Leadership
Meet our co-founders:
Charles Richardson
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As a USRowing Level 3 Certified coach Charles's coaching experience spans 13 years with local clubs including North Suburban Crew, Lincoln Park Boat Club, Chicago Training Center, and New Trier High School. In the 10-plus years at New Trier, Charles has coached his boats to become Midwest Regional Champions in multiple categories with many of them medaling at national-level championships. Charles is a graduate of Northeastern University where he earned a B.S. in Computer Science. After rowing in High school,as an alternative to the standard football and basketball that his peers chose, he did not row in college. He reunited with the sport in 2002 with Community Rowing, Inc (CRI) in Boston, MA. While at CRI, he competed and medaled multiple times at US Rowing Master's Nationals and eventually competed in the prestigious Head of the Charles with the MIT Sloan Master's Club. He continued his rowing career in Chicago competing with Lincoln Park Boat Club where he continued his medal collection at local & national regattas. Charles is also a member of the Black Coaches and Rowers Association which was formed to increase access, participation, and inclusion of black people within the sport of rowing on all levels. He is excited to bring rowing to local minority communities on his own turf with NCCR.
Hope Poor
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Hope comes to NCCR with over 20 years coaching experience at the high school level and is a US Rowing Level 3 Certified Coach. She has won 7 National Championships with her freshman girls team and loves introducing the joys and rigors of the sport to new rowers. The confidence and camaraderie that rowing inspires spills over into every part of an athlete's life.
Hope is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where she was selected to try out for the first Women’s Olympic Rowing Team. She also holds an MBA from Emory University. After raising four daughters, Hope enjoys feeling young by coaching teenagers! She is excited to be a founding director of NCCR.
Michael Wyman
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Michael comes to NCCR with over ten years of coaching experience at the high school level. He rowed both in high school and college and is a USRowing Level 3 certified coach. He has contributed to winning four national championships with his novice boys high school rowing team, but is most proud of helping his rowers become outstanding students, good community citizens and setting them up for success in college and beyond.
Michael is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and also earned his MBA at Dartmouth College. He has worked with young children for over 25 years through previous volunteer work with Junior Achievement, Special Olympics, Big Brothers Big Sisters and his church. Michael brings previous experience in fundraising, recruitment and program development to NCCR, and is excited about bringing its mission to fruition.
Sandy Culver
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Sandy has over 20 years of experience coaching all ages and levels of rowers, from New Trier High School to Northwestern University and Lincoln Park Boat Club. She has coached dozens of crews to regional and national championships. Sandy also teaches youth, teen, and adult indoor rowing and fitness classes through the Glencoe Park District. Sandy is a US Rowing Level 3 certified rowing coach and National Academy of Sports Medicine CPT, CES, and GPTS.
Starting at Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL, Sandy's rowing career has spanned 30 years and includes winning national championships, top finishes at international regattas, and competing in U.S. Olympic Trials. Sandy is excited to concentrate her enthusiasm for helping kids find their athletic potential at NCCR.
Board of Directors
Ashuma Ahluwalia, President
Alexander Bowlby
Chadwick Cunningham
Shawntay Cunningham
Charles E. Glew, Jr., Treasurer
Luciana Ruiz
Kim Sagami, Secretary
Julia K. Sagraves
Hope S. Poor
Staff
Sandra K. Culver, Co-Executive Director
Michael B. Wyman, Co-Executive Director
NCCR is a SafeSport Community
NCCR is committed to creating and supporting an environment free from misconduct. The physical and emotional well-being of all participants is fundamental to our mission, and misconduct of any type will not be tolerated.
As a member organization of USRowing, NCCR is aligned with the policies and best practices of our national governing body, which includes compliance with SafeSport. In response to reports of sexual misconduct within the US Olympic and Paralympic Movement, the US Congress passed legislation in 2017 to establish the US Center for SafeSport, which promulgates safeguarding policies and training programs for all sports included in the Olympics and Paralympics.