PHF Staff

Front Office

Reagan Carey

Commissioner

Reagan Carey was appointed commissioner of the Premier Hockey Federation in April 2022, delivering the PHF’s mission to provide leading opportunities in professional women’s hockey and growing the sport for its athletes, partners, and fans. With twenty-plus years of experience working in the sports industry, Carey’s career reflects a common thread of leading teams to new heights through creating meaningful cultures and crafting a clear vision for winning.

Carey has unparalleled experience in women’s hockey, serving as USA Hockey’s Director of Women’s Ice Hockey and General Manager of the U.S. National Women’s Team from 2010-18. Her guidance helped produce unprecedented golden success in IIHF competition including five U18 titles and five World Championship wins, plus a gold medal victory at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Before USA Hockey, Carey spent a decade working with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers with a focus on sports development performance, and marketing. Carey is a 2001 graduate of Colby College where she competed as a two-sport athlete, captaining both the ice hockey and volleyball teams. In 2010 she was the proud recipient of the school’s Carl Nelson Sports Achievement Award, and in 2018 was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame.

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Jim Pfeifer

Chief Marketing Officer

Jim Pfeifer joined the PHF in July 2022 as the CMO after 30 years as a sports executive in the NHL, NBA, MLL, and WNBA.

From January 2019 until July 2022, Pfeifer served as the VP Corporate Partnerships for the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. From April - October 2021, Pfeifer also held the position of Interim COO for the Dream after the team was sold.

Prior to the Dream, Pfeifer was President of the Atlanta Blaze during the 2017 and 2018 Major League Lacrosse seasons.

Pfeifer began his career with the New York Rangers in November 1989 and held a variety of positions until leaving the Rangers in 1998 as the Marketing Director to assume a similar role with the expansion Atlanta Thrashers.

In June 2004, Pfeifer was promoted to VP of Marketing for both the Thrashers and the Atlanta Hawks and remained in that dual role until 2011. He then became VP of Partnership Marketing for the Hawks and remained with the Hawks until October 2016.

Jim lives in Atlanta with his wife Angie, and has two children who attended the University of Georgia.

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Lisa Haley

SVP of Hockey Operations

Lisa Haley is currently the Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), and the 2022-23 season marked her third season with the PHF.

Lisa is playing an integral role in the major restructuring of the PHF, as this professional hockey league undergoes significant and rapid change.

She also serves as Lead Coach for TMU Athletics in Toronto, Canada and is the Head Coach, Manager of Operations for their Varsity women’s hockey team.

Haley also has extensive experience internationally, having been involved with Hockey Canada’s High-Performance program since 2003. In total, Haley has been on the Canadian bench for 6 World Championships, and 1 Olympic Games, winning 1 Olympic gold at the 2014 Sochi Games, 2 World Championship golds in 2012 and 2010 (U18), and 4 World Championship silvers.

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Paul Krotz

SVP of Communications

Paul Krotz is a communications executive with over 15 years of professional experience in sports. Since February 2021 he has led the league’s media operations and strategic communications. Highlights of his tenure include planning and implementation of the PHF rebrand, announcing the $25 million commitment from the Board of Governors, introducing league expansion to Montreal, special events such as the Isobel Cup Playoffs, All-Star Showcase, draft and awards, content development, and engaging media across North America to raise the profile of the PHF and its members.

Prior to joining the PHF, Krotz was Director of Communications for the Canadian Hockey League for 12 seasons including 11 in a split role with the Ontario Hockey League. He also has experience with Hockey Canada, serving in a Media Relations role for the National Junior Team at the 2015, 2012, and 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships, and was also a member of the Media Services team at the 2009 tournament.

Krotz graduated from Laurentian University in 2005 with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree in Sports Administration. The Kitchener, Ontario native now resides in Mississauga with his wife, Candice. He enjoys staying active in sports as a minor hockey official and avid golfer.

