MAAC Representatives for the 2025 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum Announced

EDISON, NJ (Aug. 18, 2025) – Elise Barricelli of Quinnipiac University, GayLynn Kirn of Siena University, and Jack Pinho of Sacred Heart University have been selected to serve as Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Representatives for the 2025 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum. Barricelli and Kirn are student-athlete selections, while Pinho is representing as an administrator.
 

MAAC SAAC Vice Chair, Barricelli participates on the women’s indoor and outdoor track & field teams at Quinnipiac. She received a Bachelor of Science in Business in May of 2025, Kirn and she is pursuing an MBA during the 2025-26 academic year. Barricelli has been a member of Quinnipiac’s SAAC over the past two years, serving as the Co-President this past year and set to be President in 2025-26. She has participated in MAAC SAAC in-person meetings three times, in Spring 2024, Fall 2024, and Spring 2025. Barricelli is heavily involved with on-campus efforts and in the community. She is the President of Morgan’s Message, a mental health organization on campus, and serves as the Treasurer of Women’s Health Organization.
 

Kirn is a two-sport athlete at Siena, competing in both women’s swimming & diving and water polo. She was a MAAC All-Academic Team member, a MAAC Academic Honor Roll selection, and was named to the Eastern Athletic Communications Association (EAST-COMM) Academic Honor Roll in 2024-25 for both sports and selected to the ACWPC All-Academic Team (Superior) in water polo. Kirn owns the program record in the 200 freestyle (1:52.74) and has a top 10 time in the 200 backstroke (9th – 2:09.13) in swimming. In water polo, she has appeared in 37 games in two seasons, logging six points on two goals and four assists. Additionally, Kirn recorded 12 steals and eight drawn exclusions.
 

Pinho serves as Assistant Athletics Director for Student Athlete Support Services at Sacred Heart. He provides academic support to student-athletes, including time management skills, organizational skills, study hall requirements, academic advising, class registration, and progress towards degree. Pinho currently works directly with field hockey, women’s basketball, baseball, women’s lacrosse, swimming & diving, men’s and women’s golf, men’s wrestling, and women’s wrestling as their direct academic liaison. Pinho leads all student-athlete development initiatives, which includes supervising SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee), Every Heart is Sacred (DEI group) and Team Impact partnership. He also tracks all community service initiatives and provides reports on the NEC Building Communities Award, Pioneer Cup and SASS annual report. He serves as the primary contact to professors for all injured student-athletes.  Working closely with the athletic training staff to convey academic restrictions placed upon student-athletes when recovering from injuries.  He actively works with student-athletes and professors to create return to learn plans.
 
The NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum, created in 1997, has served as a life-changing experience for more than 5,000 student-athletes who have grown personally and professionally due to their attendance. Student-athletes selected to attend the forum return to campus with invaluable leadership skills, a refined understanding of the relationship among personal values, core beliefs and behavioral styles, and the support of a close personal network of like-minded peers to provide continued connection and dialogue after the program concludes. This best-in-class programming experience serves as a transformational opportunity for student-athletes and administrators to build a leadership toolkit and develop vital self-awareness that allows them to realize their potential. 

The NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum will occur in Dallas, Texas from November 20-23. All participating student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated a strong desire to lead.

Both participating student-athletes and attending administrators and coaches return from the forum with enhanced leadership capabilities that allow them to thrive personally, professionally and even athletically. They build a family of team members that encourages vulnerability, challenges one another with diverse perspectives, and provides unconditional support during and after the program.

More information about the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum can be found here. 

 

About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:

With 13 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 45th year of competition during the 2025-26 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena University.

 

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