Stephanie Hightower - President

Stephanie Hightower was elected to a four-year term as USA Track & Field’s president on Friday, December 5, 2008 at the USATF Annual Meeting in Reno, Nevada.

Hightower brings a wealth of experience to the USATF presidency. In addition to serving as USATF’s Women’s Track & Field Committee Chair, she started her USATF Board service as a member of the Athletes Advisory Committee (ACC) and serving as AAC Secretary and AAC/USOC representative.

Hightower, who was acting USATF Women’s Track & Field Chair at the time of her election to the presidency, serves on USATF’s International Relations Committee and chaired the 2007 CEO Evaluation Committee. The women’s team manager at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Hightower was the U.S. team leader at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Morocco. She was the Chief of the Delegation for Team USA at the 2003 World Outdoor Championships in Paris, served as head team manager at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain, and was an Assistant Manager for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

A resident of Columbus, Ohio, Hightower currently serves as Vice President for Institutional Advancement for the Columbus College of Art & Design, where she is responsible for leading marketing and communications, media relations, philanthropy, community relations, alumni engagement and legislative affairs. She is involved in directing the college’s first comprehensive campaign geared to raise $12 million for capital improvements and endowment growth. She has also held cabinet positions with the Mayor’s office, where she was responsible for handling sports development.

A former world class 100m hurdler who competed on more than a dozen U.S. national teams, Hightower held several American and world records and was a member of the 1980 Olympic Team prior to retiring in 1988. As a student-athlete at The Ohio State University, Hightower earned Big Ten Conference, NCAA and National championship titles.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to serve this organization,” said Hightower. “We have a multitude of opportunities that lie before us and I’m just happy that I’ll have the opportunity to work with the USATF family and move the sport into the 21^st century.”