Dr. Jeffrey O’Brien
Dr. Jeffrey O’Brien is the CEO of the Institute for Sport & Social Justice. For over two-decades, Dr. Jeff O’Brien has been committed to harnessing the power and appeal of sport to create positive social change. He is a stalwart leader at the NCAS and a consummate team-player. Jeff provides strategic thinking and innovative idea generation; coordinates and manages the activities of NCAS training consultants; develops new programs and curriculum; and leads high profile trainings. Jeff has a track-record of understanding athletic market needs, developing solutions that have value, and consistently delivering exceptional results.
He provides administrative leadership for multiple NCAS programs, including: the MVP National Partnership, Branded a Leader (BAL), and Athletic Leadership in the 21st Century (AL 21). Jeff is the primary author and developer of NCAS new curriculum and training programs. Clients utilizing these innovations include: NASCAR, US Military, Orlando Magic, SEC, A-10, NFL, MLB, US DOJ, and Siemens.
Jeff has delivered presentations at over 100 conferences, and provided trainings for thousands of administrators, coaches, and student-athletes at over 150 universities, and worked with all major professional sports leagues in the US. He conceived and executed a strategy for conference-wide partnerships to maximize “social justice through sport” messaging at member institutions of some the nation’s leading conferences — the Southeastern Conference (SEC), A-10 Conference, and Big Ten Conference.
Jeff serves as a Subject Matter Expert(SME) on bystander intervention and violence against women for all branches of the US military and Australian Army, and has delivered domestic and sexual violence prevention education for military service members in Iraq, Bahrain, Germany, England, Japan, Hawaii, Alaska, Australia, and throughout the mainland US. He is one of three SME’s to create the US Air Force’s system-wide Bystander Intervention Training (BIT).
He began his professional work of changing lives through the power of sport in 1995 when he was named as the initial Director of Canisius’ AmeriCorps program — Athletes in Service to America. Jeff has been the Director of the MVP program since 1998, and from 2003-06, Jeff was the Sr. Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, providing leadership for the Center’s variety of outreach programs and serving on the senior leadership team.
Jeff is a published author and speaks regularly with the media. He has presented at over 100 conferences and is regularly sought after for expert perspective and technical assistance regarding bystander intervention, gender violence, leadership and sport in society. He has been interviewed and quoted by dozens of local, national, and international media outlets including: CNN, Court TV, NY Times, Boston Globe, Parade Magazine, NPR, BBC, MSBNC, and Teaching Tolerance Magazine.
He holds a BA in English and MS in Education from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Florida. He was an All-Conference and Small College All-America selection as a Tight End following his junior and senior seasons and co-captain for his senior year. Jeff was inducted into the Canisius College Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
Kaia W. Forget
Kaia W. Forgét is the Vice President of Community Impact & DEI for Orlando City SC and Orlando Pride. She joined the front office of the Club in 2015 as the former USL franchise played their first season in Major League Soccer, added a NWSL professional women’s team in 2016, and built a downtown soccer-specific stadium in 2017. She currently leads the Club’s corporate social responsibility strategy which is focused on creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture of belonging across the enterprise and beyond. She also serves as the Executive Director of Orlando Soccer Foundation, Inc., whose mission is to leverage the popularity and reach of professional soccer to support efforts that advance the well-being of youth, promote health and wellness, and assist, encourage, and enrich the lives of those in need in the Central Florida community.
Originally from New Hampshire, Kaia attended Canisius College in Buffalo, NY on a Division I soccer scholarship where she earned a B.A. in Communication Studies. After graduation she played one year for the Buffalo FFillies USL W-League team while completing an AmeriCorps service year working in the Buffalo community. Kaia moved to Orlando to attend the University of Central Florida where she earned an M.A. in Mass Communication. She spent seven years working for Orange County Public Schools, three years with the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, and seven years at the Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership (EBI), a Center of Excellence at Rollins College’s Crummer Graduate School of Business.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for The Institute, Kaia is a Member of the Institute for Diversity Certification (IDC), serves on the Corporate Equality Council for The Pride Chamber, is a Special Olympics Florida – Race For Inclusion Committee Member, 100 Women Strong – Central Florida Member, Heart of Florida United Way – Women United Member, and a WISE – Women in Sports & Events – Member & Mentor. Outside of her professional commitments, Kaia has two daughters, enjoys sports and the outdoors, and loves to travel.
