Erin Andrade

Dr. Andrade is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Physiatrist) physician who specializes in the medical rehabilitation of individuals with a variety of neurologic and musculoskeletal conditions including spinal cord injury, stroke, limb loss, neck and back pain, concussion, multiple sclerosis and other medical conditions. She has served on the USTA National Wheelchair Tennis Committee and now serves on the National Sports Science Committee. Dr. Andrade has also volunteered with the Pacific Northwest Medical Appeals Committee and was the Neutral Doctor for Fed Cup in 2020. 

Dr. Andrade is experienced with adaptive and able-bodied sports and injury prevention, helping develop wheelchair tennis programs and medical training material as well coach wheelchair tennis. She is an International Tennis Federation Level 1 Certified Wheelchair Tennis Classifier. 

Dr. Andrade received the Presidential Rector Scholarship to attend DePauw University and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Dr. Andrade served as the tennis team captain, was also a two time All-American in tennis, and was named an ESPN Third Team at Large Academic All-American. She received the Eli Lilly Foundation Scholarship to attend Indiana University School of Medicine and completed my residency at the University of Washington in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She is the Medical Director of the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility at Confluence Health in Wenatchee, WA, and Director of the Amputee Program. She provides inpatient and outpatient care. Dr. Andrade continues to enjoy playing tennis; but also enjoys trail running, mountain biking, and ski mountaineering.

Jessica Battaglia

Jessica Battaglia joined the USTA Player Development staff in March of 2006. In her role as Senior Manager of PD Events and Programing, her responsibilities include planning and organizing all major and strategic Player Development events and initiatives.  Additionally, she collaborates with other USTA business divisions and other aligned organizations in supporting implementation of event plans. 

Jessica received a Bachelor of Science in Exercise & Sport Science with a specialization in Athletic Training in 2001 from the University of Florida and a Master of Science in Sport Management from Barry University in 2005. Jessica began her career in the sport industry with the NASDAQ-100 Open in 2005, where she served as the Volunteer Coordinator. She continues to practice locally as a certified athletic trainer.

Carlos Benitiez

Dr. Carlos Benitez is a Musculoskeletal Radiologist at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.  He graduated from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.  He then went on to Stanford University and obtained MS degrees in both Mechanical Engineering Design and Biomechanical Engineering.  Dr. Benitez returned to San Diego to receive his medical degree from UCSD.  After completing his internship in Internal Medicine at UC Irvine, he traveled to New York City to specialize in Diagnostic Radiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. 

Following radiology residency training, Dr. Benitez completed a subspecialty fellowship in Musculoskeletal Imaging at the NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital.  Dr. Benitez has a special interest in the area of Sports Medicine. In 2015, he became a USTA Medical Consultant and started a novel onsite radiology service at the US Open Tennis Championships, offering diagnostic ultrasounds to diagnose muscle and tendon injuries in the professional tennis players at the stadium. Dr. Benitez has several medical publications in national and international journals.

Dr. Jorge Brioni

Dr. Jorge Brioni is an accomplished pharmaceutical executive with 30 years of experience leading programs in Discovery, Early Development and Medical Affairs. Jorge is the President of Brioni Health and uses his expertise in neuroscience, mental disorders and pharmacology to advise organizations. Most recently, Jorge served as Director of Global Medical Affairs at AbbVie, a biopharmaceutical company with 30,000+ employees in 75 countries. Jorge was instrumental in expanding anesthesia products Sevorane and Chirocaine globally, delivering solutions to impact alignment and competitiveness in Asia. In 2018, Sevorane enabled surgery in 1 billion patients after 24 years in the market.

Previously as the Director of Neuroscience Discovery at Abbott Laboratories he discovered 8 novel molecules that advanced to Phase 2 trials for Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, ADHD and pain. A native of Argentina, Jorge obtained a PhD degree and later conducted research at the University of California Irvine. Jorge has published 150 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, is an inventor of several patents and authored 2 books.

He is a volunteer on the USTA Chicago Adult Play Committee overseeing tennis programs for 3,000+ league players. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of USTA Midwest focused on Adult Play and Junior Tournaments, and he was recently appointed to the USTA National Sport Science Advisory Board. Jorge was a competitive junior player in Argentina, a clay court specialist, and has played tennis in Chicago since 1990.  His US tennis career highlight was winning the Illinois League Championship for the 18+ and 55+ divisions in 2017. He is uniquely positioned to offer new perspectives on medical/scientific issues to make tennis a lifetime sport.

