Bruce Mitchell has been involved with USA Climbing since 2006. During this time Bruce has served as Chief Judge for many championship events for both adult and youth. Bruce has also served as the Jury President and IFSC Judge for multiple Continental adult and youth championship events. Bruce joined the Board of Directors in 2014 and has served as Vice President since 2017. Prior to joining the Board, he served as the Chair of the then Appeals now Judicial Committee since 2011. Prior to USA Climbing Bruce was the President of the Argyle Education Foundation which is a 501(c)(3) that raises funds for his local school district. Bruce lives in Argyle, Texas with his wife Kim where they raised their daughter Tayler and son Brendan.Tayler aged out of youth climbing in 2011 and Brendan in 2017. Both Tayler and Brendan still enjoy climbing for fun. When not volunteering for USA Climbing, Bruce owns an IT Networking and Security firm, Resilient Intelligent Networks, LLC.For fun, Bruce enjoys golf, playing guitar, woodworking and travel

Current term ends: 8/31/22

Avery Cook has been a director on the Board since 2015. She began her involvement with USA Climbing in 2006 as a youth team coach in the then-named Pacific Northwest Region. She continues to be a Regional Coordinator in Region 12 where she also coached climbing at the Multnomah Athletic Club for 10 years.  Professionally, she works at Nike, Inc. in Global Manufacturing and Sourcing, focusing on material supply chain process development. Avery and her son are a Choice Mom family and live in Portland, Oregon; they enjoy living in the city and adventuring in Oregon’s varied outdoor landscapes. Avery continues to climb recreationally, and her son is aspiring to a spot on the climbing team.

Current term ends: 6/30/23 

Matt Roberts has been Treasurer of the Board of Directors since 2014. Matt is the owner of The Kernmantle Group, LLC, which provides risk management research and training to the agriculture industry and is the President of 5.Life, a collection of rock climbing gyms in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Matt and his wife, Mardi, live in Worthington, OH and have four children and one grandchild. Three of his children were competitive climbers. In their spare time, Matt & Mardi enjoy traveling to climb moderate multi-pitch trad, mountain biking, and spirited debate. Matt received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from William Jewell College and a Ph.D. in Economics from North Carolina State

Current term ends: 8/31/22

Maureen Beck was born without her left hand but that didn’t stop her from picking up the sport of climbing at the age of 12. Now based in Colorado’s Front Range, Mo spends her nights training at the gym and her days climbing all over the American southwest. She works closely with the adaptive climbing community as an instructor with Paradox Sports and is the Chair of the USAC Paraclimbing Committee.

As a competitive climber, she has won 6 national titles, a gold medal at the 2014 Paraclimbing World Championships in Spain and defended that title with a gold medal at the 2016 World Championships in Paris. In 2018, she went on her first alpine expedition to the Northwest Territories in Canada’s Nahanni National Park where she and fellow adaptive climber Jim Ewing attempted the legendary Lotus Flower Tower.  Maureen starred in the 2017 Film “Stumped” which has won numerous awards and toured hundreds of cities all over the world, and in the 2019 film ‘Adaptive’. Mo is an athlete for The North Face, Petzl, Sterling Rope, TRUBLUE Climbing, Gnarly Nutrition and Scarpa. In addition to climbing, Mo loves gardening, her chickens and dogs, sleeping in cars, and fine Scotch whiskey.

Current term ends: 1/13/25

John has been involved with USA Climbing since 2008, shortly after he started climbing with Team Texas at the age of ten. Since then, Brosler has discovered a passion for competing in each discipline, and has found success as a speed climber in competitions at the national and international level. Drawing from his experiences as a coach, volunteer, and competitor at every level from Youth Regionals to the World Championships, John realizes that the experiences athletes have in USA Climbing have a huge impact on their lives, and that they deserve effective representation from himself and the other athlete representatives on the Board of Directors. Additionally, John is a member of the USOPC Athletes’ Advisory Council, where he serves as the representative for Sport Climbing. He lives in Salt Lake City, where he continues to train for upcoming competitions and study kinesiology at the University of Utah.