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Marissa Halligan

Lead, League Operations Developer

Marissa Halligan joined the PHF in August 2022. She has close to 15 years of leadership and operations experience in hockey, including more than a decade with the U.S. Women’s National Team and Development Programs in her role as USA Hockey’s Manager, Women’s Ice Hockey. During her 2008-19 tenure, she accumulated program management and operations experience that covered two Winter Olympic Games, nine IIHF Women’s Under-18 World Championships, and annual USA Hockey events nationwide. Prior to joining USA Hockey, she spent three seasons as the Assistant Director of the Annual Fund and Girl's Varsity Ice Hockey Head Coach at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, MA. Halligan played four years of collegiate hockey at Hamilton College where she graduated in 2005, then earned a master’s degree in Sports Leadership from Northeastern University in 2010. Her role as Lead, League Operations Developer is designed to meet the needs of a growing and thriving league by supporting the direction, management, and execution of various PHF-related events, programs, communications, projects, and processes.

Nichole Bargo

Director of Finance

Nichole is an energetic, dedicated financial professional whose experience focuses on start-ups, growth, and strategic engagement. She has a successful record of bringing companies from scratch to fully functioning, revenue-earning businesses across industries including airline charters, pilot training, video-gaming terminals, payroll services, and consulting services. Nichole has been part of larger start-ups, coming in when growth was essential and moving the business across the finish line.

Bargo has her Bachelor’s in Accounting from Concordia University Chicago and Master’s in Business Administration from Benedictine University. She is dedicated to constantly learning and helping others grow, building strong relationships, and a network that is willing to lend a hand.

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Ali Bologna

Partnerships Manager

Ali is currently the Partnerships Manager for the Premier Hockey Federation. She is a passionate sports business professional who loves the sports industry and particularly hockey. Before joining the PHF, Ali spent over three years with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where she supported WWE’s developmental talent, NXT, and NXT UK rosters. Prior to that, Bologna spent time with the Vegas Golden Knights assisting their partnerships team as a Sponsorship Activation Intern. Throughout college, Ali was also the Program Director and Head Varsity Coach of Plymouth High School’s my team, which is her alma mater.

Ali achieved a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and also completed a master’s degree in Sports Management and Athlete Development at the University of Florida.

Bologna grew up in Plymouth, Michigan and now resides in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. When Ali is not working, you can find her cooking, golfing, or hanging out with her two kittens - Maisy and Milly.

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Jonathan Calla

Outside Legal Counsel

Mario Forno

Webmaster

Mario Forno is an IT Professional with over 25 years of experience in developing, customizing, maintaining applications, and integrating software solutions. Mario was born in Guatemala City and raised in St. Louis, MO. His parents came to the U.S when he was 4 years old (and he is the oldest of 3). Now 43 years old, Mario is married and has 3 wonderful kids. He has a passion for helping people and businesses grow and believes that he can do this with Technology. Mario Forno hopes that his skills help individuals, entrepreneurs and small business owners make their mark in the world.

Nicholas Putigna

Social Media Manager

Nicholas has held the position of Social Media Manager since November 2020. Among his responsibilities are providing daily updates across the league’s various social platforms and pages, and clipping live video content for entertainment, media, and league purposes.

Hockey Operations

Mel Davidson

Director, League and Hockey Operations

Mel Davidson joined the PHF in May 2022 as the Director of League and Hockey Operations.

Davidson is a pioneer within the sport and widely regarded as the most important figure in Canadian women’s hockey history with a legendary career at Hockey Canada that spanned 26 years with roles in almost every major international triumph for Canada’s National Women’s Team.

In her role, Davidson will provide general hockey operations guidance and support as it relates to the structure of the PHF regular season, playoffs, and offseason processes, and help develop and navigate the Federation’s relationships with key partners across the hockey community in North America and internationally.

Davidson’s previous roles with Team Canada included head coach, assistant coach, general manager, and head scout across 36 different events compiling a medal in every single instance. Her highlights include four straight Winter Olympic gold medals in women’s hockey beginning as an assistant coach in 2002, then serving as head coach in 2006 and 2010, and general manager in 2014. She’s also won five IIHF Women’s World Championship gold medals and 10 gold medals at the 4 Nations Cup.

