Amy Wilson (she/her)
Managing Director of Inclusion
Dr. Amy Wilson serves as the NCAA’s Managing Director of Inclusion where she drives inclusive excellence throughout college athletics by supporting member institutions’ commitment to diversity, inclusion and gender equity among its student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. Wilson leads the NCAA Office of Inclusion’s efforts to provide resources, education, and support in the core areas of disability, international, LGBTQ, race/ethnicity, and women. An expert on gender equity and Title IX, she has authored multiple national reports on Title IX. Wilson has led projects such as optimizing the Senior Woman Administrator designation and serves on the leadership team for the Common Ground initiative, which fosters discussions about religion and LGBTQ with the goal of supporting all student-athletes. Wilson’s entire career has been in higher education where she won multiple awards for teaching excellence. A member of the Illinois College Athletics Hall of Fame, Wilson has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English and earned a Ph.D. in Health and Sport Studies with a concentration in Athletic Administration at the University of Iowa. Since 2005, she has worked closely with nationally recognized Title IX expert Dr. Christine Grant on equity issues in intercollegiate athletics and has given numerous presentations on Title IX, gender equity, and inclusion on both the national and international levels. In 2018, Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA) honored Wilson with the Nell Jackson Award.
Niya Blair Hackworth (she/her)
Director of Inclusion
As director of inclusion, Dr. Niya Blair Hackworth leads and assists and assists in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives and programs for the NCAA membership and NCAA national office staff. Her work with the membership and national office focuses on race and ethnicity.
Blair Hackworth joined the NCAA office of inclusion in August 2019 after spending over a decade working at higher education institutions. She worked at four universities, overseeing and supporting programming, training and education efforts in diversity, inclusion, social justice and leadership.
Blair Hackworth holds a doctoral degree in organizational leadership from Abilene Christian. Her dissertation explores the lived experiences, career challenges and mentoring experiences of Black women who are athletics directors. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Central Arkansas and a master’s degree in higher education from Arkansas.
Jean Merrill (she/her)
Director of Inclusion
Jean Merrill returned to the NCAA as director of inclusion in June 2022. In this role, Merrill supports diversity, inclusion, and equity issues, with a principal focus on disability and LGBTQ. Before leaving the NCAA to complete her doctoral dissertation in 2021, Merrill spent 13 years at the NCAA in academic and membership affairs and, most recently, in the office of inclusion.
Merrill holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Hanover College, where she was a softball student-athlete. She also holds a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Indiana University. Merrill’s dissertation explores how professionally “out” lesbian, gay, and bisexual head college coaches construct their professional identities, and how those professional identities influence their coaching roles.
Gretchen Miron (she/her)
Director of Inclusion
Gretchen Miron joined the office of inclusion staff in November 2021 as director of inclusion. In this role she has primary responsibilities supporting both the membership and national office in diversity and inclusion initiatives, with a focus on gender equity, women and championships. Before her time in inclusion, she worked in the executive office for four years, overseeing presidential correspondence and assisting with broader Association-wide initiatives and policies. Miron oversaw efforts related to the Association-wide policy on campus sexual violence, including the annual attestation process, supporting the Policy Implementation Task Force, and leading an update of the NCAA Sexual Violence Prevention Tool Kit. She also previously worked in the NCAA Eligibility Center and as an NCAA postgraduate intern.
Miron graduated from Wisconsin with a degree in history and journalism. She was a four-year member of the varsity lightweight women’s rowing team while at Wisconsin. In 2022, she completed her law degree from Indiana’s McKinney School of Law with honors.
Shay Wallach (he/him)
Associate Director of Inclusion
Shay Wallach joined the national office in January 2018. In his current role as the Associate Director of Inclusion, Wallach supports diversity, inclusion, and equity issues, with focus on the core area of international student-athletes. In addition, he is tasked with project management and leading all of the office of inclusion's operations and logistics. Shay earned his master’s in Sports Management, with focus on the intersection of DEI and Corporate Social Responsibility in sports entities from the Cruyff Institute at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and also holds a bachelor's degree in Sports Management from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, with a business certificate from the Kelley School of Business. A former sport journalist, youth coach, and a data scout, Wallach is also a graduate of the Sports & Media Program of Wingate Institute. An Israeli native, Shay acquired extensive management experience in various European countries, where he conducted business in the retail and tourism fields. Wallach holds a military background and had voluntarily served his country in several focal points of the regional feud, in which he strove to bring humanity into the complex reality of a war zone.
Ashlesha Lokhande (she/her)
Assistant Director of Inclusion
Dr. Ashlesha Lokhande serves as the Assistant Director of Inclusion where she supports the membership and national office in diversity and inclusion initiatives with a primary focus on women and gender equity. Prior to her time at the NCAA, she has had over a decade of experience working in academics and student support services, and DEI initiatives, especially with creating strategic plans for student-athlete and staff inclusion and belonging. As a panelist on several national events, she has had an opportunity to provide practical strategies for DEIB within intercollegiate athletics owing to her professional and lived experiences as a former international student-athlete and staff member.
Dr. Ash holds a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from Arkansas State University, where she was a tennis student-athlete. She also holds a master’s degree from Marshall University in Sports Administration. In 2019, she received her doctorate in Leadership and Policy Studies with a concentration in Educational Leadership with her doctoral dissertation titled: An Analysis of African American Football Players’ Perception of their Non-Athletic Career Readiness Post-Graduation from a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Institution.
Sade’ Sleet (she/her)
Assistant Director of Inclusion
Sade' Sleet joined the national office in April 2022 as assistant director of inclusion. In her current role, she supports the membership in the core areas of race and ethnicity and disability. Prior to joining the NCAA, she focused her professional career on the advancement and support of underserved student populations at various higher education institutions. Sleet obtained her master's in Student Affairs Higher Education from Indiana State University and also holds a bachelor's in Criminal Justice from Indiana University, Bloomington.
Kina Davis (she/her)
Assistant Coordinator of Inclusion
Kina Davis, assistant coordinator of inclusion, has been a member of the NCAA staff since 2007. In her current role, Davis supports inclusion initiatives through assisting in developing and maintaining relationships with collaborative partners; implementation of new programming within the office of inclusion; community outreach efforts within the greater Indianapolis area; employee resource groups and the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee. Davis received her bachelor’s degree in public affairs administration and a certificate in event management from Indiana University, Bloomington, and holds an Indiana real estate license.
Donovan Wilson (he/him)
Postgraduate Intern
Donovan Wilson joined the national office in June 2023, serving as the postgraduate intern for the office of inclusion. In his current role, he supports the office of inclusion’s efforts related to the five core areas of disability, international, LGBTQ, race/ethnicity, and women and gender equity, to foster inclusive spaces of belonging across the membership, as well as within the national office. He also plays a lead role in larger events such as the Diversity and Inclusion Social Media Campaign and Inclusion Forum.
Wilson graduated from Puget Sound in May 2022, where he double majored in African American studies and business administration. During his time there, he was a student-athlete on the men’s basketball team and co-founded the Association of Student Athletes of Color.