Kyra discovered the sport of climbing at a birthday party in 2009 at her local climbing gym in Minnesota. A natural climber since the day she climbed out of her crib (at one year old!), Kyra was instantly hooked and joined the gym’s youth team.

Kyra made Youth Bouldering Nationals her first year competing. But the next year back pain became a major distraction at practice. She consulted a doctor, only to find that she had a 53-degree curve in her spine—idiopathic, adolescent scoliosis. Not willing to let this dampen her climbing dreams, her family sought out a surgeon who supported Kyra’s climbing. To allow some amount of mobility in her back, Kyra and her surgeon decided on fusing 10 vertebrae together, T2-T12, correcting most of her curvature. Kyra believes the surgery was a blessing in disguise and reignited her desire to train and compete. It was only 2 years later that she became Youth National champion and went on to win 4 more youth national titles.

The Olympics were always a dream of Kyra’s, who grew up watching every Olympics with her mom. In 2016 when climbing was officially included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, suddenly her dream turned into a potential reality. Kyra switched her training and focused on qualifying for the 2020 Games. In 2019, Kyra came in 7th place at the IFSC Combined Qualifier in Toulouse, France, officially earning her invitation to the Tokyo Olympics. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Kyra eventually plans to go to vet school after she retires from professional climbing. She’s currently a member of the USA Climbing Board of Directors, the USA Climbing Athlete Advisory Committee, the IFSC Athlete commission, the IFSC Pan-American Athlete Commission, the USA Climbing DEI Task Force, and the Team USA Community Ambassadors.

She’s passionate about using her social media platform and position as an Olympic athlete to advocate for athletes and the inclusivity of sport. As public figures and role models she believes that athletes share a unique position that makes their voices incredibly important in the fight for social justice and the progression of sport as a whole.

Kate Felsen Di Pietro is President of Up Up Communications LLC, with clients focused on transforming education and supporting healthy youth development. In March 2020,Kate, her husband, and their two children, co-founded Feed the Frontlines NYC, which nourishes frontline workers and people experiencing food insecurity while keeping local restaurants alive and their hardworking staff on the job. Kate had a distinguished career at ABC News. As Foreign Editor for the flagship evening news broadcast, she covered breaking and feature stories around the globe, winning 11 Emmy Awards. Kate earned an M.A. in American foreign policy and international economics from Johns Hopkins and a B.A., magna cum laude in history and literature from Harvard. She garnered first-team All-American and Ivy League “Player of the Year” honors in lacrosse, captained the field hockey team and enjoys coaching a club lacrosse team for middle school girls in New York City.

When Jesse was six, his sister started taking recreational climbing lessons at their local gym. He was dragged along with her and couldn’t contain his excitement sitting on a couch. He started climbing on a weekly basis, but his coaches still had trouble containing Jesse’s boundless energy. He eventually moved up to the Senior team (at age nine) and started competing in climbing events fairly regularly on the local, national and international stage.

Jesse says USA Climbing is how he’s met and maintained many of his closest friends. It’s helped build his character as a dedicated, passionate, and community-oriented person. He is so excited to be an athlete on The Board of Directors and help give back to a community that has really helped shape who he is today.

Current term ends: 9/14/22

Trace Harris joined the board of USA Climbing in 2021.  She is a finance and strategy executive with experience in media, education and technology.  She is an experienced board member across public, private and non-profit organizations, including board service for the public technology company Altair as well as for the video game developer Bungie, creator of Halo and Destiny.  Trace was previously the senior finance and strategy executive in the US for the media company Vivendi, where she was involved with its US businesses, including NBC Universal and Universal Music Group. Trace is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale School of Management.  She lives in New York with her husband and excitable dog, Thor.  She enjoys running and biking, and she climbs casually with her college-age son.

Current term ends: 1/13/25

Connie Lightner is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship at Fayetteville State University (FSU). She has received numerous teaching awards (university and statewide) and published her research in many reputable journals during her time at FSU. She earned her B.S. from Norfolk State University in Applied Mathematics (1994), and her MSc (1997) and Ph.D. (2000) from North Carolina State University in Operations Research-Industrial Engineering.

