Joe Walsh became the GNAC’s first full-time commissioner in 2005. Prior to that he was assistant men’s basketball coach at Emmanuel College, head women’s basketball coach and athletic director at Emerson College, an assistant women’s basketball coach at Harvard University and he started his coaching career at Saint Columbkilles High School in Brighton, Massachusetts.

Walsh has spent over thirty years involved in athletics at the community level within the City of Boston as a coach and an administrator. He is immediate past president of the Brighton Board of Trade, Allston Brighton Kiwanis, the co-chair of the Brian J. Honan Charitable Foundation, has served on the ECAC Award of Valor Committee, and the ECAC Women’s Basketball Selection Committee and the board of directors at the West End House Boy’s & Girl’s Club.

Walsh is a member of the DIII Commissioner’s Association and The National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIAA). Joe also serves as a teacher in the NAMI Family to Family education program. For more information visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness home page at http://www.nami.org/

Vaughn Calhoun is in his first year as Assistant Commissioner of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. Calhoun joins the GNAC staff after having served as a United States Congressional Intern, a lead field organizer for a political campaign, and most recently in the public sector focusing in human resources.

With the GNAC, Calhoun will oversee a broad range of functions such as championships and awards, conference SAAC coordinator, men's golf tournament, sportsmanship initiative, community based coaching clinics, GNAC Hall of Fame and the professional development seminar..

A 2003 graduate of Rutgers University, Calhoun participated on the Scarlet Knights football team as a full scholarship student-athlete earning three varsity letters and a degree in Administration of Justice. Following his undergraduate work, Calhoun continued his education at California State University - Long Beach, earning his Masters of Public Policy and Administration in 2006. Currently, Calhoun is pursuing his Doctorate of Education with a concentration in Higher Education Administration at Northeastern University.

Calhoun is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. He is active within the Fraternity's "Project Alpha" community service initiative as well as "A Voteless People is a Hopeless People" campaign that promotes voter registration.

Vaughn and his wife Tammie reside in Dorchester, Mass.

West graduated from Simmons College in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a minor in Communications. A native of East Bridgewater, Mass., West is pursuing a masters in Sports Management from Northeastern University to be completed the summer of 2011. West will assist the Great Northeast Athletic Conference as the Director of Communications.

In addition to her position at the GNAC, West serves as a softball assistant coach at UMass-Boston. She also plays on the defensive line on the IWFL North Atlantic Division Champion, the Boston Militia, a women's professional football team. In the fall of 2009, Natalie interned as the assistant sports information director for Simmons College, which increased her understanding of statistics and website monitoring. Prior to arriving at the GNAC, West worked as a webcast videographer for BullPen Media Inc., where she filmed and edited athletic films for Div.II and junior olympic teams. While still in college, West worked as a softball pitching/hitting instructor at Batters Box Inc. and was an assistant softball coach at East Bridgewater High School for two years.

A former Simmons College student-athlete, West received All-GNAC honors in softball and All-North Atlantic Conference accolades for field hockey. West, a transfer from Suffolk University, was named Louisville Slugger second-team All Region, ECAC All-New England, and NESCA first team.

With the 2009-2010 season, Tom begins his seventh year as the GNAC sports information director, the longest serving individual in this position. During his tenure, many changes have taken place, with the most significant being the move to Statcrew for statistics reporting in nine GNAC sponsored sports.

Prior to accepting the GNAC position in 2003, he spent eight years as a volunteer assistant at former GNAC member Daniel Webster, helping them standardize and organize their sport history information.
Tom brought that approach and philosophy with him to the GNAC and has spent hundreds of hours researching and compiling statistics and records into a comprehensive database, the results of which can be found on the GNAC web site.

In his “day job”, he works as a IT project manager for the US Air Force, overseeing wireless network installations at Air Force bases around the world.

Tom has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a M.B.A. from Clark University.

Ed Carpenter brings 35 years of sports information experience to the GNAC. Carpenter earned his bachelors degree in journalism in 1965 from Penn State University. After graduation he spent four years in the Air Force and in 1969 he left the Air Force as a Captain. He then spent two years as a sports writer for the New Haven Register before going to the University of Delaware where he was the sports information director for six years.

