WASHINGTON - The Gallaudet University Athletics Department will host its special Title IX 50th Anniversary panel discussion this Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at noon in the Field House. The thought-provoking discussion centered around the 50th anniversary of Title IX and how the 1972 landmark legislation has changed the lives of millions of individuals, especially girls and women in sports.

The esteemed panel for this event was announced today by the Athletics Department. The panel includes; Gallaudet Athletics Hall of Fame inductees Tamijo Foronda Coleman '08 (women's volleyball) and Touria Ouahid Boren '01 (women's basketball) along with Entrepreneur and Business Consultant Tiffany Williams '89, retired GU professor Sandy McLennon '79 and former Gallaudet four-year, three-sport (basketball, soccer, softball) student-athlete Elena Ciccarelli '15. The event moderator will be current Gallaudet women's soccer student-athlete Reza Mosher.

The panel will be open to the campus community and will run from 12 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. in the Field House gym.

If you are unable to attend you watch the broadcast here: https://boxcast.tv/view/gallaudets-title-ix-50th-anniversary-celebration-vevjm7z4ipvnmjfnpxd7.

About Title IX
Title IX is part of the Education Amendments of 1972 and was signed into law June 23. It states, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." NCAA's 50th Anniversary of Title IX homepage.

BIOS OF PANELISTS & MODERATOR

TOURIA OUAHID BOREN '01

Touria has been involved with basketball for most of her life. She has 25+ years of experience as an athlete on both domestic and international levels. She played for the Gallaudet University Women's Basketball Team for five years (one year off due to ACL injuries) and was team captain during her senior year. She helped carry the team to the NCAA championship twice, appearing in the First Round in 1997 and making it all the way to the Sweet 16 in 1999. 

Prior to her collegiate basketball career, she was on the Swedish Basketball Championship team in 1995 and 1996. Touria competed in the Europe Deaf Basketball Championship four times and won gold medals in all of them (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008). She also competed on the Swedish women's basketball team five times (1993- fourth place, 1997- silver, 2001- silver, 2005- silver, 2009- gold) and on the USA women's basketball team (2013- gold) at the Deaflympics. 

She was selected to Gallaudet University's Hall of Fame in 2009 and USA Deaf Basketball's Hall of Fame in 2020.

Touria is currently entering her second year as the head coach for the USA Women's National Basketball Team. Her coaching experiences include being a coach/counselor at both the Gallaudet University and Model Secondary School for the Deaf Basketball Camps, being the head coach for various basketball teams at two different schools (Model Secondary School for the Deaf- 2002-2007, Maryland School for the Deaf- 2013-2021), she is a very passionate coach with high energy and a desire in developing strong coach-athlete relationships on both professional and personal levels. Touria was also an assistant coach for the Gallaudet University Women's Basketball team. She was the Assistant Athletic Director at Maryland School for the Deaf for six years. She currently works at Maryland School for the Deaf.

ELENA CICCARELLI '15

Elena Ciccarelli is the first student-athlete at Gallaudet University to compete in three sports — women's soccer, women's basketball, and softball throughout her four-year athletic career. In 2015, Elena was recognized as an NCAA Woman of the Year nominee and featured in the Sports Illustrated magazine.

Elena started her career at Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD) as an assistant coach with the varsity girls basketball program from 2015 to 2019. Became the program's head coach shortly after, leading the team through the pandemic until she stepped down in 2021 to focus on her growing family. She also coached MSD Special Olympics Unified Soccer team for three years, first as an assistant coach and then as the head coach in the final two years, during which the 2018 team won the State Championship. During the 2021-2022 school year, served as an assistant coach for our high school volleyball, girls' basketball, and softball teams. Elena also volunteered as the assistant camp director for the annual National Deaf Girls Basketball summer camp. Currently, Elena Ciccarelli is the Assistant Athletic Director at Maryland School for the Deaf, Frederick. She is also the head coach of the girls varsity basketball team.

Elena is also a gold medalist with the women's basketball national team that competed in the 2014 U-21 World Championship in Samsun, Turkey, and with the national team that also won in the 2015 World Deaf Basketball Championship in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

TAMIJO FORONDA COLEMAN '08

Tamijo graduated from Gallaudet University with two degrees, a BA and BS in Education and Physical Education. She played women's volleyball (five seasons), women's basketball (one) and softball (two) at Gallaudet.

