Spencer Bonahoom

Director, Huddle Up

Spencer Bonahoom joined the Institute full-time in October of 2022, but he has been involved in the Institute serving as a Huddle Up trainer since 2019. Spencer joins the team as an Assistant Director of Huddle Up, a role in which he will support all operations of the Huddle Up program and continue to serve as a Huddle Up trainer.

Prior to joining the Institute as an Assistant Director, Spencer served as an Assistant Athletic Director at Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW). In that role, he directed the Mastodon Academic Performance Center, overseeing the academic support and advising work for all Mastodon student-athletes. He also served as the Sport Administrator for the PFW softball program. In his role, Bonahoom participated in the department’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, and he created and facilitated the required Sexual Violence Prevention Education training for all PFW student-athletes.

Spencer came to Fort Wayne following a nearly five year stint in Washington D.C. at American University. During his time there, Spencer took on many different roles. He served as an academic counselor for student-athletes and taught the American University Experience course to freshmen student-athletes. He also created the Bennett-Smith Leadership Academy, a comprehensive program designed to create opportunities for student-athletes to develop and expand leadership skills and grow in their professional readiness.

Throughout his professional career, Spencer has remained deeply involved in professional development and engagement through NCAA Leadership Development and the National Association for Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A). With the NCAA, Spencer has served as a Lead Facilitator for the Student-Athlete Leadership Forum (SALF) and a Color Team Facilitator for SALF and the Career in Sports Forum. He also engaged as a participant in the Leadership Academy Workshop, Effective Facilitator Workshop, and Emerging Leaders Seminar. Spencer has been a member of N4A for 6 years, and currently sits on the Board of Directors as a Division Director for Membership Affairs.

Spencer is a proud alumnus of Marquette University, where he earned a BS in Business. He also graduated from Ball State University with a MA in Sport Administration. Born and raised in Indiana, Spencer lives back in Indiana now with his wife Caira and their dog Mazie. Together they love staying active – playing sports, hiking, and traveling as often as they can.

Chaunte Lowe, A Hero Among Us

Every other time, I’ve ran for myself, my kids, my family, for my country. But this time, it’s not about me. It’s more about any woman, any person, that could contract this disease. If they hear my story, maybe they’ll get checked. I know that it will save lives.