Brown Named Assistant AD for Career Enhancement and Employer Relations
5/12/2021 3:48:00 PM | General, David G. Kabiller NU for Life Program
EVANSTON, Ill. - Amanda Brown has been elevated to Assistant Athletic Director for Career Enhancement and Employer Relations and will have direct oversight of the David G. Kabiller NU for Life program.
In her new role, Brown will lead the transformative Kabiller NU for Life Program, now in its ninth year, in leveraging alumni connections and employer relationships to advance student-athlete's professional aspirations. Her efforts will be focused on providing strategic planning, relationship management and program evaluation as well as guiding new and existing student-athlete specific programming and connecting Northwestern's 500+ student-athletes from 19 varsity teams with mentors and employers.
"I am incredibly excited and honored to lead the Kabiller NU for Life program," said Brown. "It has been a true joy working with Northwestern student-athletes in their career journeys over the last four years, assisting in their growth with the help of our tremendous alumni and employer partners. I am grateful of the support and guidance provided by David Kabiller, Dr. Jim Phillips, Janna Blais, Mike Polisky and Julie Hammer, who have been instrumental in making Kabiller NU for Life the premier career development program in the country."
Brown joined Northwestern Athletics in June 2017 as assistant director of NU for Life. She was responsible for student-athlete career coaching, directing, planning and implementing student-athlete specific career programming, overseeing the NU for Life mentoring program, and managing NU for Life communications. For almost four years, Brown has supported the program's director of NU for Life with employer and alumni interaction and engagement opportunities.
The Kabiller NU for Life program serves as the connector between student-athletes and external constituents such as NU alumni, employers, and professionals not associated with NU. It facilitates informational interviews, internship and job opportunities. It also provides one-on-one career consulting, resume review, interview preparation and a four-year curriculum that focuses on improving student-athletes' professional IQ. It began in 2012 following a generous donation to Northwestern Athletics by David Kabiller, a member of the University's Board of Trustees and a former Wildcat tennis player. In 2019, Kabiller committed a multimillion-dollar gift to endow the program, securing support for generations of future Wildcats student-athletes.
Brown's experience working with student-athletes include four years as Director of Volleyball Operations at the University of South Carolina. She coordinated team travel, directed sports camp, planned volunteer efforts and managed numerous other roles day-to-day. In the 2015 season, Brown helped coordinate a community outreach program that led the team to eclipse 1600 hours of service over the 2015-16 school year. That total tripled the team's service hours from 2014-15, helping it earn the South Carolina athletic department's Community Outreach Award.
Prior to joining the South Carolina staff, Brown spent five years working for the American Volleyball Coaches Association in Lexington, Kentucky, where she was promoted twice. She managed many different events and aspects at the association, organizing the awards program for all levels and helping with the planning of the annual convention. She also coordinated television production and live elements of the Under Armour All-America Volleyball Match and Skills Competition. Brown also helped with membership recruitment and retention, spearheading and managing the group's Coaches 4 Coaches Scholarship program.
Brown is an active member of Women Leaders in College Sports, currently serving as chair of the Membership Committee. She attended the 2016 NCAA/Women Leaders in College Sports Institute for Administrative Advancement in Denver, Colorado, and was a recipient of the NCAA Women's Enhancement Program Postgraduate Scholarship.
A graduate of Georgetown College, Brown holds a bachelor's degree in business marketing and a Master of Business Administration from Tiffin University. She is married to Kyle Brown.