Foronda Coleman is the most accomplished women's volleyball player in school history. Foronda played five seasons (2002-07), after being sidelined with an injury in 2005, the team went 84-65 with her in the line-up. She helped the Bison win the 2003 CAC championship during her sophomore season and guide the Bison to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament during the 2006 season. Foronda was a two-time CAC Player of the Year (2004, '06) and was a three-time All-CAC first team selection (2003, '04, '06). GU has had several players earn American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American honorable mention honors over the years but Foronda was the first and only Bison to make one of the three teams when she was selected to the third team (2006). Foronda was named the 2006-07 CAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, the first in school history. Foronda was one of seven Gallaudet women's volleyball players named to the CAC Silver Anniversary Team in 2014-15.

Foronda was inducted into the Gallaudet Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017 and had her #9 women's volleyball jersey retired by Gallaudet Athletics on Oct. 26, 2018.

She competed in three Deaflympics: team handball in 2001 with a silver medal, beach volleyball in 2005 with a bronze medal and indoor volleyball in 2009 with a silver medal.

She has been teaching deaf children for the past 15 years.

SANDY MCLENNON '79

Sandy McLennon graduated from the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Connecticut.  She then continued her education and graduated from Gallaudet College with a degree in Physical Education in 1979. She competed in the following sports, Field Hockey (two seasons), women's volleyball (two), track & field (two) and basketball (four). Sandy also competed in the 1977 Deaflympic Games in Romania earning a silver medal with the USA Volleyball team.

She then graduated from Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College with a Masters degree in Deaf Education and she also graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a Masters degree in Sports Administration.

At Gallaudet, Sandy worked as a sports trainer and sports equipment manager.  She also was a Children Instructions Summer Program (CISP) Coordinator at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf.

She taught Physical Education at Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and Physical Education courses at Gallaudet University from 1987-2013.  The courses she taught at Gallaudet included  the following: self-defense, weight lifting, wellness, personal discovery, badminton, basketball, volleyball along with PE major courses, Freshman Year Seminar, and serving as a PE Advisor..  She was part of the 2001 and 2005 Deaflympic Games committee as a Director of Logistics and Apparel. 

She retired from Gallaudet University in 2013.  Currently, she is the American School for the Deaf Alumni Association (ASDAA) President, a position she held since 2017.  Sandy loves traveling, hiking, biking and having a good time.

TIFFANY S. WILLIAMS '89

Tiffany S. Williams is the founder of JUKA, a consultant firm specializing in finding your inner authentic self. Services include deep thought-provoking workshops/retreats, one on one coaching and mentoring programs. (www.explorejuka.com) 

Tiffany also is the co-founder of Inner Alignment Leadership (IAL) a Conscious Business Consulting and training firm specializing in conscious leadership. Tiffany also offers Executive Leadership Strategic Coaching. (www.inneralignmentleadership.com)

Tiffany graduated from Gallaudet University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, as a student, she competed for the Cross Country and Track & Field teams. She also competed in the 1985 Deaflympics as a Track & Field athlete where she won gold in the 4x400 meter relay and also participated in the heptathlon. Williams then became the head coach of the Gallaudet Track & Field team for one season.  

Tiffany has over 20 years' experience as a sports administrator nationally and globally. She oversaw three Deaflympics and many World Championships during her tenure as CEO of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), the highest governing body of Deaf sports.

Tiffany worked as an intern for the Olympic Games Department at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) assisting in preparations for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Tiffany earned a Masters of Advance Studies in Sports Administration and Technology degree from the International Academy of Sport Science and Technology at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. She has conducted leadership, empowerment, and gender equity seminars for Deaf women in sport. She is passionate in her work in the area of empowering women to reach their utmost potential. Tiffany was the director of the Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services (ADWAS), located in Seattle, Washington. The agency is the first in the nation to serve deaf and deaf-blind women and children experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault. 

Tiffany served on the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees from 2008-2018, also served on the USA Deaf Sports Federation board from 2017-2021. She also served as a board member for USA Deaf Track and Field from 1998-2002. During the 2014-17 Deaflympic Quad, she served as a special consultant for Deaflympics and also served on the ICSD Legal commission team, Audiology Commission team and the anti-doping commission team. Tiffany is currently on the ICSD Ethics Commission team focusing on issues around sexual abuse and harassment in Deaf Sports. Tiffany loves going camping, hiking and backpacking with her partner, Wayne and spending time with her family.

MODERATOR

REZA MOSHER

Reza Mosher is from Danville, Calif., in the Bay Area and is currently in her second year as a student-athlete at Gallaudet University. She competes for the women's soccer team as a midfielder. She is passionate about soccer and has been playing the sport her entire life.

Here at Gallaudet, Reza is majoring in International Studies with a minor in American Sign Language. She works at the Student Success Office as a Peer Academic and Career Advisor. She is also a representative for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Not only an athlete, Reza also excels in the classroom as a honors student, she has been selected for the Dean's List every semester since she enrolled at Gallaudet.