WINCHESTER, Va. – Shenandoah University Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Bridget Lyons announced Wednesday the addition of four support members to the department.
 
Erin Farina has come on board as the athletic communications assistant director, Ally Lates as the assistant strength & conditioning coach, and Shamyra Wilkerson '19 as the director of marketing and promotions.
 
Additionally, Matt McIntosh '23 has taken on an increased role as a senior work study assistant in athletic communications.
 
Erin Farina
 
Farina comes to Shenandoah after completing her Master's Degree from fellow ODAC member University of Lynchburg. As an undergrad at Lynchburg, the Charlottesville native played four years of volleyball while working with the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network and the sports information department. She continued that work over the past two years as a graduate assistant in athletics with special concentration on photography and social media.

In her new role, she will oversee the social media and graphics for the department, its 600 student-athletes, and 22 intercollegiate athletics programs.

Ally Lates 

Lates, a 2016 Ithaca College graduate, comes to SU after one year as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Vassar College.
 
Prior to her experience with the Brewers, she spent 2020-21 as the women's soccer strength and conditioning coach at Montclair State University. Lates developed year-round programming fitness tests and fatigue monitoring protocols for the women's soccer team while also leading them through team warmups, workouts, and recovery sessions.
 
Lates also has experience in private business through her work with Next Level Physiotherapy. While there, she led small group training sessions for local high school and club teams competing in girls' lacrosse and soccer. Lates assessed and monitored individual progress using timing gates, vertical jump equipment, functional movement screens, and session RPE. 
  
Lates graduated with a degree in clinical exercise science from Ithaca in 2016 and went on to earn a Master of Science in Exercise Science and Nutrition from Sacred Heart University in 2019.
 
Shamyra Wilkerson '19

Wilkerson, an eight-time All-ODAC honoree and the first track & field athlete to earn All-America honors for the Hornets, is the department's new director of marketing and promotions.

As marketing and promotions director, Wilkerson works with the coaching staffs and department administrators to increase fan engagement through halftime and in-game promotions. She has a significant role in the planning of the department's major events such as "Meet the Coaches", Homecoming, and the semi-annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
 
In addition, Wilkerson serves as the department's point per with the Office of Marketing and Communications.
 
Matt McIntosh '23
 
McIntosh, who began as a student assistant prior to his enrollment in August, 2019, takes on increased responsibilities with athletic communications in the areas of game operations, statistical compilation, and media relations.
 
His past experience includes serving as the head statistician for volleyball, men's and women's soccer, softball, and football as well as the play-by-play voice for the Winchester Regional of the 2022 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
 
Farina, Lates, and Wilkerson have started their full-time duties.