Event Details
Monthly Chapter Meeting
| Date: | February 12, 2026, 8:00am – 10:00am |
| Organizer: | Greater Area Ames SHRM |
| Location: | Digital Ag Room 1130 3800 University Blvd, Ames, IA 50010 |
| Event Type: | Meeting |
| iCal link | Add to Calendar |
We are excited to announce that our next Greater Ames Area SHRM meeting will on Thursday, February 12th, from 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM.
We are proud to be featuring the following presenters from Iowa State University Athletics:
- Shamaree Brown - Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student Services
- Sarah Lage - Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athletic Development
- Yvonne Whaley - Student Athletic Development Specialist
Topic:
The Power of Community
Speaker bios:
Shamaree Brown
Shamaree Brown is in his fourth year as Iowa State's Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student Services, having joined the Cyclone staff from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), where he'd worked since 2010 as its Director of Student-Athlete Programs and Compliance.
Brown leads the student-athlete welfare and performance departments, which include academic support services, sports medicine, strength & conditioning, nutrition, and mental health teams, as well as its student-athlete development programming. He also serves as sport administrator for the Cyclones' highly successful men's basketball and wrestling programs and is the University's Deputy Title IX Coordinator.
At the ACC, Brown had oversight of all of the league’s student-athlete development and wellness initiatives, including leadership development, career development, academic support, health and safety, sportsmanship, and diversity and inclusion. Additionally, he assisted in providing NCAA and ACC rules interpretations to ACC institutions.
Before moving into the ACC office, Brown spent three years (2007-10) as the Assistant Director of Compliance and Championships for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). In that role, he served as the primary sport administrator for football, men's basketball, bowling and tennis, in addition to his duties as the MEAC's primary compliance administrator. Brown also oversaw the enforcement of the league's sportsmanship policy and was a liaison to the conference-wide Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
He began his administrative career as the Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance & Student-Athlete Development at the University of New Haven from 2005-07.
The Greensboro, North Carolina native earned his bachelor's degree in Sports Management from Winston-Salem State University, where he also played football, and completed his Master's in Sports Administration from the University of New Haven.
Brown, one of 22 administrators across all three divisions nationally selected to participate in the NCAA’s 2025-26 Pathway Program, and his wife, Elena, have two children, Shamaree Jr. and Leila.
Sarah Lage
Sarah Lage joined the Cyclones in January 2024. She currently serves as the Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Development.
Lage provides program oversight of the co-curriculum focus for developing support and resources that promote the holistic development of Iowa State student-athletes, including its 4 pillars of career development, character enhancement, civic engagement, and connection. In addition, she co-advises Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and teaches two student-athlete development (UST 101 and UST 303) courses each semester.
Prior to Iowa State, Lage served as the Senior Director of Student-Athlete Career Development at Virginia Tech, and was responsible for implementing the Career Game Plan, a targeted career development program. In addition, she collaborated with the Monogram Club and Hokie Club to enhance alumni relations and provide mentoring opportunities for current Virginia Tech student-athletes. She also served as the departmental liaison to Career and Professional Development.
She began her career in higher education in 2004, including stops at East Carolina University, Florida Atlantic University, and Midwestern State University (TX).
The Edenton, North Carolina native earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from North Carolina State University and completed her Master’s in Public Administration from East Carolina University. Lage is an active member in NACDA/N4A where she currently serves as the Vice Chair for the Membership Recruitment and Retention Committee, and Women Leaders in Sports. She is a 2024 (Executive Leadership Track) and 2021(Student-Athlete Development Track) graduate of N4A Steve McDonnell Professional Development Institute (PDI), and a 2023 graduate of NCAA Effective Facilitation Workshop (EFW).
Lage and her husband, Richard, reside in Ames, Iowa.
Yvonne Whaley
Yvonne Whaley joined Iowa State Athletics in July 2025. She currently serves as Student-Athlete Development Specialist.
In her role, Whaley oversees and delivers programming aligned with Iowa State’s Student-Athlete Development pillars of character enhancement, career readiness, connection, and civic engagement. She teaches UST 101, co-advises the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and supervises and mentor’s student interns. In addition, Whaley provides individual mentoring to student-athletes on post-graduate planning and life after sport.
Prior to Iowa state, Whaley served as a Graduate Assistant in Student-Athlete Development at the University of Tennessee, where she co-advised SAAC and supported various departmental programming initiatives while completing her graduate studies. During her time at Tennessee, she earned her Master’s degree in Sport Management and gained hands-on experience working with student-athletes across multiple Olympic sports. While pursuing her graduate degree, Whaley also competed in two seasons of professional softball.
A former Division I student-athlete, Whaley competed in collegiate softball at both Texas Tech University and the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Exercise Science from Pitt in Spring 2023. As an undergraduate student, she served as a softball SAAC team representative (2020-2023), Secretary of Texas Tech’s Black Student-Athlete Alliance (2020-2021), and Pitt’s BIPOC Affinity Leader (2021-2023).
A Houston, Texas native, Whaley resides in Ames, with her puppy, Lolo.
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