The Brown & Gold Club Board is responsible for overseeing the governance and finances of the organization and for modeling its mission of supporting and advancing a championship culture for Baldwin Wallace University Athletics.
Julie Work '98
President
Julie Work also has been one of the most influential women in collegiate athletics for the past two decades.
Work was an All-American on the basketball court at BW for Cheri Harrer and was inducted into the BW Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. The power forward transferred to BW from Cleveland State University and had a wonderful career both academically and athletically as a Yellow Jacket. She is one of BW's all-time leading scorers and rebounders.
After graduation, Work was a graduate assistant coach under Harrer one year and the Assistant Sports Information Director at BW for two years. She then became the Media Relations Director of the Ohio Athletic Conference under Commissioner Tim Gleason.
Today, Work is one of the most prominent women in collegiate athletics as a Vice President the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in Westlake. At NACDA, Julie is the staff administrator for MOAA, NAAC and NADIIIAA and co-administrator for the Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup and the Mike Cleary Northeastern Ohio Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
To contact Julie by e-mail: jwork33@gmail.com
Gabe Adams ’14
Vice President and Liaison for Football
Gabe Adams was an outstanding student and athlete at Baldwin Wallace University.
Adams competed on the football and track and field teams as a Yellow Jacket and earned five varsity letters, including three in football. He helped the football team compile a 28-12 record with a .700 winning percentage while maintaining a fine 3.7 grade point average in the classroom and serving as a Fellow in the Thomas Family Center for Innovation & Growth.
Today, the accounting and economics graduate now works for Northwestern Mutual.
To contact Gabe by e-mail: Gadams10@mail.bw.edu
SPORT LIAISONS
Rob Becker ’04
Baseball and Wrestling
Rob Becker was a four-year letterwinner on the football team and became one of the top punters during his junior and senior seasons. As a junior, he earned second-team All-North Regional honors by the Football Gazette, and as a senior was tabbed first-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference and All-North Region. In addition, he was a two-time recipient of the A.B. Bonds Most Outstanding Special Teams Player Award.
Becker currently serves at his alma mater as the Associate Director of Recreational Sports and Services and manages the day-to-day services of the Lou Higgins Recreation Center. He also is instrumental in facilitating the year-end Student-Athlete Awards Ceremony and has been a key facilitator of the annual Brown & Gold Reverse Raffle.
To contact Rob by e-mail: rbecker@bw.edu
Tim Budic ’02
Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Tennis and Men's and Women's Track and Field
Budic was one of the best-ever cross country and track distance runners and earned four letters in each sport. He also is a member of the BW Alumni Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
In cross country, the Eastlake, Ohio native and North High School graduate was a two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference and All-Ohio and four-time All-Great Lakes Region runner. He was the OAC’s Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2000.
In track, Budic was an NCAA Division III All-American in 2003 when he was the national runner-up in the steeplechase. He still holds the OAC record in the steeplechase, owns four BW track and field records and was the OAC's Most Outstanding Runner in 2003. Budic currently serves as the Regional General Manager at Greif, Inc.
To contact Tim by e-mail: timothybudic@yahoo.com
Brooke Hradisky ’14
Men's and Women's Soccer and Men's and Women's Lacrosse
Hradisky competed in both cross country and track and field and earned four varsity letters in each sport. She distinguished herself as a scholar-athlete and 2014 CoSIDA Academic All-American in track and field.
Today, Hradisky is an Associate at Carleton McKenna & Company. She handles data analysis and market research and is responsible for the execution of mergers and acquisitions across a variety of industries.
To contact Brooke by e-mail: brookehradisky@gmail.com
Julie Jones ’92
Softball, Men's and Women's Volleyball and Women's Basketball
Jones is one of the best softball student-athletes ever to compete as a Yellow Jacket. Julie earned four varsity letters in softball as a catcher and definite team leader. In addition, Julie was an outstanding student who earned Academic All-OAC and CoSIDA Academic All-District IV honors.
Jones coached at NCAA Division I Cleveland State University from 1993 through 2005, won a school-record 244 games and was the 1997 Midwest Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year. She led the program to its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament berth in '97 and departed as CSU's winningest coach in the history of the athletics department. She mentored 34 all-conference players and three CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
From 2005-2019, Jones was the head coach at the University of Akron. She has mentored 19 All-Mid American Conference (MAC) honorees, five NCAA All-Mideast Region selections, 32 Academic All-MAC student-athletes, eight Academic All-District selections, and two Academic All-Americans, the 2014 MAC Pitcher of the Year, the 2016 prestigious MAC Nan Harvey award winner and the 2017 MAC Freshman of the Year. To contact Julie by e-mail: jajones9910@gmail.com
Dave LaBahn ’03
Men's and Women's Golf, Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving and Men's Basketball
Dave LaBahn was a three year starter and outstanding wide receiver and student for the Yellow Jacket football team, and he helped BW’s 2002 squad achieve some of the most prolific offensive statistics in the school’s rich history. The two-time BW Most Outstanding Receiver still co-owns The George Finnie Stadium record with a four-touchdown performance in a 48-41 win versus Ohio Northern University and finished his career third all-time in receiving touchdowns (18). He had the opportunity to represent NCAA Division III football as a member of the 2002 Aztec Bowl team that played versus the Mexican National All-Stars, where he was the leading receiver and brought in the winning grab on the game’s final drive.
LaBahn, who finished First Team All-OAC and Academic All-OAC his senior year, has taken those same leadership qualities to the banking industry. Today, he is Director for KeyBanc Capital Markets in their Institutional Equity Sales division.
His brother, Dan LaBahn, was an outstanding Offensive Tackle for the Yellow Jackets and graduated in 1999.
To contact Dave by e-mail: Dblabahn@gmail.com
PAST PRESIDENTS
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Doug Amy '90, '93 |
Natalie Winkelfoos '03 |
