USA Swimming Monday announced that Katie Meili and Kathy Fish have been elected to the organization’s Board of Directors at its first virtual convention.
Fish is an at-large director on the 15-member board. Meili is an athlete representative, replacing Davis Tarwater in that role. Both will serve four-year terms. Fish steps into a role vacated by Tom Ugast.
Meili, a native of Carrollton, Texas, won gold at the Rio Olympics in the medley relay and bronze in the women’s 100 meter breaststroke. She has four gold and seven totals medals at World Championships (long and short-course) and three Pan Am Games medals (two gold), part of a six-year professional career. The 29-year-old Columbia University graduate earned her law degree from Georgetown in 2020 and will join the corporate litigation team at Washington firm Jones Day this fall.
“Since the introduction of our governance changes in 2018, we continue to welcome incredibly talented people to our board of directors who will help further steer the organization to greater heights,” USA Swimming Board of Directors Chair Bob Vincent said in a press release. “Together, Kathy and Katie embody years of experience, from every level within our sport, and will add important voices and perspectives to board discussions and decision-making.”
Fish is the Chief Research, Development and Innovation Officer at Proctor & Gamble, running a program with a $2 billion budget. She swam as an undergrad at Michigan State and has been involved in the sport for 50 years as a competitor, age-group coach, parent, the board president of the Cincinnati Marlins and as the chair of A Matter of 50 Meters, a fundraising campaign for the Mason Manta Rays in Mason, Ohio.
“As a strategic board, our responsibility is to help guide and support the USA Swimming staff in their endeavors to lead within the Olympic Movement,” USA Swimming Board of Directors Vice Chair and Chair-Elect Chris Brearton said. “With the election of Katie and Kathy, we continue to build upon a board comprised of dedicated stewards, each with a combination of strong strategic acumen and solid swimming roots. I am confident they will both be invaluable resources to USA Swimming and all of our athletes.”
USA Swimming also released its 2020 Board of Director member awards:
- Robert Broyles (2009-2018) – Western Zone Director (2009-2013) and Vice Chair, Administration (2014-2018)
- John Bradley (2015-2019) – Zone Director
- John Roy (2014-2019) – Zone Director
- Mary Turner (2015-2019) – Zone Director
- Dale Ammon (2017-2019) – Zone Director
- Tom Ugast (2018-2020) – Vice Chair, Fiscal Oversight
- Davis Tarwater (2017-2020) – Athlete Representative (2017-2020), Vice Chair (2019-2020)
Hopefully they will be able to help bail out USA SWIMMING from being sucked in to the political swamp created by Bates, Fauci, et.,al.