"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."
-MICHAEL JORDAN, NBA HALL OF FAME BASKETBALL PLAYER
ALICIA MARINELLI | FOUNDER & CEO
Alicia Marinelli is a sport business professional that has worked in multiple marketing & sales capacities in the sport & entertainment industry including positions with Madison Square Garden, New York Knicks, Olympic/Professional Cycling organizations, and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Triple-A Affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Early in her career she realized the passion she had for helping young professionals succeed in the sport industry, a business that is difficult to break into.
Resulting in following that passion to help others, Marinelli created and revamped internship programs at five different sport organizations. The goal was to enable young professionals to receive meaningful and educational sport business experiences that would serve as a springboard for future opportunity.
In 2011, Marinelli's sport industry success was featured as part of East Stroudsburg University's nation-wide marketing campaign. In 2012, Marinelli innovatively created one of the first high school sports internship programs while she was working at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. This program gave high school students studying sport management the chance to experiment working at the ballpark prior to attending college. In the same year, Marinelli created the first annual iRUNpigs 5K at Coca-Cola Park. To-date the event has raised over $60,000 for IronPigs Charities, the team's nonprofit organization that provides educational and recreational opportunities for Lehigh Valley youth. In 2014, she was elected as President of Kutztown University's Sport Management Advisory Board, advising faculty and staff on the current trends in the industry and helping students secure employment in the field. In 2017, she joined the Pennsylvania Sport Business Conference serving as a Judge for the Annual Case Competition, a showdown between groups of students from area colleges studying sport management. In that same year, Marinelli joined the Alumni Advisory Board at her alma matter, East Stroudsburg University. In 2019, she was elected to the Board of Commissioners for the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA).
With Living Sport Marinelli has introduced the International Sport Business Program, a reimagined sport study abroad program, using sport as a catalyst to experience the world and to inspire personal and professional growth.
Currently, a number of Living Sport alumni have gone on to work in sports and have found success in professional, collegiate, recreational, and nonprofit sport organizations. As each year passes, she plans for those numbers to continue to rise.
Marinelli received her Master's Degree in Sport Management from East Stroudsburg University where she graduated with honors. She was a dual major at Misericordia University obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in both Marketing and Sport Management. She was one of the first female Sport Management graduates at Misericordia.
CONNOR HERLIHY | DIRECTOR, DIGITAL MEDIA
Connor Herlihy joins the Living Sport team after attending the inaugural Living Sport Program in Barcelona, Spain in 2017. He credits Living Sport for realizing his potential and taking action to work internationally in sport.
Most recently, Herlihy served as Media Manager for the Junior Golf Tour of Asia in the Asia-Pacific Region. During his 3 years with the JGTA, Herlihy worked in over 10 countries including China, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia.
He got his start in the industry with an operation internship with the American Junior Golf Association. This was Herlihy’s first taste of traveling and helped lead tournaments around the country including the Thunderbird International Junior Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona and the Hunter Mahan Junior Champion in Dallas, Texas.
As the Director, Digital Media of Living Sport, he oversees and produces all media initiatives, including program videos, photography, graphics, and the Living Sport Podcast. He is most looking forward to working closely with the amazing Living Sport alumni while collaborating on new and exciting content.
In addition to attending the Barcelona 2017 program, Herlihy attended the Living Sport Nashville 2020 program as a Junior Mentor where he led the program’s media team, all while providing program participants with essential industry tips and advice.
Herlihy lives a non-traditional creative life, documenting Living Sport and the world around him, all while fulfilling his passion for helping others reach their goals both personally and professionally.
Herlihy graduated from Kutztown University with a degree in Sport Management. He is dually based near his childhood home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and in Udon Thani, Thailand.
NICOLE MCKILLOP | DIGITAL MEDIA ASSISTANT
Nicole’s passion for sport has been a part of her for as long as she can remember, going to her older brother and her cousin’s football games since she was born. Both of her cousins attended the University of Pittsburgh and later went on to play in the NFL, which is where her love for sports originated. She is a Pennsylvania girl born and raised, and Pittsburgh is where most of her family hails from, so she is a lover of all teams and all things Pittsburgh!
Nicole then went down to East Carolina University where she studied Public Relations and earned her bachelor’s degree in 3.5 years as a part of the School of Communication’s Accelerated master’s program. She is currently finishing her master’s degree at East Carolina University in Strategic Communication where she will graduate this December.
Throughout her studies, Nicole found her love for travel and always found a way to incorporate it into her studies. Throughout her time in university, she has studied abroad in Italy and Poland, and then went on to join Living Sport in London ’23, where she truly found the best of both worlds in traveling and living through sport while working the Royal Windsor Triathlon.
Through her experiences, Nicole has been able to build her skill sets, network, and her confidence is doing what she loves and becoming better at it each day. Her favorites aspect of working through sport is the community is providing for people. Through travel and sport, she has been able to form lasting connections with people and bonding with people who share her energy and passion for sport, and Living Sport gave her exactly that.
Nicole’s future goals are to continue to mesh her passions of travel, sport, and connecting with others. She hopes to one day work in a creative media role or community relations role where she will get to be a part of a team of fellow dedicated, warmhearted professionals where she can continue to be a lifelong learner and work in what she loves.
CANDICE HATCH | DIGITAL MEDIA ASSISTANT
Candice Hatch is a recent graduate of East Tennessee State University originally from Nashville, TN. She received both a Bachelors in Sport Management and a Bachelors in Media and Communication with a minor in Business. Throughout her college years, she spent a majority of the time working for ETSU’s football team as a student manager and media intern. Candice travelled with the team to all games, kept practices running smooth, and designed graphics for their social medias and recruiting days. Being a part of the Buccaneers is where Candice found her passion for sports media.
This passion led to Candice starting an internship with The Sporting News as a digital media intern, and later became their Digital Media Specialist. While here, she created a wide range of graphics for all major sports teams, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, etc. for TSN’s social media’s and website. This opportunity taught Candice a lot about communication in the sports world and helped push her outside of the box.
Pushing her outside of the box was just what Candice needed to apply for Living Sport’s Phoenix program. While at the time it was a spur of the moment decision, Candice cannot thank Living Sport enough for the opportunity pursued at the Super Bowl LVII. During the program, she experienced first hand what it was like to run a major event to ensure the fans had the best experience. She was also a leader of the Phoenix Digital Media Team.
Candice will be pursuing her masters degree in Sport Management at Florida State University come Fall of 2023. She hopes to be a part of FSU’s football team doing what she loves best!
Living Sport Advisory Board:
Board Chair:
Shane Baglini | Senior Director of Marketing and Recruitment @ Muhlenberg College
Board Members:
Murvin English | Entrepreneur @ Form Follows Function (3F Training)
Alexa Fuentes | Manager, Brand Alliances @ Major League Soccer
Lindsey Knupp | Vice President, Marketing, Promotion & Entertainment @ Rocket City Trash Pandas
Arka Majumdar | Sales & Management @ Nacsport
Ben Muell | Sports Marketing Consultant
Kristin Scheitrum | Senior Market Manager @ Cycle for Survival
Stephanie Rocco | Director, Client Success @ Satisfi Labs
Timothy Seidler | Director of Business Operations @ Philadelphia Union II
Tyler Simms | Head Men's Basketball Coach @ Clark University
Panos Sinopoulos | International Event Consultant
Ashley Yencho | Assistant Athletic Director of Marketing @ University of Richmond
Matt Zidik | Art Director @ Ross Video