#CollegeSeries Women in Sports Night

Tegan Bunsu Ashby is the Director of Software Engineering in Baseball R&D for the Philadelphia Phillies, where she leads the application development, data engineering, and infrastructure teams.

Before joining the Phillies as the Assistant Director of Software Engineering in January 2023, she worked in basketball for several seasons with the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, building applications and visualizations to empower front office decision making and help win games.

Tegan is also the co-founder of the Women in Sports Data Symposium and Hackathon, a game-changing initiative to amplify women’s voices in sports analytics across the technical spectrum. She holds degrees in Linguistics and Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied symbolic systems, formal syntax, ancient Mesopotamian languages, and the world’s oldest spreadsheets.

Jackie Cuddeback joined the Phillies as vice president, partnership sales and corporate marketing on July 1, 2018, to lead the advertising sales and client services team. She was promoted to her current position in August 2022.

A seasoned, multi-platform executive skilled at leveraging industry trends to create custom solutions for clients, Jackie spent 19 years in media at Time Inc., in a number of key leadership posts, including vice president of client solutions for the food/beverage/spirits and entertainment verticals. In that role, she developed and pitched multi-million-dollar programs for clients using Time Inc.’s entire portfolio of assets. Prior to that, she was associate publisher of People Magazine and People.com, leading client solutions, including marketing, branded content, creative services, events and research for People’s expansive revenue portfolio.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jackie attended Germantown Friends School and graduated in 1996 from the University of Vermont, where she played lacrosse and received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She currently serves on the boards of the Boys & Girls Club of Philadelphia and Squash Smarts.

Jackie and her husband John live in Radnor, Pa., with their three children, Jack, Whitney and Cole.

Dr. Deanna Nobleza was hired as director of mental health for the Phillies in January 2023. In this role, she oversees the implementation of mental health services and programming for all players and staff.

Dr. Nobleza completed her medical degree and residency in internal medicine and psychiatry from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She worked in community behavioral health for two years before transitioning to college mental health as the first staff psychiatrist at Princeton University and working with Division I athletes. In 2010, Dr. Nobleza joined Thomas Jefferson University to oversee student mental health services and develop a suicide prevention program. During the pandemic, she assisted in developing the COVID-19 behavioral health response for the Jefferson Enterprise. She is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and served as assistant provost at Thomas Jefferson University.

Born in Central Jersey, Dr. Nobleza now lives in South Jersey with her one child.

Claire Smith covered all things baseball as an award-winning reporter, columnist and content editor for 40 years before accepting a position as an associate professor at Temple University in 2021. Smith will teach journalism and was honored to be named co-director of the newly established Claire Smith Center for Sports Media within the Klein College of Media and Communication.

Smith was born in Philadelphia in 1953 within blocks of Temple, her alma mater. She later worked within miles of her hometown at her first newspaper employer - The Bucks County Courier Times. She soon moved on to The Philadelphia Bulletin where her dream of becoming a sports reporter became a reality. Smith went on to work for the Hartford Courant, covering the New York Yankees from 1983 to 1987, the first female to have a full-time Major League beat. She later worked as a columnist for The New York Times from 1991 to 1998, and was an editor and columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer from 1998 to 2007. She rounded out her career as a content editor at ESPN, 2007-2021.

Smith traveled the world covering baseball, with assignments as wide-ranging as labor negotiations in The Oval Office to witnessing the first-ever Major League games played in Europe and Puerto Rico. The veteran reporter’s achievements were recognized by her peers when she voted the 2017 recipient of The Baseball Writers Association’s Career Excellence Award; the first woman and fourth African American to be so honored. She has also been recognized for her pioneering efforts and career milestones by her alma mater as well as The Association for Women in Sports Media, The National Association of Black Journalists, The Jackie Robinson Foundation, The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and The Josh Gibson Foundation.