Jorge is also dedicated to giving back to his community. He was the Chair of the Governance Committee and member of the Board of Directors at OMNI Youth Services, a local non-profit supporting young adults suffering mental disorders and drug abuse. He has also served as the Secretary of the Chicago Pharmacology Society.
Jorge’s objective is to add value to organizations using his scientific and governance experiences to successfully address challenges in our society. As a productive board member Jorge believes that leveraging professional expertise, good governance and diverse experiences is the best formula to drive innovation and effectiveness in any organization

Michelle DaCosta

Michelle DaCosta is originally from Dayton, Ohio. She went to the University of Michigan for her undergraduate degree, majoring in biopsychology with a minor in biology. After that Dr DaCosta attended medical school at Wright State University BSOM in Dayton, Ohio. She did her internship in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati, residency in anesthesiology at Allegheny General in Pittsburgh, PA, and her pediatric anesthesiology fellowship at Washington University, in St Louis, MO. She also completed a combined pediatric cardiac and adult cardiac anesthesiology fellowship at Emory University. Dr DaCosta also completed her MBA with a healthcare administration certificate from the University of Cincinnati Lindner College of Business in Dec 2017. Dr DaCosta is triple board certified in anesthesiology, pediatric anesthesiology, and Advanced Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE). 

Dr DaCosta is very interested in global health and has traveled to Haiti and Bangladesh for pediatric anesthesiology mission trips. Dr DaCosta is also currently a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) cardiovascular & Thoracic anesthesiology committee, as well as the ASA pediatric anesthesiology committee. She is also a board member of the Arizona Society of Anesthesiologists (AzSA) and is the current South-Central District Director. She is also a member of the National Medical Association (NMA) anesthesiology and physician executives’ sections. Dr DaCosta is now the NMA Region 6 Vice Chair and part of the planning committee for the upcoming Region 6 regional meeting. She is also a new member of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Sports Science Committee. She is currently practicing pediatric and cardiac anesthesiology in California, Arizona, and Texas

Karl Davies

Karl Davies (Ph.D.), is currently National Manager of Research and ADM for USTA. His responsibilities look at identifying evidence-based research to create and implement training programs designed for increasing youth and adult participation through the lens of the USTA’s American Development Model. Before his move to the USA, Karl served with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as a programming consultant working with National Tennis Federations and National Olympic Committees in over 50 countries worldwide. To fuel Karl’s passion for coach education, he has been a presenter at ITF Coaches Workshops, ITF Level 3 certified coach (highest qualification), and delivered ITF coaching courses worldwide. Karl has a doctorate degree in Human Movement Science. 

Amber Donaldson - Chair, USTA Sport Science Committee

Dr. Amber Donaldson serves as the Senior Director of Sports Medicine for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. In her role she provides clinical care to elite athletes and is the medical liaison for USA Paralympics, Games planning, as well as overseeing the Mental Health programming for the USOPC.  Amber   Amber has served as the Medical Director and clinician for several Olympic and Paralympic Games and has been the dedicated health care provider for Tennis at the past 2 Olympic Games.  Prior to the USOPC she was the Director of Sports Sciences and Medicine Programs at the WTA Tour.  Amber is also an adjunct lecturer at LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia.  

Amber received her bachelor’s in sports medicine from Pepperdine University, her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and her master’s in manipulative physiotherapy from the University of Melbourne in Australia. She has also received the IOC Diploma in Sports Therapy, Diploma in Women’s leadership, sports specialist certification, strength and conditioning specialist, is a certified Pilates instructor and certified vestibular therapist.

Shawn Foltz-Emmons

Shawn Foltz-Emmons, PhD is a former professional tennis player ranked #55 in the world, Number #1 in Division 1 Collegiate Tennis January 1989, All-American, Top ranked nationally and internationally junior tennis player, 1986 Orange Bowl winner in singles and doubles, starred in the movie “Spring Fever” with Carling Bassett, Susan Anton and Jessica Walter. She was featured in the book “Courting Fame” which chronicled the lives of four junior tennis players as they transitioned to the professional tennis tour. In 1984, Dr.Foltz-Emmons was the second youngest player ever to receive a world ranking in women’s professional tennis. She was also Miss October in the 1986 WTA Calendar. She has been coached by Robert Lansdorp (coach of Tracy Austin and Pete Sampras), Nick Bolletierri (coach of Carling Bassett, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Kathleen Horvath), PA Nilhagen (coached Todd Witsken, former #1 in the world in doubles) Kelly Junkerman (coached Chris Evert) and Patricio Apey (coached Gabriela Sabatini).

