OUR VALUABLE BOARD MEMBERS

Jim HammExecutive Director

Business Employed as Special Pops Tennis Executive Director.

Special Pops (SPT) Founding member; elected to the SPT Board of Directors in 2005. Current Chairman of the USTA – Southern section Special Populations/Adaptive committee; Current member of the Special Olympics North America Tennis Development Committee. Tournament Director – Special Populations Unified Doubles tournament held in Belton, SC. Tennis Coach of Team USA – Southeast Region at the 2003 Special Olympics Summer World Games in Dublin, Ireland. Head Coach of Team USA – 2011 Special Olympics World Games in Athens, Greece. Tennis Coach for Team USA – 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi, Dubai; Affiliate Member of Professional Tennis Registry (PTR). Management Team member for tennis venue at Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle, WA. Management Team member for tennis venue at Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, CA in 2015. Management Team member for tennis competition at Special Olympics North America Championships held annually in Hilton Head Island, SC.Recipient of the USTA Southern Section Adaptive Tennis Community Service Award; 2017 recipient of the Harris-Gude Foundation Honor of Distinction; Tommy Nobis Foundation Philanthropy Award.

Nancy Curtin MorrisGovernance / Training

Business Nancy Curtin Morris is a human resource performance consultant, specializing in leadership development, coaching and learning. Nancy’s career spans 36 years in the hospitality arena; 24 of those with Marriott International. Upon retiring from Marriott, Nancy founded and is president of the Trinity Team, Inc.

Special PopsNancy is a former division 1 tennis player and continues to play in ALTA and USTA. Nancy is married and has three children, ages 22 and 19 (twins). She lives in Smyrna. Nancy was elected to the SPT Board in 2013. She is also Chairperson of the board of directors of the North GA Camp and Retreat Ministries of the United Methodist Church, which includes providing camping opportunities to those with special needs.

Patrick LynchMarketing / Secretary

BusinessPresident of CMP, a national outplacement /career management/talent development firm with offices across the USA. Prior roles included senior marketing and sales positions with leading consumer product companies such as Georgia Pacific, Kao Brands, Kraft/General Foods and The HON Company. Patrick has a B.A. from The University of Michigan and an MBA from Michigan State University.

Special Pops Tennis Patrick became involved with Special Pops Tennis in 2010 after visiting the Summer Games to see the son of a friend compete. It was at that event that Patrick knew he had found a new home serving and connecting with the adaptive needs community. Since that event, he has since become the Site Coordinator for The Special Pops Tennis East Roswell Park Academy, a Special Pops Tennis board member and a Basketball Coach for Special Olympics (it gives him something to contribute to during the cold weather months).

Marcy Hirshberg Program Development

Business MBA in Marketing from Emory University. Founder and President of NetKnacks Tennis for over 25 years. Following the sale of NetKnacks to Pinnacle Promotions, Marcy has become a member of the Board of Directors of CCOS Charity Guild, USTA Southern, USTA Georgia, and Georgia Professional Tennis Association. She is also the Chair of the USTA National Adaptive Tennis committee.

Special Pops Elected to SPT Board of Directors in October 2017. Marcy began volunteering with Special Pops Tennis programs in the 1990s through the ALTA Foundation and her family currently volunteers for Special Pops Tennis at the East Roswell Park and Lifetime Tennis and Athletic locations.

Pete CallahanFundraising

Business Pete’s 40-year business career includes sales, sales and marketing management, and business unit management in the specialty chemical industry. Most recently, he has been President of Atlanta Storage Concepts, Inc., a warehouse equipment company. Pete has also been a volunteer and member of the board of directors of an Atlanta area charity focused on serving the needs of homeless children.

Special Pops Pete has been a SPT volunteer since 2009, certified Special Olympics Georgia coach and Unified partner. Member of ALTA and USTA. Elected to Special Pops Tennis Board of Directors in 2015.

Sissy Luciani Sponsors Relations

Business Retired in 2016 as the Advertising Director in The New York Times Advertising Office in Atlanta. In addition to managing a sales team, Sissy also sold advertising for the newspaper, The New York Times Magazine and all things digital, relative to The Times. In her career prior to The New York Times, she managed the Southeast territory for advertising at Tennis Magazine.

Past board experience includes the ALTA Foundation as well as the Country Club of the South Charity Guild. Currently involved with overseeing a 14-person volunteer group for Meals on Wheels through Senior Services of North Fulton. And in the planning stages of working with 20 friends on a Thanksgiving and holiday program for a group home through Children’s Restoration Network.

Special Pops experience includes being a parent to a Special Pops Tennis athlete, Tyler Luciani. His experience has been wonderfully positive for himself and our family.

Nancie NoltonWebsite / Technology

Business Nancie is a website developer for small businesses and non-profits. Keeps busy raising 3 daughters and is an active member in P.E.O and other charities. Nancie has an MFA in Design from Iowa State University, an MBA in Computer Programming and Graphic Design from Pratt Institute of Technology.

Special PopsElected to Special Pops Tennis Board of Directors in October 2015, Nancie serves as the current website developer / photographer. She began volunteering with Special Pops Tennis programs in 2010 with her three daughters who have enjoyed helping out with SPUD and the Fall Classic for many years. She is active in ALTA and USTA and is overseeing the Medlock Bridge and Standard Club training sites.

Judy MapstoneGrants

Jane SylvesterDonor Relations

Tammy KochTreasurer

Tammy’s personal motto is “A little progress each day adds up to big results.” One life lesson Tammy learned is the only thing constant is change. She’s also learned kindness and empathy go a long way when working with clients. (And people in general!)

For over 31 years, Tammy worked for ADP. She started as a Client Service Specialist and then took on more responsibilities as a Customer Service Manager. Most of her career she was a Technical Support Specialist providing payroll solutions for clients.

Her past volunteer experience includes PTA Co-President at Abbott’s Hill Elementary School and the Athletic Booster Club Treasurer at Chattahoochee High School. Besides serving as SPT Board Member and Treasurer, she also volunteers at The Atlanta Humane Society 2-3 days a week.

She was introduced to Special Pops Tennis by a friend. Her husband then volunteered for SPT. Once she learned more, she joined the Special Tennis Pops Board in February 2020. Her husband’s uncle had Down’s syndrome and their nephew is on the autism spectrum. Giving back to special population causes is important and personal to them.

Tammy has played tennis for 30 years and absolutely loves it. She is regularly on both ALTA and USTA Teams as well as playing on T2Tennis and Ultimate Leagues.

She is an alumna of The University of Georgia earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree majoring in Finance.