Partnership Activation Rising Stars

The Partnership Activation Rising Stars initiative is designed to recognize the rising, future leaders of the sports business industry. All of the individuals honored below have been nominated by their peers and supervisors in the industry for their commitment to enhancing the sports business marketplace. Each quarter, four (4) Rising Stars are featured in the Partnership Activation 2.0 Newsletter, where they become part of an exclusive group designed to help them build relationships with other young sports industry leaders.

Here is a complete listing of the Rising Stars that have been recognized by Partnership Activation, Inc. since the inaugural class was formed in July 2009.  

JULY 2009

Chris Chaney, Chaney Sportainment Group

Harrie Bakst, Carnegie Sports & Entertainment

Wade Martin, Cincinnati Bengals

Aldo Kafie, Octagon

AUGUST 2009

Shawn Bennett, New York Knicks

Lewis Howes, The Sports Networker

Carolyne Savini, Turnkey Sports & Entertainment

Brett Klasko, Phinaz Marketing/Ticket Booster

SEPTEMBER 2009

John Semeraro, Florida Atlantic University

Darren Heitner, Dynasty Athlete Representation / SportsAgentBlog.com

Michael Lake, Indiana Pacers

Jason Belzer, Global Athlete Management Enterprises (GAME, Inc.)

OCTOBER 2009

Kris Mathis, Sponsor Pitch

Uzma Syed, Premier Partnerships 

Darryl Dionne, Professional Hockey Players Association (PHPA)

Bill Fagan, The Aspire Group

NOVEMBER 2009 

David Oestreicher, Consultant

Rachel Mech, PROVentures

Brent Schoeb, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Justin Lyons, The Glover Park Group

DECEMBER 2009

Todd Fischer, State Farm Insurance

Frank O’Brien, Conversation Marketing, Design, and Development

Sean Dennison, Major League Soccer / Soccer United Marketing

Jason Buckner, Indiana Pacers

JANUARY 2010 

Jeff Handler, GMR Marketing

Kynon Codrington, Rivals.com

Andrew Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

Jay Bavishi, Consultant

FEBRUARY 2010 

Kyle Hudson, Phoenix Suns

AJ Poole, Columbus Blue Jackets

Anthony Caponiti, Activ8Social

Ashley Read, FundSport.com

MARCH 2010

Katy Young, Coaching Charities

Cameron Wright, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Russell Scibetti, New York Jets / TheBusinessOfSports.com

Emily Lentz, Target

APRIL 2010

A.J. Machosky, IMG College

Katie Troutman, Village Automotive Group

Michael Rodriguez, Orlando Magic

Justin Compton, FOX Sports Cable Networks

MAY 2010

Peter Robert Casey, Team Epiphany

Doug McNamee, Baylor University

Romola Ratnam, Foxrock Partners

David Highhill, National Football League  

JUNE 2010

Jared Schoenfeld, Madison Square Garden

Garrett McManus, Square

Chris Morales, GMR Marketing

Keith Wan, WWE

JULY 2010

Joshua Boren, Woods Baggot

AJ Andrassy, adidas Running 

Ward Gibson, GMR Marketing

Nicholas Porrini, MiWare Corp

AUGUST 2010

Brian Connolly, Victus Advisors

Sarah Pavelko, University of Connecticut Athletics

Jennifer Howland, Phoenix International Raceway

Scott Minto, San Diego State University Sports MBA Program 

SEPTEMBER 2010

Anthony Alsop, SportSpiel

Matt Murphy, Wasserman Media Group

Kellie Perry, Connexions Sports & Entertainment

Tiffany Martin, NCAA

OCTOBER 2010 

Matt Schaeperkoetter, University of Oklahoma Athletics

Michael Klein, MAXX Sports & Entertainment  

Casey Romany, IMG Consulting

Jason Peck, Living Social

NOVEMBER 2010 

Blair Zackon, UFC

Nicole Ferro, GMR Marketing

Lindsey Laband, Altus Marketing & Management

Ben Koo, Bloguin

DECEMBER 2010 

Brittany Gilman, BG Sports

Claudio Borges, Manchester City FC

Mallory Glosier, Dallas Stars

Adam Schemm, University of Rhode Island Athletics

JANUARY 2011 

Joel Zawacki, Indianapolis Indians

Sydney Golden, Washington Kastles

Brian Bowsher, University of Miami

Andrew Lewis, Feld Entertainment

FEBRUARY 2011

Marcus Fischer, Octagon

Jessica (Price) Pastron, Pricewaterhousecoopers

Drew DeHart, IMG College (Oregon)

Nathan Steinmetz, Toledo Mud Hens

MARCH 2011

Heidi Wegmueller, Bradley University

Caitlin Moyer, Milwaukee Brewers

Stephanie Cheng, Premier Partnerships

Kacie (McDaniel) Johnson, Sacramento Kings

APRIL 2011

Patrick Smyth, Denver Broncos

Joe Purzycki, VOX Media

Whitney Modlinski, The Marketing Arm

Courtney Carter, ESPN

MAY 2011

Wesley Harris, National Basketball Association

Deandra Duggans, Events DC

Chris Clunie, National Basketball Association

Jared Casden, Coastal Advisors LLC

JUNE 2011

Tim Kemp, AEG Management CT

Zack Nobinger, Taylor

Chris Ryan, In-Game Sports

Brad Swanson, The University of Akron Athletics

JULY 2011

Mark Gallo, Anheuser-Busch

Kristie VanEngelen, Arizona Diamondbacks

Sean O’Hara, Fighting Illini Sports Properties

Nathan Zimmerman, Sheplers, Inc.

AUGUST 2011

Kasey Coler, INDYCAR

Chris Farrell, Leverage Agency

Brandi Bloodworth Connolly, hawkeye sports & experiential

Andres Lares, Shapiro Negotiations Institute (http://www.ShapiroNegotiations.com)

SEPTEMBER 2011 

C.J. Wiatr, The Aspire Group

Jay Mayes, Black Sheep Philanthropy

Tim McCulloch, Comcast SportsNet

Matt Furrie, GMR Marketing

OCTOBER 2011 

Ben Latty, National Basketball Association

Rob Campbell, MLBAM

Jon Kander, GMR Marketing

Jack Tipton, IMG College (Pittsburgh)

NOVEMBER 2011 

Barry Kahn, Qcue

Justin Kadis, FanBridge

Kevin Stevenson, Phoenix Suns

Brad Wurthman, University of Cincinnati

DECEMBER 2011

Andy Morris, Bayshore Solutions

Brett Clarke, Nitro Circus Live

Blake Rosekrans, TaylorMade adidas Golf

Ben Berchuck, Wasserman Media Group

MARCH 2012

Alex Mallen, Sport Chalet

Rob Burns, Pursuant Sports

Lindsey Carnett, Marketing Maven Public Relations

Matthew Wagner, Cincinnati Reds

JULY 2012

Andrew Agro, New York Jets

Marissa Beck, The Bank of the West

Kristine Mason, National Soccer Coaches Association of America

Mark Soder, Canadian Football League

OCTOBER 2012

Jared Melzer, Farmers Insurance

John Younger, Richard Childress Racing

Jacob Reid, Sporting Kansas City

Lindsey Eckhouse, National Football League

JANUARY 2013

Jimmy Small, NASCAR

Allison Doughty, The ACC

Jez Ratliff, Wasserman Media Group

Ben Levy, Navigate Research

Coming soon... Would you like to nominate a Rising Star in the Industry for their Exceptional Work? Send a two (2) paragraph nomination to bgainor@partnershipactivation.com