Diversity and inclusion are two of IJRU’s core values. Our upcoming webinar on Diversity and Inclusion in the Sport of Jump Rope/Rope Skipping will look into the ways in which the global jump rope/rope skipping community can eliminate barriers to inclusion and ensure that all athletes, coaches, volunteers and judges have access to our sport.

Date and time

The Diversity and Inclusion webinar will take place on Saturday, August 1 at 12:00 UTC. Everyone who has registered for the webinar will receive a link to the webinar 24 hours in advance.

Meet our Moderator and Panelists

We are pleased to introduce our panelists!

Adrian Taylor, Moderator

Adrian Taylor is the Director of Diversity for Premier Health in Dayton, Ohio. He serves as the key advisor on the research, development and/or modification of diversity programs that support Premier’s business objectives with an emphasis on workforce diversity, supplier diversity and community engagement. He engages the community through various functions and events that reflect Premier’s values and promote healthier living throughout the Dayton region. Some of the events include: Premier Health’s African-American Wellness Walk, serving on the Dayton & Montgomery County’s Public Health LGBTQ Initiative, sponsoring and participating in the annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration, participating on the Dayton Business Journal’s Diversity Committee, and serving on the UD West Dayton Conversation Steering Committee. At the 2017 Southwest Ohio Supplier Diversity Healthcare symposium Adrian received the prestigious Spirit of Diversity Individual Champion Award for the work they’ve achieved in the Dayton area though their supplier diversity program. Premier relentlessly pursues diversity supplier within the southwest Ohio region through outreaches and forums held throughout the year. He also received the Leadership Excellence Award at the 2017 Diversity & Leadership conference for the work Premier is doing in Inclusion & Diversity. He also won the 2018 Asian American Commerce’s Group Supplier Diversity Leadership Award. Through his leadership, Premier Health also won the Vizient Supplier Diversity Excellent Award and the Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council’s Class-1 Corporation of the Year Award in 2017. Premier tracks and reports out on demographic information, strategizes for retention and recruitment for diverse employees, and executing best practices for their over 13,000 they manage throughout southwest Ohio on a quarterly basis.

Before joining Premier Health in 2014, Mr. Taylor served in key management roles, earning positions of increasing responsibility in the private sector with companies like EDS, NCR and The Berry Company. More recently he worked for four years in the non-profit sector for the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. As the Manager of Minority Business Retention and Expansion he advocated for and secured over $100M in contracted diverse spend for diverse companies in the Dayton region.

Janice Harrington, Physical Education Teacher

Janice Harrington has taught elementary physical education for forty-seven years. Twenty-one years in Northern Virginia and twenty-six years in Torrington, Connecticut. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Health and physical Education from D.C. Teacher’s College, which is now known as the University of the District of Columbia. She received her Master’s Degree in Supervision from George Mason University.

Her passion for her field is reflected by the successes of her students, the depth of her program and her numerous awards and recognitions. Her program was first recognized for excellence when she taught in Virginia in 1988. After moving to Connecticut her program was recognized again by the Connecticut Association of Schools in 1995. She received two awards in 1997, one from the Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. as a recipient of their Apple for the Teacher award. The second award was the annual Teacher of the Year Award from the Torrington Board of Education. She has supported the programs developed by the American Heart Association, known as Jump Rope for Heart and the Kids Heart Challenge, from the beginning of her teaching experience. She has also appeared in “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” in 1994, 2002, 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.

Janice also coaches a jump rope team with athletes ranging from grade 4 to adult. I have been teaching for forty-seven years and coaching jump rope for thirty-eight years. Growing up, my inspiration came from my physical education teachers that exposed me to everything but jump rope. The jump rope I learned was street Double Dutch. That means I took my Mom’s clothes line to make the ropes and we would jump during recess or at home, making up our own rhymes and we counted by tens.

I went to a physical education professional development day where they had a jump rope team, doing a demonstration and teaching the teachers. That was my first exposure to a “Jump Rope Team”. They did it all, single rope, long rope, Double Dutch, they jumped to music and they jumped on pogo sticks and pogo balls.From that point on, Janice has been involved as a jump rope coach with her team competing at American Double Dutch League (ADDL) and USA Jump Rope tournaments.

Keo Mokolopo, President - Africa Jump Rope Federation

Born and bred in Thaba- Nchu, South Africa, Keo currently an ambassador for the South African Gymnastics Federation and President of Africa Jump Rope Federation (AJRF). She is also on the IJRU Board of Directors representing Africa.

Even though Rope Skipping I started very late in my life (20’s) I have grown to love it and become a 4X World medalist. My passion however is in development (Athletes and Technical, we need both) especially in Africa, my motherland. My dream as the President of AJRF is to see as many African Countries as possible getting recognized by their highest sporting bodies nationally, only then I will know we are doing something right.

With Recognition comes support in all form and funding might also be possible as it is one of our biggest challenges in Africa. This will indeed aid in attendance of World Events as it is the only way we can learn, keep up with Jumping trends and of course make our African mark #ItIsPossible

Kim Bradshaw, Jump Rope Coach

Kimberly Bradshaw, Coach of the Greenbelt SITY Stars Jump Rope Team has been coaching in the sport of jump rope for 35 years. Kim started in the sport as a Double Dutch competitor at the age of 10 years old in the Washington, D.C. area. She has been committed to the sport and has been blessed to be involved with cultivating a fitness mindset into the lives of thousands of young people - providing them an opportunity to travel the world performing and competing.

Kim is the mom of two adult sons, one of which is a Grand Champion jumper and the other a college student at Delaware State University.

Jonathan Mahoto

Carly Simpson, Digital Communications

Carly Simpson holds an MA and PhD (ABD) in Canadian History with a specific focus on the history of gender and sexuality in the twentieth century. Her research looks at grassroots political organizing in the Canadian lesbian and gay movement. Carly has taught courses at the university and college level on a variety of subjects including World Cultures, Multiculturalism, Critical and Creative Thinking, Canadian History and the History of Gender and Sexuality. In 2018, Carly transitioned into her current role in digital communications and web development where she is committed to making the internet a more friendly and accessible space for everyone to enjoy.

Carly has been involved in the sport of jump rope for over 25 years as an athlete, coach and judge and she currently sits on the IJRU Technical Committee and helps out IJRU with digital communications (like this one)!