The Oyen, Alberta native earned a diploma from Red Deer College and completed her undergraduate education at the University of Alberta. Davidson has coached women’s hockey programs at Connecticut College and Cornell University. She was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2011 for her coaching achievements, and again in 2019 as part of the 2010 Olympic team. Davidson was also inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

She will continue her full-time role with Own the Podium where she’s spent the last two years as a high-performance advisor for summer sport. She is also a consultant for the Winnipeg ICE and has been a prominent voice on the IIHF Female Committee since 2010. In January, Davidson served as an honorary coach at the 2022 PHF All-Star Showcase in Buffalo.

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Brianna Decker

Team and Player Development Advisor

Brianna Decker joined the PHF league office in August 2022. She is one of the most distinguished players to ever compete for the U.S. Women’s National Team, with a career that includes U18 gold, eight-straight IIHF Women’s World Championship medals including six gold, and medals at three-straight Olympic Winter Games including gold in 2018. Decker returns to the PHF where she was a member of the 2016 Isobel Cup champions and earned back-to-back MVP honors with the Boston Pride during the league’s first two seasons. The native of Dousman, WI amassed 60 points in 33 games, for a 1.82 points-per-game average that ranks the highest in PHF history.

Decker attended the University of Wisconsin where she won a national championship with the Badgers in 2011 and received the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top NCAA player in 2012. Off the ice, Decker graduated with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies.

Decker will serve in a part-time capacity as she maintains her position at Shattuck-St. Mary’s (SSM) as the Girls Prep Associate Head Coach and Special Advisor to the SSM Hockey Program. In her role as Team and Player Development Advisor, Decker will support the PHF’s commitment to the consistent elevation of training and competition standards at the highest level. Her experience will help assess the league’s on and off-ice environment to ensure it is optimal for players seeking continued development at an elite level.

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Ken Dufton

Director of Scouting (Canada)

Medical Services Committee

Marie Schaefer

Chief Medical Officer

Marie Schaefer, MD has been the Chief Medical Officer for the Premier Hockey Federation since the 2021-2022 season. She is a sports medicine physician with the Cleveland Clinic in the department of orthopedics, where she takes care of athletes and active people of all ages. In addition to her regular clinical care, she is the head team physician for Cleveland State University, Lakewood High School, and the Verb Ballets Company. She is also the associate director of the primary care sports medicine fellowship program and the associate director for education and community outreach for the sports medicine division. She attended Ohio Wesleyan University for her undergraduate degree in politics and government where she competed in track and field. She then underwent her medical training at Yale School of Medicine and subsequently her residency in family medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. She completed her training with a fellowship in pediatric sports medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and joined in the Clinic in 2016. She and her husband reside in the Cleveland area with their three children and rescue pit bull.

Wayne R. Lamarre

Coordinator of Medical Services

Wayne Lamarre has been an Athletic Training educator for over twenty years, and currently serves a Clinical Professor and Director of the Master of Science in Athletic Training Program at the University of New England. His areas of expertise include musculoskeletal injury diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, and teaching critical thinking.

A native of Connecticut, Wayne earned his undergraduate degree in Physical Education with a concentration in Athletic Training from Central Connecticut State University and his Master of Education degree with a concentration in Curriculum & Instruction in Higher Education from Norwich University.

Prof. Lamarre has over thirty years of experience as an AT, working with athletes of all ages and all levels, including professional soccer, professional dance, and professional ice hockey. He is the former President of the Vermont Association of Athletic Trainers, a Peer Reviewer for the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education; and he also currently serves as a member of the medical staff for the U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team, recently supporting them during their silver-medal performance at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.

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Ashley Robbins

Director of Sports Medicine

Ashley Robbins is the Director of Sports Medicine for the Premier Hockey Federation and previously served as the head athletic trainer for the Metropolitan Riveters. In her role with the PHF Medical Committee, Ashley assists teams’ athletic trainers and healthcare providers to ensure proper medical policies are in place.

Ashley received her Master of Education in 2015 from the University of Maine. She was a graduate athletic trainer with the Black Bears, covering Women’s Hockey, Track and Field, and Swimming and Diving. Ashley received her Bachelor of Arts in Athletic Training in 2013 from Loras College in Dubuque, IA.

