New members bring expertise in compliance, ethics, and marketing as the Center builds a gold medal plan for athlete safeguarding ahead of LA28

DENVER, March 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Center for SafeSport (the Center) today announced the election of two new board members, Michael Levin and Kristina Schaefer, who bring expertise in corporate compliance, ethics, and marketing. The Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is governed by a board of directors that advises the Center on core business functions, long-term sustainability, strategic planning, and regularly evaluates the Center's performance through its outcomes and metrics. The board also approves the annual budget, audit reports, and material business decisions, ensuring all legal and fiduciary requirements are met.

"The board looks forward to working with its two newest members in providing strategic support and advice as the Center closes out its first decade of operation and looks to the future," said Mark Scott, Chair of the Board. "The Center has built a solid foundation, including by implementing improvements to better serve athletes, and continues prioritize best practices and growth."

The new members join Board Chair Mark Scott, leader of a boutique advisory firm that serves the Private Equity industry; Craig Bradley, Vice President, Finance, Arizona Diamondbacks; Matt Cenedella, Chief Financial Officer, National Association of Realtors; Chicka Elloy, Senior Vice President of Sales, Pearl Lemon Group; Julie Fabsik-Swarts, MS, CFRE, CAP, Chief Executive Officer, Employee Assistance Professionals Association International; Dr. Shakira Henderson, Dean, College of Nursing-Chief Administrative Officer, University of Florida & System Chief Nurse Executive, UF Health, PhD Clinical Research & DNP Nursing Practice; Liz Prince, Associate Athletics Director, University of Utah; Katy Spaulding, Chief Operating Officer, Method Communications; and Pamela Wheeler, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, NFP.

"We welcome two new members to the board of directors who bring exceptional expertise in their respective fields along with a commitment to athlete safety," said LA84 Olympic Gold Medalist and Chief Executive Officer at the Center, Benita Fitzgerald Mosley. "As the Center embarks on a strategic planning process that will take us through 2028 and the LA Summer Olympics, I look forward to working with the board to advance the Center's operational excellence and build a gold medal plan for athlete safeguarding in LA."

About Michael Levin
Michael Levin has focused his career on helping companies manage and mitigate compliance and ethics risks and build ethical cultures.  He currently serves as Of Counsel to Kaplan & Walker LLP, a boutique law firm specializing in all aspects of developing, implementing, and reviewing corporate compliance/ethics programs.

For more than a decade, Levin served as Chief Ethics Officer and VP of Compliance at Freddie Mac.  He began his in-house career in the aerospace/defense industry, serving as Director of Ethics and Business Conduct at BAE Systems, Inc., and then The Boeing Company, where he led an international team of compliance and ethics professionals managing complex issues and investigations in the US, LATAM, EMEA, and APAC.

Levin's compliance career began at Integrity Interactive Corporation, a market-leader in compliance, ethics, and risk management where he provided advisory services to a broad spectrum of companies and industries ranging from Code of Conduct development, risk assessment, third party risk management, and development of compliance and ethics training and awareness campaigns. Previously, he practiced law in Boston.

He received his B.A. from the University of Maryland and his J.D. from the Massachusetts School of Law where he served as Managing Editor of the MSL Law Review. He has served on the Board of the Capital Area Business Ethics Network and has lectured extensively at industry and legal association conferences, including the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and the Practising Law Institute, and he has been published or quoted in The Ethics Experts (video podcast), Forbes Insights, Compliance and Ethics Professional, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, and The Anti-Corruption Report.

About Kristina Schaefer
Kristina Schaefer is a former Senior Marketing Executive at IMG and the Canadian Olympic Committee. A passionate marketing leader with extensive strategic partnership experience, Kristina Schaefer delivers a unique knowledge and international perspective of the Olympic & Paralympic Movement.

Throughout her career, Kristina has taken a consultative, collaborative approach to solving business challenges, always keen to understand customer motivations, desires, and sensitivities. While at agency IMG (now Endeavor/160over90), highlights include delivering record sponsorship sales for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games, driving demonstrated business results in China for a global brand sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and negotiating comprehensive rights deals with the International Olympic Committee.

While Executive Director, Partnerships at the Canadian Olympic Committee, Kristina led a high-performing team to craft and execute partner plans and secure renewals, delivering long-term organizational funding. Since taking a sabbatical from corporate marketing at Petro-Canada, today Kristina advises and volunteers with community groups where she can make an impact.

A dual citizen, Kristina lives in Florida and Ontario, Canada with her husband David, enjoying golf, cycling, and traveling. Kristina has studied leadership at Harvard Business School, and marketing at Indiana University (BA) and John Carroll University (MBA).

Need for Abuse Prevention in Sport
The U.S. Center for SafeSport is the nation's only independent organization dedicated to ending sexual, physical, and emotional abuse in U.S. Olympic and Paralympic sport. The Center emerged in response to high profile cases of sexual abuse of minor athletes within Olympic and Paralympic sport in the mid-2010s. With the mission of making athlete well-being the centerpiece of the nation's sport culture, the Center has since been setting safety policies, and receiving, investigating, and resolving complaints of abuse and misconduct. The Center also serves as an educational resource for sports organizations at all levels, from recreational sports organizations to professional leagues.

With the goal of ensuring athletes within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement are safe, supported, and strengthened, the Center:

• Establishes safety policies, including the SafeSport Code and the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP).
• Investigates and resolves allegations of abuse and misconduct and levies sanctions, including temporary and permanent bans from Olympic and Paralympic Sport.
• Delivers comprehensive abuse prevention education within and outside of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement.
• Implements a comprehensive audit and compliance function over all National Governing Bodies (NGBs) within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement to ensure adherence to safety, abuse prevention, and accountability standards.

About the U.S. Center for SafeSport 
The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 codified the U.S. Center for SafeSport (the Center), as the nation's safe sport organization. It furthered the Center's independence while underscoring its authority to hold individuals accountable. It also charged the Center with developing policies, procedures, and training to prevent abuse and misconduct in sport.

In October of 2020, the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020 became law, even further strengthening the Center's independence and oversight functions while mandating minimum funding requirements for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

The Center opened its doors in March of 2017.

Reporting and Resources
Report here to the U.S. Center for SafeSport if you have experienced abuse or misconduct—or if you have reasonable suspicion of abuse or misconduct—inflicted by someone in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement. You can also leave a message by calling the Center at: 833-587-7233.

RAINN's 24/7 online hotline is available for crisis intervention, referrals, or emotional support at any time. You can also call RAINN at: 800-656-HOPE (4673).

The Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7 free and confidential support at 988lifeline.org or by calling 988.

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SOURCE U.S. Center for SafeSport