Feb 23, 2023Brown Athletics overhauls wellness and performance ecosystem
Brown University’s athletics and recreation department recently announced the overhaul of its wellness and performance ecosystem with a series of new hires.
The athletics department announced the hiring of Joe Walsmith ’94, Ph.D., Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Wellness and Performance, Matt Whalen, MS, LAT, ATC, Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Medicine, and Emilie Burgess, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN, Dietitian/Nutritionist.
Walsmith, Whalen and Burgess join Director of Strength and Conditioning Brandon O’Neall as leaders within the Division of Athletics and Recreation wellness and performance ecosystem, which includes Sports Psychology, Sports Nutrition, Sports Medicine, Strength and Conditioning, and Sports Wellness. Creating a holistic and interdisciplinary model, the ecosystem provides a wraparound approach to maximize performance, care, programming, and support.
“I am ecstatic to welcome three strong leaders in Joe, Emilie, and Matt. This team will be instrumental in creating an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to performance and holistic care. Under Joe’s leadership, Brown’s holistic approach will benefit our student-athletes and differentiate our programs.”
Walsmith will oversee and help further develop Brown’s wellness & performance team and ecosystem, which will include sports nutrition, sports medicine, strength & conditioning, and sports psychology.
Walsmith brings a holistic approach to student-athlete wellness and performance. He is trained in physiology, nutrition, immunology, biology, mind-body health, lifestyle medicine, exercise science, human performance, and health behavior change. He holds a doctoral degree in nutritional biochemistry, physiology, and metabolism from Tufts University, a bachelor’s and master’s degree in biology from Brown University and Harvard University, and training and certification in health & well-being coaching and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) from Duke Integrative Medicine.
“Brown is a special place and I couldn’t be more excited to return to Brown in this new role – a role that is focused on making a positive impact on the lives of Brown’s student-athletes,” said Walsmith. “I look forward to the work ahead and to building something great together! It is a fantastic time to be part of Brown Athletics and Recreation.”
Whalen will oversee the sports medicine unit and joins Brown after three years as Tufts Director of Sports Medicine/Head Athletic Trainer. Whalen oversaw and provided comprehensive athletic healthcare for 28 Division III athletic programs and two club contact sports.
No stranger to the Ivy League, Whalen spent nine years (2010-19) in the sports medicine department at Harvard – six as an athletic trainer and three as the Associate Director of Sports Medicine.
Burgess completed her Bachelor’s degree in Dietetics at the University of Connecticut, where she competed as a Division I tennis player. She went on to obtain her Master of Science in Nutrition and Food Science and completed a dietetic internship at West Virginia University. She is also a Board Certified Sports Dietitian (CSSD) specializing in sports performance nutrition and eating disorders in athletes.
Burgess began her dietetic career as a Clinical Dietitian at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston. Then she accepted a position at the Cambridge Eating Disorder Center (CEDC) as a Registered Dietitian.
“I am excited and honored to be the first full-time Sports Dietitian hired to support Brown Athletics,” said Burgess.