She was confirmed by the Board of Certification in 2013. In addition to being a New Jersey State Licensed Athletic Trainer and a New York State Certified Athletic Trainer, Ashley is also a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA).

Ashley enjoys spending her extra time outside with her two dogs, Georgie & Trivers. She also enjoys traveling with her partner, Ben. Robbins is a native of Evansville, WI and is a current resident of Jersey City, NJ.

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Player Safety Committee

Stacey LIvingston

Co-Chair

Livingston has been involved with hockey for many years and played competitively at the University of Maine from 1991-95. She also started her love of coaching at UM and Colby College. Serving as an on-ice official for more than 25 years, Livingston officiated at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and was an officiating coach at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi and again in 2022 in Beijing. She continues to be an officiating coach for USA Hockey and the IIHF. Livingston is married and has three children and lives in Fort Mill, SC.

Jacqui Palm

Co-Chair

Palm began officiating in 1981 and served as a referee for Hockey Canada from 1998-2002. A highlight of her on-ice career was skating as a member of the officiating team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Following that experience, she joined Hockey Canada’s Officiating Committee and has been a supervisor and coach ever since. Palm has also served in supervisor and officiating staff roles with the IIHF since 2007, coaching events ranging from the Olympics to World Women’s Division III championships. She is currently the Head of Women’s Player Safety for OUA Women’s Hockey.

Cindy Daley

Cassie Dunne

Alicia Hanrahan

Krissy Langley

Vanessa Stratton

COMMUNICATIONS

Joe Favorito

Strategic communications

Joe Favorito has over 35 years of strategic communications/marketing, business development and public relations expertise in sports, entertainment, brand building, media training, television, athletic administration and business. The Brooklyn, New York native has managed the day-to-day activities in strategic communications for: Two of the world’s hallmark sports and entertainment brands (the New York Knickerbockers and Philadelphia 76ers), the world’s largest professional sport for women (the WTA Tour), the world’s largest sports National Governing Body (the United States Tennis Association) and the world’s largest annual sporting event (the US Open). He also oversaw the strategic planning, investor relations, communications and digital business development of the International Fight League during its two year run as a Mixed Martial Arts venture and a publicly traded company before the assets were sold to the UFC.

Since 2008, Joe has been an independent consultant on storytelling, crisis communications, social media, strategic planning, brand marketing, publicity and business development for a wide range of sports and entertainment companies, startups, brands, professional sports leagues and teams. For the past 15 years Joe has also taught strategic communications in Columbia University's Graduate School of Professional Studies, which is home to the only sports management program in the Ivy League, and is recognized as one of the top five programs in the world. He and his wife Laura reside in River Vale and Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

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Joshua Milne

Joshua Milne has worked in the PR industry for more than 25 years and for the last 11 years on his own. He works with clients developing strategy and story ideas, prepping spokespeople, and conducting targeted media outreach, to managing speaking opportunities and award nomination programs. Joshua has a strong track record of securing targeted coverage for clients at the national, regional, and local levels via his vast and well-established relationships with a variety of media. During his career, he has worked with numerous sports brands, events, leagues, teams, and with sports technology-based startups.

During his time working on the agency side, he supported clients such as Fenway Sports Management, Roush Fenway Racing, Deutsche Bank Championship, Head of the Charles Regatta, the Boston Blazers and Staples Champions Cup. Joshua managed a team that secured 723 articles and 173 interviews for Fenway Sports Management, 440 articles and more than 40 radio and television interviews for the Boston Blazers in their first season, and more than 200 media placements surrounding Volvo Ocean Race in Boston.

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Broadcast

Michael Cohen

Head of Production

Multiple Emmy award-winning television executive and producer Michael Cohen’s career has ranged from successful start-ups to major events, show creation, and talent development. His credits include some of the biggest events in television for all major networks including NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and ESPN. He has been a part of the production team for 9 Olympics Games, World Cups, World Series, Super Bowl, Indy 500, Kentucky Derby, Wide World of Sports, 14 NFL Drafts, and the inaugural X Games.

Jessica Liberato

Production Manager