Currently, Dr. Foltz-Emmons is a licensed psychologist with her own business, Advantage Performance Consultants. Additionally, she is a Brand Ambassador and Psychologist for SonderMind. She is also an EAP Provider for the companies ComPsych, and Interface, provided consulting services for the companies Aarete and iTether, and is the Tennis Advisor and Psychological Consultant for the First Serve Tennis Foundation. She volunteers her time mentoring under resourced youth and guiding/advising young tennis players to meet their life goals.  During her marriage to an active duty Air Force fighter pilot, Dr Foltz-Emmons received the Commander’s Public Service Award medal, the first time in the history of the medal to be given to a military spouse. In addition, Dr Foltz-Emmons was recently appointed to the United States Tennis Association Sport Science Committee. Dr Foltz-Emmons is a proud mother to two children. She enjoys playing tennis, binge-watching Netflix series, doing yoga and spending time with friends.

Eli Friedman

Eli Friedman, M.D., FACC is the Medical Director of Sports Cardiology for the Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida. He completed medical school at The Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science and then went on to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where he completed both his internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases training. Dr. Friedman has made the care of athletes and highly competitive individuals the focus of his practice. He is the team cardiologist for Inter Miami CF of Major League Soccer, numerous local universities and colleges and he sits on the health and wellness committee for both Miami-Dade and Broward County public schools. His research has been published in peer reviewed journals and he has 

authored educational content for the sports and exercise section of the American College of Cardiology. His non-clinical interests focus on the recognition and response to sudden cardiac arrest in a sports setting. He created The Heart of a Champion CPR program, which focuses on training athletes, parents, coaches, officials and others in sports in hands-only CPR and automatic external defibrillator (AED) use. The program has worked with the Miami Dolphins and Florida Panthers in addition to local athletic groups. 

Sarah R. Gibson

Dr. Gibson is a board-certified sports medicine physician who works with the USTA at the National Campus in Orlando, FL. She grew up in Canada before attending medical school at the University of South Alabama, followed by residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Harvard/Spaulding program. She then specialized in sports medicine with a fellowship, again through Harvard, at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is currently a practicing physician at Nemours Children’s Hospital and an associate professor at the University of Central Florida’s College of Medicine.  

When the USTA opened their new National Campus five years ago, Dr. Gibson was instrumental in developing the medical testing portion of Preseason for many of the top US tennis professionals and juniors. The program, which has evaluated as many as 40 athletes per season, focuses on optimizing both the health and performance of these elite athletes. She has also provided medical coverage for numerous ATP and WTA tour events and the US Open Tennis Championships, as well as the Boston Marathon, US Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, the Boston Ballet, NCAA Division I Tennis National Championships, Miami Man Triathlon and numerous other events. She was even a physician for a 250 km ultramarathon across the Egyptian Sahara Desert with runners from 33 different countries.

Dr. Gibson has been an invited lecturer for the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Boston Marathon Sports Medicine Symposium, the Society for Tennis Medicine and Science and Tavistock Group’s Health Innovators Conference.

In the past, she has even worked in sports journalism assisting with the television coverage of Wimbledon and horse racing’s Triple Crown. For many years she was a member of Kentucky Derby staff helping run the press box at Churchill Downs during Derby week, and has also been on the media/public relations team during events like the Rogers Cup in Canada, the Breeders’ Cup and the Cotton Bowl.

Brandon A. Henry

Raised in southern California, Dr. Henry grew up playing a plethora of sports including baseball, basketball and football. His athletic career continued at Citrus College with baseball and later Sacramento State University with football. He culminated his collegiate career with a B.A. degree in Biological Sciences. He continued his education at Howard University College of Medicine and served as class president for all 4 years. He matched into pediatric residency at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. 

After completing residency, his love of sports led him to pursue a primary care sports medicine fellowship at the Baylor Sports Medicine Fellowship in Waco, Texas. This fellowship granted him the privilege of being a team physician for Baylor University athletics, including the Big 12 Tournament Champions women’s soccer team, McLennan Community College athletics, and University High School athletics.

