Eric Beverly - Director of Operations
Eric Beverly serves as Director of Operations-Professional Sports Clinical Programs at Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine (TISM). Eric is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and has a background in athletic administration. Prior to his time at Tulane, Eric served as Assistant Athletics Director for Student Services at The University of Texas at Austin from 2012 - 2017, where his responsibilities included oversight of the academic support staff and student services program for football. Before arriving at Texas, Beverly spent five years at the University of Georgia as coordinator of academics for football and academic counselor for soccer. He was responsible for the daily oversight and communication with regard to academic support and performance for student-athletes. Eric played 10 years in the National Football League, playing both offensive line and tight end. He began his professional career as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions. After spending seven seasons in Detroit, he joined the Atlanta Falcons before retiring in 2007. Eric received his Bachelor's in Business Administration from Miami University (Ohio) in 1997. He and his wife, Danielle, have one daughter.
Lauren Miller, LMSW - Social Worker
Lauren Miller, LMSW is a licensed master of social work who serves former players referred from The Trust to the Professional Athlete Care Team at the Tulane University School of Medicine by providing clinical mental health services and follow up care. Lauren provides emotional wellness and follow up components of the Tulane Brain and Body Assessment Program. Lauren previously worked as a therapist, case manager and school counselor in the Greater New Orleans area. Lauren has experience providing her clients with comprehensive clinical assessments and treatment planning, while utilizing evidence-based practice to guide her psychotherapeutic approach. Lauren specializes in individual, couples and family psychotherapy, including working with adults and adolescents, to address a variety of concerns such as trauma, depression, anxiety, relationship dynamics, life transitions, grief and loss, and goal achievement. Additionally, Lauren is an accredited Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist and she is in the midst of certification by The Daring Way™ (based on the research of Brené Brown).
Lauren is a Doctoral Student at the Tulane University School of Social Work. Lauren earned her bachelor of arts at Duke University in 2010, followed by her master of social work from the Tulane University School of Social Work in 2013. Lauren was a two-time captain and three-time All-America in Field Hockey at Duke University and also named the ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year for Field Hockey in 2010.
Melinda McDonell, MS, ATC, LAT - Care Manager
Melinda (Mindy) McDonell serves as one of the care managers who will assist former players who are referred from The Trust to Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine with their access to necessary medical services during their Brain and Body Assessment. Mindy is from Washington State and has been a certified athletic trainer since 1986. Mindy earned her Masters of Science degree in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of Arizona in 1988. She graduated from Oregon State University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education. Mindy joined the Tulane University Athletic Training Staff in November 2012 where she provided athletic training services to the Tulane athletic teams. She served as an assistant athletic trainer at Washington State University from 1990-2001. Mindy taught from 2011 to 2012 at the University of Idaho in the Department of Health and Safety and also from 2007 to 2011 in the Health and Kinesiology Department at Purdue University.
Cary Berthelot, MA, ATC, LAT - Care Manager
Cary Berthelot is a certified trainer who brings nearly twenty years of experience to her position as Care Manager for The Trust at the Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine, primarily assisting former players and providing services with Brain and Body Assessment. She received both her Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology in 1997 and Master of Arts in Health and Kinesiology in 1999 from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. Cary also received an Associate of Arts from Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri, where she was an Academic All-American in Softball. She most recently served as the Program Director for the Athletic Training Education Program at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and prior to that she served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer at Southeastern, where she taught in the Department of Kinesiology for 12 years. In 2011, she was named the Outstanding Collegiate Athletic Trainer by the Southeast Athletic Trainers' Association. Cary has served on the Executive Boards of both the Louisiana Athletic Trainers' Association (LATA) and Southeast Athletic Trainers' Association and began her term as President-Elect for LATA in June 2016.
Scott Hebert, M.A., ATC, LAT - Athletic Trainer
Scott Hebert is a certified athletic trainer who serves as one of the care managers for the Trust with the Professional Athlete Care Team at the Tulane University School of Medicine. Scott assists former players with their access to necessary medical services during their Brain and Body Assessment and their Milestone Wellness Assessment. Scott received his Bachelor of Athletic Training from Nicholls State University in 2009 and his Master of Arts in Exercise Science from the University of South Florida in 2011. He was a graduate assistant at USF for two years and primarily worked with the school’s football team. Scott then spent a year as an assistant athletic trainer at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He then returned to USF for five years where he was one of the senior associate athletic trainers and worked primarily with their men’s basketball program. Prior to Tulane, Scott worked at a prosthetic and orthotic company where he was the fabrication manager for their products.
Joshua Besson - Financial Officer
Joshua Besson serves as Financial Officer for the Center for Sport at Tulane University. Joshua is responsible for overseeing all financial activity within the Center for Sport. Prior to joining the Tulane team, he managed the accounting for a regulatory agency with the state of Louisiana. Joshua left the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry after five years of service for an opportunity to get involved with the prestigious Professional Sports Programs at Tulane University. Joshua is a native of New Orleans and earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of New Orleans. He is presently pursuing his Master of Business Administration at the Tulane University Freeman School of Business. He also currently serves as a staff sergeant in the Louisiana Army National Guard and has been enlisted since 2008.
