The Advisory Board

Ms. Redden is a Senior Communications and Marketing Specialist for the City of Falls Church Va.

She is a 2007 graduate of Penn State University with a BA in Communications and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from St Peters College in 2015 and a Certificate of Completion from Yale School of Management in Women’s Leadership in 2022.
 

In 2004 she was an official Torch Bearer for the 2004 Olympics, and she represented the USA and Penn State at the 2008 Paralympian Games in Beijing. She is a longtime social activist and volunteer for causes that benefit the disabled. She continues to be a strong advocate for Penn State’s Ability Athletes Program.

Ms. Jordan is a 1976 graduate of Kansas State University where she earned a B.Sci degree in Health and Physical Education. She achieved a Master in Biomechanics and Adapted Physical Education from Kansas University in 1980 while serving as KU’s Head Track and Field and Cross-Country Coach from 1976 to 1980. She retired as a 38-year tenured employee of Penn State University. 

Her most recent position was that of Administrator and Coach for the Penn State Ability Athletics Program under PSU’s Intercollegiate Athletics department. Ms. Jordan held that position since the Program’s inception in 1999 until her retirement in 2020. She is widely credited with bringing the Ability Athletics Program into national and international prominence. Prior to that, she served as Penn State’s Women’s Track and Field and Cross-Country Coach from 1999 until 2000. She served as Head Coach of the US World Championship Cross Country Team in 1999. Ms. Jordan was a member of the US Olympic Team in Montreal in 1976 and is an inductee into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Mr. Murphy earned a B. Sci degree in Kinesiology from Penn State University in 2006. He is the owner and president of Rohan Murphy Inc, a motivational and inspirational speaker agency for youth nationwide. Mr. Murphy is also the founder of the inspirational networking community CatchSpark.com. 

Despite having lost both of his legs as a young child, Mr. Murphy went on to start what would become a highly successful wrestling career as a freshman at East Islip High School in Long Island, New York. He continued his wrestling career at Penn State competing for Penn State’s renowned and perpetually nationally ranked varsity wrestling program.  Mr. Murphy is an accomplished powerlifter who has trained with Ability Athletics and has represented the USA on the world stage.  He has been featured by ABC News and Sports Illustrated and has gained particular notoriety for his critically acclaimed Nike commercial created to motivate young people towards exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Rohan Murphy Inc continues to flourish as Mr. Murphy’s gains increased national exposure and recognition. 

Todd B. Hilsee first endowed the Pennsylvania State University’s Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) “Ability Athletics” program in 2010. In 2022, he led the successful effort by program donors, stakeholders, and athletes to encourage Penn State to restore the Ability program to ICA after a hiatus. He supports many causes for disabled persons rights, and advocates for victims’ rights in multiple contexts. He is the President of The Hilsee Group LLC, the nation’s leading expert on notifications to victims of defective products, and in that capacity, he set modern notification standards for the Federal Judicial Center at the behest of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States. 

Hilsee has lectured at law schools including Harvard, Columbia, Temple, Cleveland-Marshall, and Tulane, and he has led worldwide notifications including to notify Holocaust Survivors, victims of exposure to asbestos, indigenous children abused in government-run schools in Canada, and has Todd appeared on CBS 60 Minutes to advocate for improvements to the Remington rifle defective trigger settlement. He also is the founding Chairman of Green Allies, a 501(c)(3) that works to empower students to launch and run environmental sustainability programs in their schools and communities. Hilsee is also a theatre producer and performer, including original works to promote autism awareness and equal treatment.

Capt. Ryan J. McCombie, USN, Ret., is a 1970 graduate of Penn State and  a lifelong advocate for all things Penn State. He is a Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustee Emeritus having served as a member of the Board for 6 years.  Capt McCombie was a Founding Member of the University's Outreach Development program serving on its Board for over 10 years.  He also served as the Chair of Penn State's World Campus Military Scholarship Foundation. He is a lifetime member of the Penn State Mount Nittany Society. Captain McCombie enjoyed a long and distinguished career with the US Navy and has over twenty-six years of service as a US Navy SEAL. His last duty station was as a faculty instructor at the Army War College in Carlisle Pennsylvania. He was selected to be the first United States military attaché to the US Embassy in Brazzaville Congo.

