The GoTrybe™ Team
Our Team Members
The GoTrybe team consists of people with varied backgrounds. The one key ingredient that provides this team with energy and drive is a passion for seeing children, teens and families get active and healthy. Here are a few of the core team members that help drive GoTrybe in this mission:
Key Team Members
Tom Jessee / Co-Founder, CEO & Board of Directors: Tom Jessee has spent over 30 years practicing law in the states of South Carolina and Tennessee. As a longtime supporter of public education and member in good standing with the NAACP, Tom has always looked for ways to positively influence young people.
John Jordan / Chief Operations Officer: John comes to GoTrybe with more than 20 years of project and people management experience. He was a key player in bringing one of the first Internet companies (peapod.com) online and through the "bubble burst" in the early 1990s. His leadership, experience and passion for helping youth make him well suited for his position with GoTrybe.
Robert Baggett / VP, Creative Development & Marketing: Robert has spent the last 14 years of his career creating communications and developing relationships for a wide range of national and international brands, including Nokia, Siemens and Eastman. With a strong desire to help young people excel in all aspects of life, Robert is an integral part of the GoTrybe team.
Dr. Bill Joyner / Co-Founder, VP & Board of Directors: Bill has spent the last 19 years as the Chair of the Physiology Department at the ETSU Quillen College of Medicine. Bill's leadership roles and drive to combat the problem of childhood obesity are what compelled him to be involved with the Trybe. He continues to be a leader in keeping GoTrybe a fresh and evolving online community for youth.
Charlie Benson / Co-Founder, Partner Relations & Board of Directors: Charlie has spent the last 25 years of his life coaching and mentoring some of the most talented pre-college basketball players in the Southeast. Leading one of Nike's premier traveling teams based out of Tennessee, Charlie has spent many years driving toward at least two of GoTrybe's goals: getting children and teens active and healthy while teaching them the benefits of discipline and hard work.
Dr. Chris Downs / Co-Founder: Christopher J. Downs, M.D., F.A.C.C. is a Board Certified Cardiologist who is an Associate Professor and Cardiovascular Fellowship Training Program Director in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine at Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn. He is the Director of the Echovascular Lab at Johnson City Medical Center Hospital, also in Johnson City, and he is the Director of the Cardiovascular PET Scanner Lab in Gray, Tenn.
Dr. Downs had a severe motor vehicle accident in January 2004 and had a prolonged and extensive rehabilitation. Despite his being a paraplegic and in a wheelchair, he has been able to not only return to his previous responsibilities but has added to his curriculum vitae (CV). He is the only known Interventional Cardiologist, i.e. angioplasty, stents, in the United States who practices out of a wheelchair full-time.
Dr. Downs practices Adult Cardiovascular Medicine and is keenly aware of how childhood obesity translates into adult cardiovascular problems and events. He is passionate about teaching children how to eat and exercise properly and how to make other lifestyle changes in order to help reduce the incidence of childhood obesity and therefore cardiovascular events.
Kristy Baggett / Health & Wellness Manager: Kristy has spent the last 11 years of her career counseling and teaching good health and nutrition practices for children, teens and families. As a nutrition educator for the Public Health Department, Kristy explored her interest in good health by working with underprivileged patients and WIC families. Additional life tracks as a certified fitness instructor and an enthusiastic lifelong athlete keep Kristy excited about the GoTrybe mission.
Elizabeth Cross / Fitness Coordinator: Elizabeth has spent her career helping others learn about getting fit and healthy. She is a certified personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise and certified in Group Power and Group Step through Body Training Systems. With a lifelong passion for sports and physical activity, Elizabeth is well-qualified and uniquely positioned to help drive GoTrybe toward being a nationally and internationally recognized program. In addition, Elizabeth spent a couple of years as a member of the University of Tennessee Crew team, which gave her great competitive experiences and a never quit attitude.
Cheryl Williams / Registered Dietician: Cheryl joined the GoTrybe team because she wants to have an impact on young people, and knows that it is necessary to reach them where they are, online. Cheryl's interest in nutrition and exercise began in high school. After joining a local gym that included sessions with a registered dietitian, she realized how important a healthy lifestyle is to maintain a healthy fulfilling life. With interest in her mind and passion in her heart, Cheryl is an invaluable resource in GoTrybe's fight to get young people healthy and active.
Mike & Meg Stone: Dr. Mike Stone is the Director of the Exercise and Sport Sciences Lab at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and is a volunteer coach with the track program. Mike received his Ph.D. from Florida State University in 1977 in Exercise Science. He was both a national and international competitor in weightlifting from 1965 to 1990. Since that time, he has remained active by coaching, serving as a national referee, serving as a member of the USA Weightlifting Sports Science Committee and the International Weightlifting Federation Sports Science and Research Committee.
Dr. Mike Stone's research is in the areas of the nutritional aspects of general human performance and sports. Most recently, he has begun a collaboration designing a multi-site research program dealing with type 1 diabetes and resistance training.
Dr. Meg Stone came to the U.S. from her native Scotland on a track and field scholarship to the University of Arizona. While there, Meg won seven national titles in the shot and discus at the NCAA Division 1 level, she still holds the NCAA Division 1 national records in the shot put. She also began her coaching career at the University of Arizona and became the school's first female Head Coach of Strength and Conditioning. From 1984 to 1993 she also coached the women's track and field team, which included coaching Carla Garrett to a double national championship in shot and discus.
Meg is entering her third year of coaching track and field at East Tennessee State University, where she is responsible for coaching the throwing events. Perhaps her biggest accomplishment over the past three years at ETSU is the development of the Sports Performance Enhancement Consortium (S.P.E.C.). Meg is the Director of S.P.E.C., which was established to advance sport through scientific methods and principles.