Annick Winokur is the founder and CEO of Sportsometry®, Inc. She earned her B.S. in Cognitive Studies from Vanderbilt University (1996). Following her graduation from Vanderbilt, as a student at the Yale School of Nursing Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program, Annick developed an understanding of nursing and its applicability to medical research.

An eye exam in her late twenties showed Annick that she had an absence of peripheral vision in a specific area. As she considered how she compensates when playing various sports, despite the ability to utilize this small but crucial visual space, she began to investigate the relationship among sports, geometry and physics. These are all necessary and interrelated skills, both while playing sports and in the classroom.

Annick continued to pursue research opportunities to work with doctors and scientists, such as T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., founder of the Touchpoints Project at Harvard/Boston Children’s Hospital, and research with Robert Sternberg, Ph.D., author of several books on psychology and education, as well as others in the New York/CT area. She also was a co-author of a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology (2006), “Self-Criticism and Depressive Symptomatology Interact to Predict Middle School Academic Achievement.”

Annick continued her work in education and athletics, developing programs for students of varying ages and backgrounds in areas such as squash, confidence building, safety and developmental skills. While serving as Director of the Brady Squash Center at Yale, she had the opportunity to design business and economic growth opportunities by developing member services, retail and community outreach programs. These experiences led to the opportunity to co-found Squash Haven, an urban squash, academic, and community service program for inner city students in New Haven, CT.

Sportsometry, Inc. represents the opportunity to bring Annick's ideas and experiences to fruition. Cited in Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner, Ph.D., Professor in Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a copyrighted teaching model, Sportsometry illuminates the unique links between cognitive processing and athletics, as well as the social and physical benefits, strengthening these links.

Justin Kinney , Executive Director, brings a unique personal background and business career to Sportsometry®. Growing up in a diverse neighborhood, Justin learned from an early age how to work successfully with all different types of people in a variety of situations. He also learned from an early age not only his “knack” for helping people, but his strong desire to help, teach, and mentor people.

Throughout his tenure at Kingswood-Oxford High School (Class of 1998), he volunteered in after-school neighborhood programs, helped lead a Unified Special Olympics basketball team to a Connecticut gold medal, and captained his Varsity Baseball team (while also playing Varsity Basketball and Football). He then went on to attend Skidmore College, played baseball there too, and is a proud member of the Class of 2003, with a B.S. in Management and Business.

After college, Justin spent 4 years in the investment services industry, where he served as an Investment Advisor for Prudential Retirement and accumulated numerous then-NASD licenses, insurance licenses, and retirement counselor designations. After a successful stint in industry, Justin decided it was time to enter the field of education, in order to and have a significant impact on teaching youth academic and life skills.

Justin taught for 3 years at a non-profit organization in Hartford, CT that prepares urban children to attend private schools, and ultimately college. He both built and taught a curriculum for numerous courses, including Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II, Trigonometry, English, Writing, Study Skills, Drama, and Sign Language. He also helped create and teach the organization’s first Saturday Workshop and Tutoring program and most recently helped increase students’ scores on their SSAT tests, through the curriculum he developed and co-taught. While teaching in Hartford, Justin also spent his days working with Special Needs students and has close to three years of experience working in a Special Needs school.

With his extensive background in and passion for educating people, his enjoyment of working with youth, as well as his desire to play almost every imaginable sport out there, Justin is very excited to help lead Sportsometry to the next level!

 


Yale University Women's Golf Team

The Yale University Women’s Golf Team and other Yale student athletes work with Sportsometry® as volunteer instructors of the sessions. The athletes bring enthusiasm to the program, and are terrific role models for our students in terms of character, education and sportsmanship.


 

Craig Hirokawa is currently pursuing his Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree at Thomas Jefferson University. He graduated from Connecticut College (BA, 1998) and Southern CT State University (MS, 2003) and has over 10 years of experience working with children as a coach and Science teacher. Sportsometry® combines Craig's interests in Sports and Exercise, education, and health throughout the lifespan.

Jean B. Mauro, attorney (semi-retired). B. Eng. (Yale U., 1958), MBA (NYU, 1966), JD (U. Md., 1972). Jean has 10 years' experience in chemical R & D and 40 years' experience in the corporate practice of intellectual property law. He retired in 1998 from the position of Managing Patent Counsel at Union Carbide Corp. He is a founding trustee of several non-profits, and continues to do some pro bono legal work. He is also a member of a start-up LLC in the pharmaceutical industry. Jean's personal interests include Italian culture and art, medieval and Renaissance history, and classical music.

Janie Merkel directs Yale University's Center for Chemical Genomics. In this role, she works with biomedical researchers and helps them develop and perform experiments that may lead to future treatments for the diseases they study. Janie graduated from Dartmouth College (A.B., 1995) and Yale University (M.Phil 1998, Ph.D. 2000) focusing her studies in the physical sciences. Sportsometry® combines two of her lifelong interests: commitment to exercise and experience-based learning. In her own life, exercise has improved her health, life balance, outlook, and connections with other active people.

Robert A. Novelly, Ph.D. Dr. Novelly is a Clinical Neuropsychologist with offices in Branford, CT. The major duration of his professional career was in the position of Chief, Clinical Neuropsychology Yale-VA Epilepsy Surgery Program, Chief, Clinical Neuropsychology Section, Norwalk Hospital, CT, and Assistant Professor (Neurology Department) Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Novelly consults to the Sportsometry Program primarily in a Research and Statistics capacity. The aim of his consultation is to assess the efficacy of the Sportsometry model as a unique teaching approach for learning Mathematics in school age and adolescent students.

Mark Talbott is considered by many as the greatest American squash player of all time. He spent 13 years (1983-95) as the world's top-ranked player during a lengthy and successful competitive playing career that led to a place in the inaugural class of the United States Squash Hall of Fame in 2000 and an Olympic Athlete of the Year (1991, '92, '95) on three occasions. In addition, he captained the first USA Team to compete in the Pan Am Games (1995), earned the Sharif Khan Award for Sportsmanship (1991) and won the USSRA President's Cup (1989). Before becoming Director of Squash at Stanford, Talbott coached the Yale Women's Squash Team to its first National Championship in eighteen years. He and his wife, Michelle, are the parents of two children - Nicolas and Maya who attend Gunn High School. The family resides in Palo Alto CA. As Mark says, “There are many valuable lessons to be learned by combining the sport of squash with Sportsometry!”

Gregg Zuckerman is a professor of mathematics at Yale University. He holds a bachelor and masters degree from Yale (1970) and a PhD from Princeton (1975). Dr. Zuckerman helped Winokur to formulate the basic philosophy of Sportsometry®. He in particular suggested the use of tests of Johns Hopkins University, Center for Talented Youth as tools for measuring the response of adolescents to the Sportsometry® program. Dr. Zuckerman has a growing interest in cognitive science and mathematical education and looks forward to making regular contributions to the long term operation of Sportsometry®.