In 1976 Carpenter left the University of Delaware to take a position as a speechwriter for the Armstrong Cork Company in Lancaster, PA.  After one year he moved to Boston and became the sports information director for Boston University.

He spent 29 years at Boston University, retiring in 2006 as the assistant athletic director for communications. During his tenure at Boston University, Carpenter served as the CoSIDA President from 1992-1993 and was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2005, Ed was presented the Arch Ward Memorial Award by CoSIDA for “inspiring excellence in, and bringing dignity to, our profession through his relations to press, radio and television and his colleagues.”

Carpenter resides with his wife Suzy in Stoughton, MA and has five children and five grandchildren.

Kisha Tapangan is entering her first year as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference's Communications & Public Relations Specialist.  Tapangan graduted Cum Laude from Johnson & Wales University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Sports, Entertainment & Events Management with minors in Sociology and Sports & Entertainment Facilities Management.  Originally from South Texas, Tapangan moved to the New England area in 2007 to continue her education and has now become an official Rhode Island resident. 

While at Johnson & Wales University, Tapangan served as the Sports Editor of the The Campus Herald and immensely transformed the Sports section.  With an opinion column titled "The Extra Point" and special student-athlete features such as "Athlete of the Week", Tapangan was able to greatly increase the overall awareness and support for all Johnson & Wales Athletics.  

In addition to working with the GNAC, Tapangan works at Gillette Stadium as the Check In Supervisor during game and event days.  Tapangan is also a Contributing Writer for Patriots Insider, a site dedicated to reporting on all things New England Patriots.  Patriots Insider is part of Scout.com (A division of FOX Interactive Media) and a FOXSports.com partner. On the site, she manages a unique column titled "Kisha's Korner".

When she has time to spare, Tapangan volunteers at the Providence Children's Museum serving as an intern to their fund raising and events department.  Enjoying some competition herself, Tapangan is an avid tennis player.  Tapangan now resides in Providence, Rhode Island with her German Shepard rescue puppy named Rossi.

Matt DiCalogero joins the GNAC as the Marketing Specialists. Matt played basketball at Stonehill College for four years while earning his bachelors degree in Business Administration in 2008. He is currently pursuing an MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College in which he intends to graduate in 2011. He currently works in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Boston College as a graduate assistant.

Prior to joining the GNAC, Matt worked as a sales representative and marketing specialist for a water company and financial services company. Using his business experience in both the field and in the classroom Matt hopes to increase sponsorship on the website. Matt will also be handling the ball contracts.

Matt continues to stay involved with community sports. He has been coaching the Bay State Legends AAU basketball team for 2 years and he also runs basketball clinics and camps in the summer. 

Catherine Carmignani is entering her first year as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference’s Special Events and Officiating Specialist.  Carmignani graduated from Simmons College in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and is currently pursuing her Masters of Education in Athletic Administration at Springfield College. 

Prior to arriving at the GNAC, Carmignani was the Youth and Adult Sports Director at the Oak Square YMCA in Brighton, MA.  In addition to managing three departments and their staff, she acted as a Council Director for the National Organization, Girls Run.  Carmignani was also the Assistant Coach of the Wentworth Institute of Technology Women’s Rugby Club, the team that she hails from as a two time MVP and three year captain.

 A native of Dudley, MA, Carmignani has served as an intern for the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse, volunteers yearly for the Boston Marathon, and is dedicated to empowering young women to reach beyond their potential in both athletics and life.  While working with the GNAC, Carmignani will also be an Assistant Coach for the Men’s and Women’s Rugby Clubs at American International College this year.

 Jillian LaForest joins the GNAC as the Special Events and Championships Specialist. LaForest is a 2010 graduate of Union College (NY), where she majored in psychology and sociology. Jillian also played four years of varsity lacrosse, was selected captain her senior season, and honored as a Liberty League Academic Lacrosse Player. While at Union, she served as the Community Service Representative for SAAC, and worked in the athletic office planning annual Alumni events as well as the football banquet.