Smith was among the subjects of A League of Her Own, a short biographical documentary about the women who shattered glass ceilings throughout sport media. The film was screened in 2018 at the Hall of Fame's annual Baseball Film Festival.

A member of the Phillies organization since 1985, Kathy Killian was promoted to vice president, human resources and customer services in December 2008. She moved into her current position in October 2018. As a catalyst for the preservation and development of the organization’s culture, Kathy’s responsibilities include assisting in the annual performance review process, compensation setting and workforce development. As a business partner for management, she continues to develop the club’s diversity and inclusion initiatives and opportunities, as well as oversee employee engagement, employee recognition, employee food services, the high school associates program and other special projects.

Born in Philadelphia, Pa., Kathy graduated from Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls in 1981 and earned a bachelor’s degree in management/marketing in 1985 from Spring Garden College. A standout basketball player, her No. 35 was retired by the school in 1988. She also coached the women’s basketball team at Holy Family University from 1987 to 1995.

Kathy began her career with the Phillies as an intern in the sales office. A year later she was hired as a full-time sales office representative and in 1995 she was promoted to director, group sales, the position she held before her promotion to vice president. In 2006, Kathy was honored with the Richie Ashburn & David Montgomery Special Achievement Award, which is given to a member of the Phillies organization who has demonstrated loyalty, dedication and passion for the game. Kathy was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 and was honored by the Girls Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania with the Take the Lead Award in 2015.

Kathy serves on the board of the David Palmer Foundation as well as the Temple University STHM Board of Visitors and the Pennsylvania Hospital Board of Managers.

She and her partner Jen live in Northeast Philadelphia.

Mickey Morandini transitioned to his role as club ambassador in 2018. He had spent the previous two years with the team as first base coach and baserunning instructor.

Prior to joining the major league staff, Mickey spent five years in the Phillies minor league system as a coach for triple-A Lehigh Valley and double-A Reading and manager for single-A Lakewood and single-A Williamsport. He also spent four years as head coach for the Valparaiso High School varsity baseball team.

A 1995 National League All-Star, Mickey played nine of his 11 major league seasons (1990-2000) with the Phillies and was a member of the 1993 NL champions. He ranks fourth in Phillies history in most games played at second base (926) and was the recipient of the Paul Owens Award in 1989 as the best player in the Phillies minor league system. Mickey was originally selected by the Phillies in the fifth round of the June 1988 draft out of Indiana University. As an amateur, he won a gold medal as a member of the 1988 Olympic baseball team.

Born in Leechburg, Pa., Mickey and his wife Peg currently live in Glen Mills, Pa. They have three sons: Jordan, Griffin and Braydon.

The 2024 season marks Dickie Noles’ 33rd with the organization after rejoining the Phillies in 1992. Prior to becoming a club ambassador, he spent 28 years as an employee assistance professional and, before that, four years in the community relations department.

Dickie pitched for parts of 11 major league seasons with the Phillies (1979-81; 1990), Chicago Cubs (1982-84; 1987), Texas Rangers (1984-85), Cleveland (1986), Detroit Tigers (1987) and Baltimore Orioles (1988) and finished his career at 36-53 with 11 saves and a 4.56 ERA in 277 games (96 starts). Selected by the Phillies in the fourth round of the June 1975 draft, Dickie was a member of the 1980 World Series champions, pitching in relief.

In 1989, Dickie won the Texas Rangers Community Service Award and in 1992 he was honored as the International Christian Athlete of the Year. Other awards he has won include the Humanitarian of the Year by the Sunshine Foundation in 1997 and the Humanitarian Award from the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association in 2010. In 2019, he won the Richie Ashburn & David Montgomery Special Achievement Award, given annually to a Phillies employee who has demonstrated loyalty, dedication and passion for the game. Dickie was inducted into the All Sports Museum of Southern New Jersey in October 2021.

Dickie was born in Charlotte, N.C., and currently resides in Aston, Pa. He has one daughter, Brittany, twin sons, Christopher and Nicholas, and five grandchildren.