Ms. Ryan has been a valued employee of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee since 2016. As such, Ms. Ryan has held several key positions at the USOPC including U.S. Paralympics Cycling Manager, Paralympics Internal NGB Operations Manager, and Manager, Paralympics International Relations and Events. Ms. Ryan also has worked with the US Paralympics Emerging Talent Identification and Athlete Education Services organizations. Prior to her work at the USPOC, Ms. Ryan served as a Sports Development Coordinator for USA Triathlon. She is a licensed Youth Sports Administer as granted by the National Alliance for Youth Sports and is a CMP, a Certified Meeting Professional.
 

Ms. Ryan is a 2013 graduate of Grove City College where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business.  Ms. Ryan was a 16-time All-American over her 4-year career as a GCC Varsity swimmer and is a 2020 inductee into the Grove City College Swimming Hall of Fame.  

Jeff Hantz is a Share Holder in the Pittsburgh based law firm of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote.
 

He is a member in good standing of the Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations and has been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. A 2004 graduate of Penn State with a B.Sci. in Computer Science with honors from the Schreyer Honors College and a minor in Mathematics. Mr. Hantz earned his J.D. law degree from Duquesne University’s Thomas R Kline School of Law. He is a former Paralympian competing in the 2004 Paralympics in Athens representing his country and Penn State.

Mr. Schrom is a 2011 graduate of Penn State with  a B. Sci. in Landscape Contracting.  

He currently is a Senior Landscape Designer for Cumberland Valley Tree Service-Landscaping, his family owned and operated business located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 

Following a horrific, work related truck accident the summer prior to his Junior Year at Penn State in which he lost his right leg to amputation and an heroic seven months of rehab afterward,  Mr. Schrom continued his studies at Penn State. It was then that he was introduced to Coach Teri Jordan, the Penn State’s Ability Athletics program and subsequently to the world of Paralympic sport.  He has been successfully competing in world para powerlifting competitions ever since. 
 

In 2020 Mr. Schrom qualified for and competed in the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. 

Mr. Schrom continues to  use his story to inspire and encourage others who  are navigating limb loss. He is involved with the Amputee Coalition, is a certified Peer Visitor for new amputees, and does motivational public speaking engagements. He credits Penn State Ability Athletics as being  “extremely valuable” to his recovery and, moreover to his life.

Mr. Ryan is a 1982 Penn State graduate earning a B.Sci. degree in Engineering. Following graduation,  he earned a commission in the U.S. Navy. There  Mr. Ryan  enjoyed an extensive and distinguished career as a Navy pilot with multiple, worldwide leadership positions including that of Commanding Officer. Upon his retirement from the Navy, Mr, Ryan returned to his alma mater where he worked with both  Penn State Governmental Affairs and the Penn State Alumni Association where he served as Director of the PSU Grass Roots Network.
 

There Mr. Ryan developed a political advocacy network among 435,000 Penn State Alumni. Under his leadership, the network became politically active advocating for Penn State University with statewide, elected officials. He developed working relationships across all PSU colleges and departments to ensure proper requirements were presented to state political decision makers and University leaders. Mr. Ryan completed his working career as a commercial pilot flying for FedEx Corporation.  As a State College resident  he and his wife have been active in numerous PSU organizations including volunteering  for Penn State Ability Athletics events.

Mr. Balistrieri is a 1991 graduate of Penn State University with a B. Sci degree in accounting. He is Director at Schneider Downs in that organization’s State and Local Tax Advisory Services where he also serves as a subject matter expert in the field. Mr. Balisteri is a certified Public Account holding a CPA accreditation. He has more than 30 years of experience in consulting with and advising public and privately held clients including non-profits. 
 