In the summer of 2009, LaForest worked as an intern for the United Way in Boston as a Special Events Assistant. She assisted in planning their largest fundraiser event held in Boston for working Professional women in Boston, where they raised over 500,000 dollars. Event planning is truly her passion, and she looks forward to assist in planning the first GNAC Lacrosse Clinic.

A former graduate of Acton-Boxboro Regional High School, Jillian played both basketball and lacrosse and was elected captain her senior year. In her spare time, she enjoys spending her weekends in Cape Cod with her family and is a huge Boston sports fan!

Rebecca Binder is entering her first year as a Great Northeast Athletic Conference Specialist. Binder received a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, where she co-captained the softball team, and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law.  She currently practices law in Boston, where she represents private and municipal clients in a variety of civil litigation and real estate matters.

During college, Binder worked in the Sports Information Office for three years, eventually managing tournaments and supervising other student staff.  As a senior, she was awarded the Sphinx Spoon, an annual prize given by the Department of Athletics to the student who does the most to promote Amherst athletics.  Following her graduation, Binder took on a post-graduate fellowship in the college’s Public Affairs Office, where she became an indispensable member of the college’s Sports Information administration.

Binder was invited to return to Amherst as the Acting Associate Sports Information Director for the 2007 academic year, where she oversaw both the day-to-day work and the long-term goals of the Sports Information Office during a period of complete staff transition.  She continues to write about notable athletics programs, coaches, and student-athletes as a contributing writer for Amherst’s alumni magazine.  Binder also served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Harvard University softball team in 2009.

A native of Scarsdale, New York, Binder lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.  She is a six-year veteran of the Boston Women’s Flag Football League.  She also plays in and serves as the League Treasurer for the Boston Alternative Women’s League, one of the nation’s oldest and largest recreational women’s softball leagues.

Sarah Humphreys enters her first year as the Communications & Public Relations Specialist. Humphreys graduated from the University of New Hampshire Summa Cum Laude with in a degree in Kinesiology: Sport Studies, in 2009. As an undergrad she interned with UNH’s Athletic Media Relations. Her duties included writing game stories and game programs, assisting with in-game stats and producing web-streams for many UNH home games. The teams she worked with included football, gymnastics, men & women’s basketball, men & women’s soccer and men & women’s ice hockey.

During her senior year Humphreys was selected to travel with the gymnastics team as the SID, to Alabama for the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship. She also assisted ESPNU staff when they broadcasted the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Northeast Regional Championship in Manchester, N.H.

Along with three classmates, she also did an independent study researching burn-out in collegiate sport information personnel. Their findings were presented at UNH’s 2009 Undergraduate Research Conference.

For the past year Humphreys volunteered in Ashland, MT through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. She worked for St. Labre Indian Catholic School’s Youth & Family Services division. Her role as a houseparent assistant gave her the opportunity to mentor and tutor Native American youth in a group home setting.

 Scott Wright Jr. received his B.S. in Criminal Justice in 2009 from Rivier College, Nashua, NH.  During his time attending Rivier he spent four years as a student athlete competing for the Men’s volleyball program, and also was a member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee.  Using his experience in volleyball Wright was able to obtain an Assistant Coaching position at his former high school, where he continue to coach since 2007 and will be heading up the program in 2011. 

Following the completion of his senior year internship he obtained a position working in the Juvenile Justice system at a residential program funded by the Department of Youth Services.   After a year and a half working in residential, Wright received the opportunity to work in social services at the Key Program Inc., a privately paid organization funded by the Department of Children and Family.  The new job opportunity provided him with the ability to network with court officials, school, medical professional, and other community support organizations.  

Scott continues to work with families in Northern Massachusetts facilitating meetings to foster positive parent and child communication. His experience has helped him fine tune his communication skills as well as open time for him to pursue a passion for Sports Management at the University of Southern New Hampshire in the fall of 2010. Additionally he will be working as the Special Assistant to the Commissioner with various projects, championships and marketing concepts.