Dr. Evie Dennis

During her four decades of involvement in track and field and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Dr. Evie Dennis has served in many capacities. In 1978, she ran for second vice president of the AAU, running against two men and winning on the first ballot - a rarity in a three-candidate race. She was the chair of women's track & field for the AAU in 1979, and she became overall, acting chair of track & field when men's chair LeRoy Walker resigned. In June 1980, in Dallas, she convened the constitutional convention for what was to become The Athletics Congress (now USATF), and served as TAC's acting president. She was the first female chef de mission (team leader) for the USOPC, twice fulfilling the role for the Pan American Games, in Caracas, Venezuela and Havana, Cuba. She was chef de mission for the U.S. delegation at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, and she has been involved in U.S. team processing for every Olympic Team since 1976. She was the First Black female to serve as Vice President for the USOPC (1981-88), the first to be the second vice-president of AAU and the first Black female to be Chef de Mission for the USOPC. Dr. Dennis has also served as a USATF delegate to the World Athletics (previously IAAF), and as previous Chair of USATF's Diversity and Leadership Committee. In 1992, Dennis received the Olympic Order, the highest award of the Olympic Movement that is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement.

Dr. Evie Dennis has distinguished herself through a lifetime of achievement, including her dedication as a visionary leader and pioneering advocate for political and legislative change to advance and enhance opportunities for all individuals, especially women, disadvantaged, underserved and minority populations specifically in the areas of education, Olympic sports and amateur athletics.

Occupations
Former deputy superintendent and superintendent of Denver Public Schools