate began working with the Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute directly after graduating from the Ohio State University in 2022. Her primary focus will be the creation of a well-rounded experience for Ohio State’s 1000+ student athletes by facilitating the execution of programs within the Real Life Pillar of the Institute. Additionally, she will focus on monitoring the Real Life App for all 36 sports, maintaining social media presence and meeting individually with athletes and recruits.

Kate graduated with an undergraduate degree in Marketing and was a member of Ohio State’s Women’s Rowing team. During her time as a student, she was heavily involved in almost all of the programs that the Institute has to offer. She is excited to aid in providing these invaluable experiences for others in the student athlete community.

Kamryn Babb started working with the Eugene D Smith Leadership Institute after graduation from The Ohio State in 2022. His primary focus is creating innovative ideas for athletes working with the Complete Athlete Program, along with professional development and giving input on NIL within the Leadership Institute. He is working closely in the Institute with the program manager and program coordinator in athlete development. Kamryn is one of the first members of the 2023 NextGen Program Cohort that Ohio State provides former athletes.

Kamryn was a wide receiver on The Ohio State Football Team for five seasons. He was part of the Bucks Go Pro 2.0 Program in 2022, having a full-time summer internship here in Columbus. Prior to working with the Leadership Institute, he completed his masters in sports management while getting his bachelor’s degree in communications.