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Leadership

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Scott Shirley,
Executive Director & Chairman of the Board

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Scott Shirley has been the Chairman of the Board since the
organization was incorporated in 2004. Shirley became the full time
Executive Director during the fall of 2007. He is responsible for the
strategic planning of the national charter, providing leadership and
vision for the organization, managing programs and operations,
developing the Board of Directors and fundraising.

Prior to joining Uplifting Athletes, Shirley was a Project Engineer
with Clark Construction Group. His projects included the Liberty Center
(mixed use development that includes office, retail and living space),
the Kennedy-Warren (luxury DC apartments) and the Women In Military
Services for America Memorial. While at Clark, Shirley was elected to
serve as a member of the Innovation Steering Committee to work with the
executive management and foster a spirit of continuous improvement,
innovation and entrepreneurship.

Shirley is currently participating in the Kellogg Executive Scholar
certificate program in Nonprofit Management at Northwestern University.
He is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University where he earned
his Bachelor of Science (2003) and Master of Engineering (2004) degrees
while also playing wide receiver on the Penn State football team. He
graduated as the top construction engineering student in his graduating
class, was a member of Chi Epsilon (National Honor Society of Civil
Engineers) and taught an undergraduate class as a graduate student. As
a member of the football team, he was a winner of the Frank Patrick
Total Commitment Award (given to players who consistently follow
through with their responsibilities in all facets of the football
program and do so in an exemplary manner), was a recipient of the
Walk-on Award (given to a non-scholarship player who exemplifies total
commitment, loyalty, hard work and courage) and was honored as a two
time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

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Matt Campolongo,
Director of Marketing & Communications

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Matt Campolongo serves as Director of Marketing and Communications
where he is responsible for developing and implementing outreach
strategies for the Uplifting Athletes national charter. He also assists
university chapters with product and materials development, technical
assistance, and event planning coordination.

Campolongo also works as a web designer and graphic artist in the
Washington, D.C. area where he supports government contracts. His
responsibilities include the design of accessible web projects,
creative graphic design for conferences and events, and desktop
publishing.

Campolongo earned his Bachelor of Arts studying Integrative Arts,
with a Digital Media Design focus, from the Pennsylvania State
University in 2005. He also holds a minor in Information Systems and
Statistical Analysis (ISSA).

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David Wozniak,
Board Member

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Dave Wozniak is vice president of corporate branding and advertising
for Lincoln Financial Group. He is responsible for a wide array of
initiatives that are designed to build a strong Lincoln Financial Group
brand, including strategy development, business-to-business and
consumer advertising programs, website development, corporate identity
management and brand communications program integration across the
enterprise.

Wozniak joined Lincoln in December 2003 and has broad experience in
advertising and corporate branding on both the client and advertising
agency sides of the business. He served as director of advertising from
1998-2003 at the Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa. Prior
to that, he spent ten years at N.W. Ayer & Partners in Detroit,
Michigan where he was the account director on the General Motors brand
advertising program. He was also the advertising manager at Barnett
Banks of Florida, Inc. from 1986-1988.

Wozniak holds a Bachelor of Science degree in communications from
the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University and
also earned his Master of Business Administration from Penn State.

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Damone Jones,
Board Member

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Damone Jones is the Marketing Manager at USA Football, the sport’s national governing body. He is responsible for all marketing and branding initiatives, as well as research. Jones joined USA Football after spending two years with the Baltimore Raven as a marketing coordinator.

Jones earned an MBA and MS from the DeVos Sports Business Management Graduate Program at the University of Central Florida (2005) and his B.S. from the Pennsylvania State University (2003). During his time at UCF, Jones served as a graduate assistant to the Academic Support for Student Athletes office. While at Penn State University, he was a 5 year member of the football team and earned two letters. He also won the Ridge Riley Award, Frank Patrick Total Commitment Award, and the 2002 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

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Corey Palmer,
Interim Membership Coordinator

Corey Palmer serves as the Interim Membership Director where he is responsible for identifying people with an interest in the mission of Uplifting Athletes and creating a quality experience for our supporters. Corey has always excelled at forging new relationships while raising the level of service to existing constituents. He brings a wealth of customer service experience from his eight years in the automotive and insurance industries.

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Drew Praster,
Director of Special Projects

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Drew Praster serves as the Director of Special Projects where he is responsible for enhancing community relations and implementing strategic projects.

Drew also serves as an Inside Sales Consultant for the Charlotte Bobcats.  His responsibilities include generating new business through phone campaigns, in game networking, servicing accounts and community networking.  Praster earned his bachelor's degree from Chowan University where he served as the Student Assistant Sports Information Director and was a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society.

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Julie Miller,
Controller

Julie Miller serves as the Controller of Uplifting Athletes where she is responsible for maintaining and overseeing the financial aspects of the Organization throughout the year.

Julie is a recent graduate of Shippensburg University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Accounting. She works full time for SF & Company as a staff accountant working primarily on nonprofit and governmental audits.

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Chris Ziance,
Team UA Captain

Chris is heading up the newly formed "Team UA" which allows fans to turn their next run, ride, triathlon or adventure race into an opportunity to support college football players helping rare disease patients.

Chris Ziance is senior counsel for the Progressive Group of Insurance Companies. He is responsible for national product design initiatives and state-level expertise. Chris joined Progressive in 2005 after spending three years in private practice. Chris is a 1998 graduate of the Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. He also earned his J.D. and M.B.A. from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management in 2002.

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Eileen Bugosh,
Database Management & Membership Coordinator

Eileen manages the data base of donors and donations for Uplifting Athletes. She also helps to organize membership enrollment and informational mailings.

Eileen retired in January, 2006, after more than 35 years as a teacher. She received her Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s Degrees from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). Since her retirement, she is also a volunteer receptionist for the local senior center and with Alpha Phi International Fraternity.

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