Besides serving on the Board of Rise Above; Friends of Ability Athletes PSU, Mr. Balistrieri also serves on several others, not for profit Boards including the prestigious Carnegie Library of Homestead and the American and Pennsylvania Institutes of Certified Public Accountants, and is President of the Board of Directors of the Pittsburgh Italian Scholarship Fund. Mr. Balistrieri is a proud, self-avowed Penn State enthusiast with a particular passion for Penn State sports. 

Mr. Clemmons currently is Head of US Combat Medic Training at Brooke Army Medial Command in San Antonio Texas. He is a former Ability Athletic sprinter at Penn State where he trained for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics under the tutelage of Coach Teri Jordan.
 

Mr. Clemons is a Purple Heart recipient having been severely injured in Iraq in 2005.
 

He is quoted as saying that “the Ability Athletics Program at Penn State was an essential part of my transition back into society” crediting that Penn State program with saving his life. Mr. Clemons was the first Iraq War veteran to qualify for the Paralympic games in Beijing. He was featured in the 2009 documentary Warrior Champions about American soldiers who lost limbs or suffered other life altering injuries in the Iraq war. He is an author having co-authored AMPED: A Soldier’s Race for Gold in the Shadow of War a book about his life experiences as a wounded American soldier including his remarkable road to recovery.

Mr. Sypula  is the Founder and Chairman of Rise Above, Friends of Ability Athletics PSU a not-for-profit, purpose-driven 501c3 corporation chartered to assist Penn State in the restoration, revitalization, and development of  its Ability Athletics program. A 1968 graduate of Penn State University with a B. Sci. in Education with an emphasis in English, Mr. Sypula also holds a Bachelor's and  Masters of Business Administration from The American University in Washington DC .  

Mr. Sypula is a self-described, serial entrepreneur who has enjoyed a successful business career that has spanned more than 50 years. Over that period, he has created various small business enterprises across multiple industries. Those industries include the public sector finance industry,  the real estate  industry and the environmental products industry where he created sales and manufacturing companies as public sector/private sector partnerships. His was the first Endowment for Penn State’s Ability Athletics Program under Intercollegiate Athletics. 

Mr. Clouse  has had a distinguished business career focused on business development, sales management and consulting in the  area of critical employee matters. 

He has been a valued partner and employee for such prestigious companies as IBM, EY, Hewitt Associates, Aon,  and most recently Korn Ferry.

A 1983 graduate of Penn State University with a Bachelors of Science, Marketing, Mr. Clouse currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ability Beyond and is the Senior Advisor to Disability Solutions. Both  organizations are focused on providing community based support for people with physical and mental disabilities. Mr. Clouse's role within both organizations is in the areas of  fund raising and capital campaign initiatives.

Keith McMinn is the Director of Life Lion at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.  He serves as a member of the Senior Management Team, on the Children’s Hospital Professional Council, and on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council.  He is a retired Maryland State Trooper, who led a distinguished career having held several high profile leadership positions including that of Commanding Officer of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command.  In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, Keith was selected for special training and assigned to federal law enforcement teams tasked with protecting the Nation’s Capital.  After retirement, he and his wife Sandy returned to their native Lancaster County.   Mr. McMinn holds a B. Sci. degree in Emergency Health Service Management from UMBC and achieved a Masters's Degree in Homeland Security and Defense from the Naval Postgraduate School.  

Mr. McMinn has played, coached, and officiated sports in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland his entire life.  He received wheelchair basketball coaching certifications from the NWBA and the University of Illinois.  He was a volunteer wheelchair basketball coach with the Bennett Blazers Adaptive Sports Program at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore for 10 years, including coaching an NWBA National Championship team in 2017.  He started the PA Lions Youth Wheelchair Basketball team in 2022 to create athletic opportunities for youth with disabilities in Central Pennsylvania.  The Team is a partnership with the Center for Independent Living of Central Pennsylvania for which Mr. McMinn serves on the Board of Directors.  Mr. McMinn is also the former Junior Division Commissioner of the National Wheelchair Softball Association.  He has a passion for using the power of sport to change the life trajectory of youth living with disabilities; a story that he and his wife have had a front-row seat in raising a daughter with a disability.