Linda Jacobs, RN - Registered Nurse
Linda Jacobs, RN is a registered nurse who serves former players referred from The Trust to the Professional Athlete Care Team at the Tulane University School of Medicine by providing clinical health services and follow up care. Linda provides educational follow-up to the players referred through The Trust as a component of the Tulane Brain and Body Assessment Program and the NFL Player Care Foundation’s Healthy Body & Mind Screening Program. Linda is a healthcare professional with 30 plus years in various Cardiology and Cardiovascular positions. Linda previously worked as a clinical manager in the Pain Management division at Ochsner Health System and as a CV Educator for Cardiology and Cardio-Thoracic Surgery @ Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. Linda has worked with corporate wellness programs to do public screenings at major corporations in the Greater New Orleans area and has provided onsite consultation for individuals at high risk for developing heart disease. Her most recent position is as a clinical coordinator with Dr. Gregory Stewart at Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine. Linda’s dedication to healthcare and to each individual patient are important in providing the highest levels of patient care.
Linda completed the nursing program at Touro Infirmary School of Nursing in 1977 and has also completed classes at the University of New Orleans toward her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing.
Bonnie McCollough - Program Manager
Bonnie McCollough serves as a Program Manager for the Professional Athlete Care Team at the Tulane University School of Medicine, specifically overseeing the NFL Player Care Foundation Healthy Body & Mind screening program. Bonnie is a native of New Orleans and has an extensive background in business management and development. She is a graduate of Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business. Prior to moving back to New Orleans in 2014, Bonnie was the manager of a specialty retail business in Mobile Alabama for 8 years. There she worked closely with the owner in forecasting trends and developing a diversified product mix tailored to a specific target market. She helped to develop and implement direct marketing initiatives, monitor inventory/customer databases, coordinate events, and maintain the website and e-commerce store.
Jenna Graf, MPH, RN - Registered Nurse
Jenna Graf is a registered nurse who serves former players referred from the Trust to the Professional Athlete Care Team. Jenna received a Bachelor’s in Genetics from the University of Georgia and a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine before receiving her nursing degree from Our Lady of the Lake College. Over the past seven years, Jenna has worked at local hospitals, intensive care and post anesthesia care units, and outpatient surgery centers in the New Orleans area.
Denise Alcoser, M.A. CCC-SLP - Speech Pathologist
Denise Alcoser, MA CCC-SLP, is a Speech Pathologist for the Center of Sport at Tulane University. Denise is a native of Baton Rouge and has been a speech pathologist for over 12 years. She has extensive training in providing comprehensive assessments, treatment plans, and education to athletes with varying degrees of brain injuries from junior high to the professional level. In addition to athletics, she has experience providing comprehensive clinical evaluations and developing treatment plans for the pediatric, adult, and geriatric populations in the inpatient, outpatient, and home health settings. Denise specializes in treating developmental delays, traumatic brain injuries, strokes, neurological diseases, voice, and swallowing disorders with in these populations. She is experienced in utilizing Passy Muir ®Speaking Valves for tracheostomy patients and is certified in VitalStim ®, a form of neuromuscular Electrical stimulation (NMES) which is used to aid muscle strengthening and muscle recruitment to rehabilitate swallow.
Denise played soccer at the collegiate level and received her Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in 2002 and Master’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorder from Louisiana State University in 2005.
Jennifer Kernaghan, LCSW - Social Worker
Jennifer Kernaghan, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker who serves former players referred from The Trust to the Professional Athlete Care Team at the Tulane University School of Medicine by providing assistance implementing the recommendations provided by Tulane Brain and Body Assessment Program. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University and Tulane School of Social work. Since 2004 she has worked as a medical social worker and case manager in the Greater New Orleans area. She has experience in various settings including both long-term and brief intervention with diverse populations ranging from seniors requiring assistance with end of life transitioning to at risk new mothers and infants.
Angela Sewell – Project Assistant
Angela Sewell serves as the Project Assistant for the Professional Athlete Care Team (PACT) program. She assists in coordination of program participants of the Tulane PACT Clinic and assists with various administrative duties related to the Former Professional Athlete programs in the Center for Sport. Assists in management of scheduling/planning for the program, as assigned, and assists the Director of Operations and Care Coordinators in all clinical tasks, as assigned. Assist in the coordination of patient registration and insurance verification of program participants. Angela works with the Program Director, physicians, all faculty, fellows, and staff members in the academic medical center.
A native New Orleanian, Angela lived briefly in Houston, Texas (2005-06) and worked as a substitute teacher. Prior to joining the PACT Program team, Angela worked at Tulane University Hospital in the Behavioral Health and Orthopaedic Clinics as a Customer Service Coordinator for 10 years.
