Carol is responsible for the overall operations of BlazeSports America, Inc. As chief executive officer, she provides leadership, supervision and strategic guidance for the organization. Carol has over 30 years experience in Paralympic sport, rehabilitation services, higher education and nonprofit leadership. She was elected by the International Paralympic Committee General Assembly (assembly of nations) as the Technical Officer and Chairman of the Sports Council for two terms of office from 1997-2004 during which time Carol oversaw the sport technical operations, rules, qualification processes and Games development for the Nagano, Sydney, Salt Lake City and Athens Paralympic Games. Carol is one of only five Americans to have received the Paralympic Order which is the highest honor bestowed by the International Paralympic Committee. She also served on the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee Board of Trustees.

Additionally, Carol has authored numerous publications, book chapters, manuals and articles on Paralympic sport, therapeutic recreation and rehabilitation medicine. Having directed numerous international projects, grants and lectured in over 20 nations, Carol is known worldwide as an expert in disability sport and recreation. Much of Carol’s international development work has been in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. She has a master’s degree in education and is a certified social worker and certified sports counselor. Carol began her career in the Atlanta area as the first therapeutic recreation specialist hired in public schools and, along with several colleagues, founded the DeKalb County School System adapted sports program. After leaving DeKalb County to become the Executive Director of the National Association of Sports for Cerebral Palsy Carol also taught sport psychology and therapeutic recreation at Georgia State and Wayne State Universities.

As Director of Partnerships and Public Policy for BlazeSports America, Ann Cody is responsible for developing relationships with major national and international partners and for shaping the organization’s advocacy efforts in Washington, DC.

Ann brings 25 years of sports experience to BlazeSports including nearly a decade leading advocacy efforts in Washington, DC. She is widely known and respected throughout the world as a leader in sport and human rights.

Ann most recently served as a Vice President with B&D Consulting in Washington, DC where she designed federal affairs strategies for amateur sports, health and disability-related organizations and provided representation before the United States Congress and the Executive Branch. She has led a number of national and international advocacy initiatives on sport with a focus on girls and women with disabilities. Through her leadership, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) established a policy on gender equity, Women in Sport Leadership Summits and the Women in Paralympic Sport Network. Ann currently serves on the IPC Governing Board and is the highest ranking American and highest ranking woman in the IPC worldwide. She holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and a master's of science degree in leisure studies and therapeutic recreation from the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign. Ann is a Paralympic Gold Medalist in Athletics and competed on three U.S. Paralympic Teams (Basketball '84, Athletics '88, '92).

Jeff oversees a variety of educational programs and technical assistance to cross-disciplinary professionals, persons with disabilities and their families, and community-based practitioners to encourage best practice in the fields of disability sport, physical activity and health promotion. He has over 25 years experience in coaching Paralympic and national teams, directing disability sports programs and advancing knowledge in the field of disability sport.

Jeff comes to BlazeSports America from the Portage Parks and Recreation Department in Portage, Indiana, where he served as Assistant Superintendent. Prior to that, he was the Director of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s (RIC) Center for Health and Fitness and the Wirtz Sports Program, one of the largest disability sports and recreation programs in the United States. The program offered 18 sports and recreation activities and had 30 different athletes attend five Paralympic Games and more than a dozen world championships, world cup and other international events during his tenure at RIC.

While at RIC, Jeff was the Principal Investigator of two U.S. Department of Education NIDRR research grants studying the effects of exercise on individuals with disabilities. He was also a founding Director of the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (NCPAD). Additionally, he co-authored the book Disability Sport and Recreation Resources which is in its third edition. Jeff has organized more than 50 regional or national sports competitions and was an Assistant Event Coordinator at four United States Olympic Festivals. He has been a staff member of two world championship and two Paralympic teams. His past coaching experience includes sled hockey, quad rugby, wheelchair soccer, track and field and boccia. Jeff received his master’s degree in Adapted Physical Education from Springfield College. He has done post-graduate work in Recreation Administration at both Wayne State University and Aurora University. He is also a Certified Park and Recreation Professional, a certification established by the National Recreation and Park Association.

Mara spearheads the development and submission of grant proposals in nutrition and healthy lifestyles and oversees the design and evaluation of BlazeSports programs and various grant projects to increase and/or improve community based opportunities for healthy lifestyles. Mara serves in a consultative capacity for clubs in health promotion, nutrition, physical activity and public health. She helps BlazeSports staff and clubs translate scientific research into evidence-based practice and leads initiatives to ensure the diffusion of effective practices into widespread adoption in local BlazeSports communities.

Mara comes to BlazeSports America with over ten years experience in the public health arena. Her previous employment was with the Georgia Department of Human Resources where she successfully managed a five-year, $2.5 million cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control focusing on nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention. Mara is a registered and licensed dietitian and holds a master’s degree in community/public health nutrition from the University of Toronto, and Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences from the same.

As Assistant Director of Business Operations for BlazeSports America, Steve Cushing is responsible for ensuring compliance with all contractual obligations and the State of Georgia rules and regulations, and provides leadership for all risk management activities for compliancy with OSHA.

Mr. Cushing holds a current Class-B Commercial drivers license and oversees all transportation-related functions for the organization.  Mr. Cushing brings over 20 years of experience in the business sector, where he led a highly successful career in sales and management. Steve has a strong business acumen with a penchant for innovation and professionalism.

Marybeth oversees programming in the state of Georgia including camps, clinics and sports programs. Additionally she provides support for BlazeSports teams and for national competitions hosted by BlazeSports America.

Marybeth brings to BlazeSports over 30 years of therapeutic recreation, coaching and youth sports experience. Prior to joining the organization, she was employed with community based recreation associations in Illinois and Michigan. During her tenure she developed and implemented weekly recreational programs, special events and large-scale athletic events and tournaments. Additionally, Marybeth has been a staff member of two Paralympic teams and multiple international and world championship delegations. Marybeth holds a bachelor’s degree in recreation and park administration with an emphasis in therapeutic recreation from Central Michigan University.

Nisha is responsible for the management of creative and special projects for BlazeSports America. She coordinates graphic design communications, web and marketing materials both print and web based. Nisha also coordinates and manages all the social media and social marketing functions including Facebook and Twitter. In addition to creative support Nisha is also an invaluable part of the administrative and program support for BlazeSports staff, programs, camps and clinics.

Very familiar with disability sport, Nisha had over 5 years experience with the organization, serving as a long term volunteer, before coming on staff in 2006. She also provided support for several international peace through sport initiatives in developing countries such as Egypt & South Africa. Nisha's education is from Kennesaw State Univeristy in Fine Arts, Graphic Communications and Marketing.

Frank is responsible for the development and implementation of sports and physical activity programs for youth and adults with physical disabilities. He also brings to the organization a background in physical education, athletics and community based youth sports programs.

Frank is a former collegiate baseball player at Western Kentucky University and has coached youth soccer and high school baseball. He holds a bachelor of science degree in physical education from Mercer University.

Cully Mason provides expertise in website design and maintenance, social media and other tools to ensure that BlazeSports is on the cutting-edge of technology. A former Blazer himself, Cully truly understands the importance of sport in a person’s life. Unable to stay away from the Georgia Blazers, Cully returned to the team in 2008-2009 season but in a different role. This time as head coach. Currently, Cully is a student at SouthernPolytech and State University and studying Software Engineering with a minor in Mathematics.

Fred is a part time coach that serves as the Georgia Blazers swim coordinator and is the technical advisor for all BlazeSports disability swim programs in the state. Fred is an ASCA coach with over eight years experience including serving on the staff of the 2004 Paralympic Games.