As the mother of an elite climber, Kai Lightner, Connie Lightner played an instrumental role in guiding her son’s success domestically and internationally; she possesses a unique understanding of the opportunities and challenges presented to climbing families. Prior to joining the Board, Lightner served on the USA Climbing Strategic Planning Working Group, which developed the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan, and is a member of the USA Climbing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force.

Current term ends: 8/31/24

Joel Litvin served as President, League Operations of the National Basketball Association before stepping down in 2015 after 27 years with the league. He also served as the NBA’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Joel is the co-founder of the Animal Defense Partnership, a 501(c)(3) that provides free legal services to animal protection groups. He also serves as a consultant to a number of sports properties and is an Adjunct Professor in the Masters of Sports Management degree program at Columbia University. In addition, Joel serves on the boards of Madison Square Garden Networks, Hunger Free America, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Current term ends: 1/31/21

Meagan Martin is a professional rock climber, ESPN commentator, Athleta model, star of American Ninja Warrior, and a former Division I Pole Vaulter at Vanderbilt University who currently lives in Sacramento, CA. It was by chance that Meagan found climbing, growing up in Lake Mary, Florida, back in 2001. Meagan started out in the JCCA, which later would become what USA Climbing is today. Meagan competed for four years Nationally and Internationally before taking a seven-year hiatus from climbing to focus on Pole Vaulting. Upon her return to climbing, she jumped right back into the competition scene and traveled all around the world from 2012-2018 competing at USA Climbing and IFSC competitions. In the last two years, Meagan began to shift her focus into the broadcasting realm and is the color commentator for all ESPN and USA Climbing events. As an elite athlete and a former USA Climbing certified coach, Meagan has made it a priority to be a good role model for the youth. She believes that athletics has played a considerable role in shaping her into the person she is today and wants to share her knowledge with everyone she can. Climbing has forever changed her life, and she hopes that so many other people get the chance to experience what it is that is so special about this sport. Meagan is also a member of the USA Climbing DEI Task Force and is excited to bring her unique experiences within USA Climbing as an athlete, coach, and commentator to the USA Climbing Board.

Current term ends: 1/13/25

Jason Pill is a longtime climber and a partner with the law firm of Phelps Dunbar, LLP.  He practices in the area of employment law and helps employers deal with a spectrum of workplace issues, including employment counseling, policy development, and risk assessment, and he also represents employer clients in state and federal court when litigation becomes unavoidable.  Jason is a frequent speaker and author on numerous employment law issues.  Jason earned his B.A. from the University of Florida (Economics) and his J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.  Before embarking on a legal career, Jason managed a climbing gym in Central Florida.  Jason and his wife live in Tampa, Florida, along with their very rambunctious golden retriever.

Brett D. Rogers is General Counsel of Brown Advisory, a global investment and strategic advisory firm. In this role, he leads the groups responsible for management of legal matters, regulatory compliance, code of conduct and ethics oversight, internal audit, risk management, board governance, and corporate secretarial functions. Brett serves on the boards of several corporate entities and non-profit organizations, including Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School. Brett graduated from Georgetown University, earned his MBA from the University of Maryland R.H. Smith School of Business, and his law degree from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Brett and his wife Vicky live in Baltimore with their two daughters, one of whom is a competitive climber.

Current term ends: 7/14/23

Dustin Skinner began volunteering for USA Climbing in 2009 and became a member of the Board of Directors in 2015. Dustin has served as a Regional Coordinator, Divisional Coordinator, is the current Chair of the Judges Committee and a National Chief Judge. He lives in Ankeny, Iowa with his wife Sherri, son Cole, and daughter Teagan. Dustin became interested in competition climbing when Cole started competing as a youth competitor, and although Cole has now aged out of youth competition and only climbs for fun, Dustin remains very committed to volunteering for USA Climbing. When he is not volunteering for USA Climbing, Dustin works one day a week at Ankeny Dental Center, P.C. as a dental hygienist and then spends the remainder of his workweek running his own remodeling business. His business, One Perfectionist LLC, specializes in high-quality updates to existing living spaces. Outside of work and volunteering, Dustin enjoys family trips to Colorado for hiking, climbing, biking, skiing, and relaxing in the beauty of the mountains.