Like his love for sports, Dr. Henry also has a strong passion for mentoring. He serves as the Assistant Director for the Tour for Diversity in Medicine which is an organization that works to educate, inspire and cultivate the future generations of minority physicians, dentists and pharmacists. He is a lifetime member of the Student National Medical Association. Dr. Henry is also an active member of the National Medical Association and holds the position of Secretary for the Postgraduate Section. He is also a member of the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Currently Dr. Henry is practicing Sports Medicine at Riverside Medical Clinic/California Baptist University Student Health Center where he is a team Physician for California Baptist University Athletics, Corona Centennial High School, Santiago High School and Citrus Hill High School. He is also the Director of Sports Medicine for Riverside Medical Clinic and the Medical Director for the master’s in athletic training program at California Baptist University. He is also Clinical faculty in the RUHS/UCR Sports Medicine Fellowship and UCR School of Medicine.

Brett Kindle

Dr. Brett Kindle earned his medical degree from East Tennessee State University – Quillen College of Medicine. He then completed a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at Mayo Clinic followed by a fellowship in Sport Medicine at Andrews Institute for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. He is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine as well as Registered in Musculoskeletal Sonography.

Dr. Kindle went on to accept a position with Andrews Institute for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine as a specialist in Non-Surgical Sports Medicine where his clinical interests include sports-related injuries, diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound, advanced ultrasound guided procedures (TENEX, CTR, etc.), regenerative medicine and sports concussions. 
In addition to Dr. Kindle’s medical practice, he is the Associate Program Director of Andrews Institute Sports Medicine Fellowship; Medical Director of EXOS-Florida; Team Physician for Miami Marlins AA Minor League Baseball Team (Pensacola Blue Wahoos) and many local high school sports teams; Consultant Physician for United States Tennis Association (USTA) and Sonex Health. He also serves on several sports governing body committees, including the USTA Sports Science Committee, NFLPA Pain Management Committee, and NFLPA Mackey-White Players’ Health and Safety Committee. He resides in Pensacola, Florida with his wife and two sons enjoying all outdoor activities. 

Lorena Martin

Dr. Lorena Martin’s interests include integrating physiology, psychology, sports science, and statistical analysis to improve performance. She is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on sports performance, sports science, exercise physiology, sports analytics, and health disparities. Before joining USC, she was the director of high performance for a Major League Baseball team and was the former director of sports performance analytics for the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Her academic background includes postdoctoral fellowships in analytics, GIS spatial analysis, biostatistics, and epidemiology from the University of California San Diego. She earned her Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Miami, where she had also obtained her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Her master’s degree was attained in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University. She has been awarded consecutive research funding by the National Institutes of Health, including the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, along with having a strong record of publications in peer-reviewed journals. Lorena has also been a contributing author in the following books, Sports Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation 2nd edition, and Improving Exercise Adherence. She then sole-authored the book Sports Performance Measurement and Analytics.

Lorena is a former collegiate tennis player and nationally ranked bodybuilder. She is certified by USPTA, PTR, and ACE. She has been invited to speak at international conferences in sports performance and analytics at prestigious institutions such as the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and NASA. In her spare time, Dr. Martin is a sports performance consultant, www.healthandsportsanalytics.com.

William Micheo

William Micheo, MD is Professor and Chairman and Sports Medicine Fellowship Director in the Department of Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine. Dr. Micheo is a founding partner of “Grupo Fisiátrico”, a PM&R group practice in Puerto Rico, and Co-Director of the Sports Injuries Unit of the Center for Sports Health and Exercise Sciences of the Olympic Training Center. He was president of the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Puerto Rico Sports Medicine Federation and the Physiatric Association for Spine Sports and Occupational Rehabilitation (PASSOR). He was a Board Member of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation from 2006 until 2018, holding the position of Vice Chair form 2015-2018. From 1992-2010 he was the Residency Training Director of the PM&R Program affiliated to the University of Puerto Rico. He was member of the Residency Review Committee for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education from 2010-2015. He also represented PM&R in the Sports Medicine Subspecialty Board Examination Committee from 2007-2015 and again from 2018-2020. 

His areas of academic and research interest include epidemiology of sports injuries, rehabilitation and prevention of sports injuries in specific populations (young athletes, master athletes) and management, rehabilitation and return to play following anterior cruciate ligament injury. He has presented extensively in local, national and international scientific meeting and published review and original research articles in these topics. He is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Electrodiagnostic Medicine, and holds subspecialty certificates in Pain Medicine and Sports Medicine.

Sheila Ohlsson Walker

Sheila Ohlsson Walker, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University and a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. Her research centers on the interplay between biology, psychology and socio-environmental science, or the relationship between nature and nurture. By translating interdisciplinary science into accessible, practical language, she seeks to equip athletic coaches and teachers with the knowledge, tools, and skills to help each and every child thrive. 

