Paralympic Advisory Council
On March 15, 2011, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee's board of directors created a Paralympic Advisory Council (PAC) to advise the board and management on enhancing Paralympic programming and resources. The PAC, chaired by Brad Snyder currently consists of 10 members, all of whom help provide vision and leadership to help develop and implement the USOPC’s long-term Paralympic strategic plan.
Current Members#
Brad Snyder is a two-time Paralympian and seven-time medalist, with five gold and two silver medals in swimming. The St. Petersburg, Florida native attended the United States Naval Academy, where he earned his B.S. in Naval Architecture and captained the swim team for two years before serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He began his professional career as an ensign before earning the assignment of an explosive ordnance disposal officer. While on his second deployment in Afghanistan, Snyder stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) that left him completely blind. He returned to the pool during rehabilitation and a year to the date of his accident, won gold at the Paralympic Games London 2012. He competed in seven events, earning two gold medals and one silver. Four years later, he won four more medals – three gold and one silver – at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2013, Snyder medically retired from naval service. He continues to be active in the military community as a board member for the Navy Special Operations Foundation which assists service-members and their families. Additionally, he teaches two undergraduate courses in leadership and ethics at the U.S. Naval Academy and formerly worked as a Special Veteran Adviser for the COMMIT Foundation, a non-profit organization assisting veterans in transition.
As a member of the senior leadership team at Lakeshore Foundation, Ms. Allred is responsible for the development, implementation and management of the programs of physical activity as well as the membership programs which annually serve thousands of individuals with physical disabilities and chronic health conditions across the lifespan. Allred is also responsible for overseeing all U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Site activities as well as the Foundation’s work as the governing body for the sport of wheelchair rugby since 2003. Most recently, Lakeshore has applied to also serve as the governing body for the sport of boccia.
A 1994 graduate of the University of Dayton with a B.A. in Communications, Ms. Allred returned to her hometown of Baltimore to work for the Mayor’s Office of Special Events and later served as a marketing manager for the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Allred moved to Alabama in 2000 and has been with Lakeshore ever since. In her 22-year tenure she has also worked in the fields of development, special events and communications for the organization. Allred has been honored to serve as a press officer for Team USA at the London 2012, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games as well as the Toronto and Lima Parapan American Games.
Allred is the parent of twin daughters both of whom are current Division II collegiate athletes (pole vault and golf) at Spring Hill College in Mobile. She and her husband Jerry, an alternate for the Seoul Paralympic Track and Field team, live in Hoover, Alabama.
Cheri Blauwet was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and began serving as an independent director in January 2017. She is also a member of the Paralympic Advisory Council.
A three-time Paralympian in track and field, and accomplished medical doctor, Blauwet chairs the International Paralympic Committee Medical Committee, serves as a member of the International Olympic Committee Medical and Scientific Expert Group, and until September 2016, served as treasurer on the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency board of directors.
A seven-time Paralympic medalist, Blauwet joined the USOPC board of directors after leading the IPC Medical Committee at the Paralympic Games Rio 2016. With a degree from Stanford Medical School, she maintains an active sports medicine practice at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, while also serving as an instructor in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. She has previously published on the power of sport to promote both well-being and disability rights for individuals with mobility impairment.
She is also a four-time winner of the Los Angeles Marathon and a two-time winner of both the Boston and New York City marathons. Blauwet has been nominated for the ESPY Award, the Laureus World Sports Award, and Women’s Sports Foundation Athlete of the Year, and was one of three recipients of the 2003 Paul G. Hearne American Association of People with Disabilities Leadership Awards.
Blauwet currently resides in Boston with her husband Eli and daughter Stella.
Jessica Cloy, née Galli, was injured in a car accident in September 1991 and became involved in Paralympic sports shortly after through the Children's Specialized Hospital in New Jersey. In 1998 at the age of 14, she competed in her first international event at the International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships in Birmingham, England.
Cloy attended her first Paralympic Games in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. After winning a silver medal at the Paralympic Games Sydney 2000 in the women’s 800-meters (T53) and finishing fourth at the Paralympic Games Athens 2004, Cloy won an incredible five medals in Beijing, including one gold medal, three silver medals and one bronze medal. Cloy's medal haul was top among the entire 2008 U.S. Paralympic Track & Field Team. Cloy most recently competed in the Paralympic Games London 2012, where she came home with the bronze medal in the 800m.
She is a former world record holder for the T53 200m, 400m and 800m.
Cloy graduated from the University of Illinois in 2006 with a degree in kinesiology. In 2010, she graduated with a master's degree in community health - health policy and administration. She most recently worked for General Electric as the initiative coordinator for Developing HealthTM Atlanta, a program under the General Electric Foundation.
Cloy and her husband, Gavin, are the proud parents of two girls, Addison and Raegan. Cloy currently works as a full-time mom while also volunteering as a coach with the BlazeSports American track and field team.
A seven-time Paralympic medalist, Davis has been a part of the Paralympic Movement for 20 years as an athlete, ambassador, volunteer, and active member of several committees. A top U.S. skiing prospect in the late 1980s, Davis was involved in a near-fatal downhill training accident in 1989 that caused her to be paralyzed from the mid-chest down. After graduating from Stanford University in 1995, the Sun Valley, Idaho, native returned to skiing, medaling at the Paralympic Winter Games in 1998 in Nagano and 2002 in Salt Lake City. She later added cycling to her resume and successfully won three gold medals at the Paralympic Games London 2012.
As a long-time advocate for disability rights and champion for the Paralympic Movement, Davis currently serves on the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Paralympic Advisory Council, IOC Legacy and Sustainability Commission, LA2028 Executive Committee, UCI Para-cycling Commission, and the Sun Valley Adaptive Sports/Higher Ground SV Board of Directors as an honorary member. She was also inducted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame.
