Dr. Shannon Spriggs Murdoch
Vice President, Training & Education
For eighteen years, Dr. Shannon Spriggs Murdoch has been a global messenger committed to social justice. As a leading social justice educator, Dr. Murdoch has impacted thousands of people worldwide by delivering transformational education regarding the issues they face in their everyday lives, from the far-reaching impact of gender-based violence to the persistent issues of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
Dr. Spriggs Murdoch is the Vice President for Training and Education for the Institute for Sport and Social Justice, with an emphasis on the growth and development of its Huddle Up programming. Huddle Up leverages the transcendent power of sport to address social justice issues.
Upon returning to the US from Australia in 2017, she served as the Prevention Director for the Texas Council on Family Violence until 2019. Dr. Spriggs Murdoch provided strategic vision that elevated the Council’s prevention work in Texas, while also fortifying training and technical assistance to prevention education providers in the state.
In Australia, Dr. Spriggs Murdoch worked for Griffith University in Brisbane to introduce and build a national profile for Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP). After the successful implementation of MVP, she developed and delivered a country-tailored prevention model, called MATE, throughout Australia. Her groundbreaking work in Australia resulted in the Premiere of Queensland appointing her to the prestigious Domestic and Family Violence Implementation Council.
From 2006 – 2010, Dr. Spriggs Murdoch served as the Assistant Director of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) National Partnership, the first and largest gender violence prevention initiative in college and professional athletics in North America, and the first to utilize the “bystander” approach. She was the operations leader of MVP as well as a core trainer.
Dr. Spriggs Murdoch has delivered and assisted with the development of the Huddle Up, MATE and MVP curriculum across the US, Australia, Bahrain UAE, Basra, Balad and Baghdad Iraq, Sweden and Scotland. She has facilitated over 1000 training sessions and has significant experience developing trainers in multiple curricula and has facilitated dozens of Train the Trainer programs, including work with the US and Australian Military.
Dr. Spriggs Murdoch earned a BA in Communication and MA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington. She earned a PhD in Higher Education Administration from Boston College. While at UT – Arlington, Dr. Spriggs Murdoch was a scholarship student-athlete for the Women’s Basketball team.
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.