A former professional tennis player, Dr. Walker has experienced first-hand the power of sport to teach life skills, and foster health and well-being. She knows that coaches and teachers are in a position to support or derail a child’s healthy development, depending on what kinds of environments and relationships they build together. For this reason, her writing focuses on pragmatic, research-based approaches to optimizing human potential. Topics have included toxic stress, trauma, resilience, trusting relationships, social and emotional learning, the science of exercise, sleep, and nutrition.

Dr. Walker earned a doctorate in Behavioral Genetics from Kings College, London and a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She serves on the board of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation, is a trustee of the Kent Denver School, and works closely with Turnaround for Children and LIFT Communities. She lives in Denver with her husband and their three sons.

Paul Robbins

Paul Robbins recently partnered with a RFID tracking company- Kinexon, to be their VP of Sports Performance and oversee performance consulting to teams and athletes. Starting his 11th season overseeing in-game data for the NBA while bringing similar expertise to the NFL and USTA using the Kinexon platform and data science team. Supporting teams with   additional hardware for complete monitoring of the athlete as a board member of both Kenzen (metabolic patches) and Plantiga (foot inserts). Previously Paul was the Director of Performance for STATS oversee seeing the NBA performance game data and 11 years with EXOS (formerly known as Athletes Performance) as their metabolic specialist. 

Paul received his bachelor's degree in physical education, with an emphasis in exercise science, from the State University of New York, Cortland. He has a master’s in exercise physiology from California University of Pennsylvania

Kathleen Ann Stroia

For over 30 years, Kathleen Stroia has been an industry leader, transforming the standards for tennis medicine. A native of Merrillville, Indiana, Stroia earned a B.A. in Sport Sciences with an emphasis in Athletic Training from Purdue University, a M.S. degree in Athletic Training from West Virginia University and a B.S. degree in Physical Therapy from Chicago Medical School.  Starting with the WTA in 1990, Stroia has been responsible for coordinating all health and medical services for the WTA to present, and the International Tennis Federation Women’s Circuit from 1995 through 2003.  During her tenure Stroia has founded and expanded the Sport Sciences & Medicine department’s individual programs for the WTA, setting standards for tournament physicians, identifying and participating in research projects for tennis, improving injury prevention across the sport, promoting women’s health, and guiding industry leaders on the development of new high performance/sports medicine products. As a founding member of the Player Development Advisory Panel Kathleen has been instrumental in the design and development of the of the Age Eligibility Rule and WTA Player Development programs. These programs have led to an improved career longevity and a health enhanced environment in women’s tennis.

In addition to her commitments with the WTA, Stroia served as the Chairperson of the USTA Sport Science Committee (SSC) from 2015-2020.  Prior to serving as chair, Stroia was a member of the USTA SSC for 22 years.  She has also served on several committees, including WTA Special Olympics Committee, ITF Sport Science and Medicine Commission, Tennis Anti-Doping Committee, National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA)-Women In Athletic Training and PR Committees, International Tennis Performance Association (iPTA), a founding member and Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialist (PAADS), and a Board member of the Society for Tennis Medicine and Science (STMS). Stroia has also published numerous health articles and gives professional presentations covering sports medicine topics from fitness, conditioning and rehabilitation, and what’s hot in the market, to the management of sports injuries. Stroia was named in Tennis Industry Magazine as one of the “40 under 40” exceptional talents that will bring tennis into the new century and is a 2007 recipient of the prestigious “Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award” presented by the NATA to those certified athletic trainers who make exceptional and unique contributions to the field, particularly at the National level. In 2008 Stroia was awarded the International Tennis Hall of Fame Tennis Education Merit Award.

Rujuta Wilson - Vice Chair, USTA Sport Science Committee

Rujuta B. Wilson, MD is a behavioral child neurologist specializing in autism spectrum disorders and related neurodevelopmental disorders. She is an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Neurology and Psychiatry at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART). Dr. Wilson leads the motor phenotyping core at UCLA CART. Her NIH funded research is focused on developing quantitative methods of motor phenotyping to improve characterization of motor development, better understand how specific motor impairments can impact cognition and language and develop more targeted interventions for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Wilson’s work also extends to measuring the physical and behavioral benefits of organized physical activity, including tennis, for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Wilson is an invited member of the American Academy of Neurology Education Committee and the Child Neurology Expert Workgroup. Dr. Wilson is also the University of California-Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Training Director.