Davis is also an accomplished adventurer and world traveler. In 2002, she became the first female paraplegic mountaineer to summit a peak over 14,000 feet when she successfully climbed California’s Mt. Shasta. Since then, she has successfully climbed Colorado’s Pikes Peak twice.
She currently lives in Hailey, Idaho with her husband Jeff and daughter Elle.
Julia is originally from the United Kingdom, which is where she trained and worked in a variety of sports industries including the development of inclusive sports for people with disabilities.
In 2003, Julia joined Move United, (formerly Disabled Sports USA) in the Washington area. During her tenure she has been instrumental in getting thousands of individuals with disabilities, including youth and wounded warriors involved in adaptive sports. She led the establishment of Move United’s Warfighter program which has served more than 15,000 disabled Veterans. It is her personal and professional mission to be an ally for people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to participate in sports and recreation.
Today, Julia oversees Move United programs, including Military and Veteran programming, training and education, youth programs and events. She also serves as Move United’s representative for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Affiliated Organization Council (AOC) and Youth Sports Working Group. She is a certified gymnastics coach, SCUBA diver and collectively has over 20 years’ experience in the development and expansion of sports programs for people with disabilities. Julia received a B.S. (HONS) in Sports Administration and Management from Nottingham Trent University. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and two daughters.
Steve Raymond joined the Paralympic Advisory Council in April 2019. Raymond is currently the Vice President of Accessibility at Charter Communications where he leads the accessibility team to ensure that all products consider the full range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture, gender, age and other forms of human difference. Raymond is responsible for driving, launching and refining accessibility and universal design within Charter's products, features and services. Raymond is also Board Chairperson of Adaptive Spirit. For the past 24 years, Adaptive Spirit has been one of the major sources of funding for the U.S. Paralympics ski and snowboard teams. Raymond is currently VP of Client Solutions for Gracenote, a Nielsen Company. Gracenote helps connect people to the music, TV, movies and sports they love across the worlds's most popular entertainment platforms. Before that Raymond was Senior Vice-president for Vubiquity, a leading provider of global media technology. Raymond also served as Vice President, Affiliate Relations, for AT&T Sports Networks in Denver where he was responsible for developing and implementing affiliate marketing strategies, promotions, negotiating affiliation agreements and all aspects of distribution for the regional sports networks based in Seattle, Denver, Houston and Pittsburgh. Previously, Raymond spent 25 years in affiliate sales at the Walt Disney Company with his most recent title as SVP, National Accounts for Disney and ESPN Networks.
Raymond has won numerous awards for his volunteer work in the adaptive skiing arena such as the CTAM Chairman's Award and ESPN Volunteer of the Year in 2003. He also helped Adaptive Spirit in winning the “Top of Hill” award in 2017 from the Colorado Snow Sports Hall of Fame. He served on the board of directors for the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park, Colorado and was named "Chef de Mission" for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. In addition to the Paralympic Advisory Council, Raymond serves on the Paralympic working group and Paralympic Strategic Task Force for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation and will be inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame to recognize his work in adaptive skiing.
As Chief External Affairs Officer for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Michelle Schwartz leads the organization’s external engagement efforts with key stakeholders, overseeing government and community relations, impact and communications.
Schwartz joined LA28 from Los Angeles World Airports, which owns and operates Los Angeles International (LAX) and Van Nuys general aviation airports. There, she served as Chief Corporate Strategy and Affairs Officer, managing policy development, stakeholder communications, social responsibility, guest experience and innovation.
Previously, Schwartz served as Chief of Staff of the Federal Aviation Administration, Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Senior Director of Government Affairs for Charter Communications and Deputy Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer.
A former litigation attorney, Schwartz received her J.D. from Yale Law School and her bachelor’s degree from Duke University.
Birthplace: Lakeville
Hometown: Lakeville, Minnesota
Home Club: Minnesota Table Tennis Federation
College: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (2023)
Major: BS in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management
Style of Play: Left Handed, Shakehand
Favorite Athlete: Tim Duncan
Notable Results:
Current Ranking: 8th
2021 U.S. Open Para 6-10 Group 1 Gold Medalist
2021 U.S. Open Para 6 P/O Gold Medalist
2021 U.S. Open Para 6-8 Gold Medalist
2020 Paralympic Games - Gold Medalist
2019 Para Pan-American Games Champion Men's Singles Class 6 & Silver Medalist Men's Team 6-8
2018 Para World Championships Quarterfinalist Men's Singles Class 6
2017 Para Pan-American Championships Silver Medalist Men's Singles Class 6
2017 Bayreuth Open Champion Men's Singles Class 6 & Silver Medalist Men's Team Class 6
Class and Disability: Class 6; Psuedoachondroplasia dwarfism
Matt is the son of Hal and Linda Simpson…Works as an associate at Sidley & Austin LLP…Born with a congenital retina disease that left him with severely impaired vision from an early age…Became active in sports and found goalball at a U.S. Association of Blind Athletes Sports Education Camp in 1999…Hobbies include skiing, hiking, climbing and triathlons.
Paralympic Athlete Support Working Group Update (7/12/2022) #
In September 2021, the Paralympic Athlete Support Working Group (PASWG) was commissioned to explore and propose improvements to addressing and supporting Paralympic athletes’ needs for accessibility accommodation at the Paralympic Games. After an intense examination and survey-based assessment over the course of ninemonths, the PASWG has shared their findings and recommended action items to be taken to empower athletes’ well-being and sustained competitive excellence. View the full report.