IWBC Board Member Bios
DR. KAT WILLIAMS, President
Kat is a Professor of Women’s Sport History, author, lifelong baseball fan, and former shortstop. It is her sincere belief that she accomplished all of the former goals because of the latter. She has dedicated many years to the preservation of women’s baseball history. Some of her current projects include “From the Streets of Havana; Isabel “Lefty” Alvarez” and “But It Does Matter If We Get to Play.”
SHIRLEY BURKOVICH, Treasurer
Shirley is a former infielder, outfielder and pitcher who played from 1949 -1951 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was signed to play at age 16 and was nicknamed “Hustle” for her boundless intensity on the field, as she filled in at every position except catcher. After baseball she worked for Pacific Bell Telephone for 30 years. She is an active collaborator in different projects of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association.
PERRY BARBER, Director
Perry is one of the nearly invisible number of ladies who have literally had the balls to go for baseball umpire-hood. She is an international umpire with 35 years of experience at all levels of amateur and professional baseball, including major league spring training, and logs 150-200 games per year. Although she still plans on umping for some time, her focus shifted toward inspiring the next generation of women umpires; she hopes that in her lifetime she will see a woman umpire in a regular season MLB game. She is a board member of the International Women's Baseball Center, Inc. and an advisor to Baseball for All.
MAYBELLE BLAIR, Director
Affectionately known as “Mae,” she is a former pitcher who played in 1948 for the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. She also played in the National Women’s Softball League in Chicago in the early 1950s. After baseball she worked for Northrup Aircraft where she became the first female Manager of transportation. She travels the United States speaking on behalf of women’s baseball. She’s been been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, honored at Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley Field in Chicago and Angel Stadium in Los Angeles.
DR. LESLIE HEAPHY, Director
Dr. Leslie Heaphy, is an associate professor of history at Kent State at Stark and a lifelong Mets fan. Her favorite baseball memory is the Mets winning the World Series in 1986. Her projects include a number of books edited/written about the Negro Leagues and Women’s baseball. She has been the chair of the SABR women in baseball committee since 1995.
CAMI J. KIDDER, Director
Cami is originally from Montpelier Vermont. She moved to Los Angeles in 2002 to pursue her dream of acting on the world stage. After taking a workshop in The Artist Way, she decided to start making her own films instead of waiting for someone else ‘to let’ her work. STORE, her first documentary, is about people, storage units and our relationship to our stuff, won several “Best Documentary” awards in 2005 – 2006. She has been at work on “Throw Like A Girl,” feature-length documentary about women striving for acceptance in the game of baseball since 2010. She is still shooting and fundraising for “Throw Like A Girl” and will begin editing the project in the Winter of 2015 provided funding has been secured. The post-production of “Bottom of the 9th,” a short personal documentary about her father - arguably the World’s Greatest Red Sox fan - is the core of her coursework at VCFA where she is pursuing a MFA in Film. A former ski racer and coach, she also works as a freelance cinematographer and editor, and partially funds her projects by working as an Independent Sales Representative for Goal Zero, a portable solar power company.
DEBBIE PIERSON, Director
Debbie is a lifetime baseball fan. She has lived many baseball dreams after getting a late start, playing at age 27 in 3 men's leagues, as well as in tournaments in the United States, Hong Kong and Australia. She pitched one season with the Australian Ainslie Bears and in the A.C.T. Inaugural Women's Baseball season in 2007. Her favorite position is catcher and she says her best ability is behind the dish blocking balls. She loves to get dirty, hence earning her the nickname "Pigpen". She is an associate member of the All American Girl's Professional Baseball League Players Association, volunteers in the Hall of Fame research library creating player files for AAGPBL players and serves as a board member of the International Women's Baseball Center, Inc. She focuses on supporting and promoting those young girls and women who dream of playing baseball with the motto - "The Game Belongs to Everyone".
RYAN WOODWARD, Director
Growing up in Kentucky, Ryan remains partial to the Reds and the Cardinals. He is an avid fan of minor league baseball. He is an advocate and fan of all women's sports and is eager to see the return of women to baseball, playing in a league of their own. He is a longtime associate member of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association. Ryan pursued a career in Library and Information Science. It is his hope that by preserving the rich history of women's baseball, others will be equally inspired, creating more opportunities for current and future athletes.
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GREG SCHWANKE, Museum Board
Greg fell in love with baseball at an early age. A chance encounter with a former Rockford Peach at the Field of Dreams in Iowa generated the question "Is Rockford ever going to do anything with our ball field?" He located the Friends of Beyer organization online, but it was inactive. With old softball friend Steve McIntosh, Greg, now head of Friends of Beyer, began the renovation of the stadium in 2008, culminating in a re-dedication in June 2010. The new ball field is designed to look like a field from the 1940's and 50's, complete with all wood construction.
TRACY REINER, Museum Board
With four decades in Hollywood, Tracy Reiner's talents include writing, directing, and acting. At age 8, she moved to Los Angeles with her mother, actress/director Penny Marshall, and stepfather, actor/director Rob Reiner. She majored in the History of Storytelling at Bennington College, has authored several scripts and has consulted on studio films. She has worked on scripts for directors Sergio Leone, Francis Ford Coppola, and Garry Marshall. Tracy is CEO of Manifesto Films.
LAURA HIRAI, Youth Ambassador
Laura, a high school student from the United Kingdom, is the first woman in the game of baseball to represent the Great Britain National team, pitching at the U18 European Baseball Championships in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, Laura co-organized and participated in the first ever game of women's baseball in the UK. Laura has also represented the Great Britain softball team since 2012, participating in several European and World championships, even winning the U19 European Championships in 2016 for the first time in Great Britain softball history. Her aspirations are to play collegiate ball in the USA.
KENDRA LEVESQUE, Junior Ambassador
Twelve year old Kendra made her mark in Cooperstown, NY during a home run hitting contest known as the "King of Swat", beating out 103 boys to become the first girl to become the "King of Swat". She plays on three teams in her hometown of New Mexico, and is an infielder and pitcher for the Sparks, a national all-girls team for players 12 and under, sponsored by Baseball for All, Inc. She has traveled all over the world to play the game she loves and the hat she wore at a recent tournament in S. Korea is on display in Cooperstown at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. She's been featured in Sports Illustrated and on ESPN. Someday she hopes to play high school baseball and earn a scholarship to attend the college of her choice and after that, to play professional baseball. She is an ambassador to Baseball For All, Inc. and a youth advocate for the International Women's Baseball Center, Inc.
Kat is a Professor of Women’s Sport History, author, lifelong baseball fan, and former shortstop. It is her sincere belief that she accomplished all of the former goals because of the latter. She has dedicated many years to the preservation of women’s baseball history. Some of her current projects include “From the Streets of Havana; Isabel “Lefty” Alvarez” and “But It Does Matter If We Get to Play.”
SHIRLEY BURKOVICH, Treasurer
Shirley is a former infielder, outfielder and pitcher who played from 1949 -1951 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was signed to play at age 16 and was nicknamed “Hustle” for her boundless intensity on the field, as she filled in at every position except catcher. After baseball she worked for Pacific Bell Telephone for 30 years. She is an active collaborator in different projects of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association.
PERRY BARBER, Director
Perry is one of the nearly invisible number of ladies who have literally had the balls to go for baseball umpire-hood. She is an international umpire with 35 years of experience at all levels of amateur and professional baseball, including major league spring training, and logs 150-200 games per year. Although she still plans on umping for some time, her focus shifted toward inspiring the next generation of women umpires; she hopes that in her lifetime she will see a woman umpire in a regular season MLB game. She is a board member of the International Women's Baseball Center, Inc. and an advisor to Baseball for All.
MAYBELLE BLAIR, Director
Affectionately known as “Mae,” she is a former pitcher who played in 1948 for the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. She also played in the National Women’s Softball League in Chicago in the early 1950s. After baseball she worked for Northrup Aircraft where she became the first female Manager of transportation. She travels the United States speaking on behalf of women’s baseball. She’s been been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, honored at Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley Field in Chicago and Angel Stadium in Los Angeles.
DR. LESLIE HEAPHY, Director
Dr. Leslie Heaphy, is an associate professor of history at Kent State at Stark and a lifelong Mets fan. Her favorite baseball memory is the Mets winning the World Series in 1986. Her projects include a number of books edited/written about the Negro Leagues and Women’s baseball. She has been the chair of the SABR women in baseball committee since 1995.
CAMI J. KIDDER, Director
Cami is originally from Montpelier Vermont. She moved to Los Angeles in 2002 to pursue her dream of acting on the world stage. After taking a workshop in The Artist Way, she decided to start making her own films instead of waiting for someone else ‘to let’ her work. STORE, her first documentary, is about people, storage units and our relationship to our stuff, won several “Best Documentary” awards in 2005 – 2006. She has been at work on “Throw Like A Girl,” feature-length documentary about women striving for acceptance in the game of baseball since 2010. She is still shooting and fundraising for “Throw Like A Girl” and will begin editing the project in the Winter of 2015 provided funding has been secured. The post-production of “Bottom of the 9th,” a short personal documentary about her father - arguably the World’s Greatest Red Sox fan - is the core of her coursework at VCFA where she is pursuing a MFA in Film. A former ski racer and coach, she also works as a freelance cinematographer and editor, and partially funds her projects by working as an Independent Sales Representative for Goal Zero, a portable solar power company.
DEBBIE PIERSON, Director
Debbie is a lifetime baseball fan. She has lived many baseball dreams after getting a late start, playing at age 27 in 3 men's leagues, as well as in tournaments in the United States, Hong Kong and Australia. She pitched one season with the Australian Ainslie Bears and in the A.C.T. Inaugural Women's Baseball season in 2007. Her favorite position is catcher and she says her best ability is behind the dish blocking balls. She loves to get dirty, hence earning her the nickname "Pigpen". She is an associate member of the All American Girl's Professional Baseball League Players Association, volunteers in the Hall of Fame research library creating player files for AAGPBL players and serves as a board member of the International Women's Baseball Center, Inc. She focuses on supporting and promoting those young girls and women who dream of playing baseball with the motto - "The Game Belongs to Everyone".
RYAN WOODWARD, Director
Growing up in Kentucky, Ryan remains partial to the Reds and the Cardinals. He is an avid fan of minor league baseball. He is an advocate and fan of all women's sports and is eager to see the return of women to baseball, playing in a league of their own. He is a longtime associate member of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association. Ryan pursued a career in Library and Information Science. It is his hope that by preserving the rich history of women's baseball, others will be equally inspired, creating more opportunities for current and future athletes.
________________
GREG SCHWANKE, Museum Board
Greg fell in love with baseball at an early age. A chance encounter with a former Rockford Peach at the Field of Dreams in Iowa generated the question "Is Rockford ever going to do anything with our ball field?" He located the Friends of Beyer organization online, but it was inactive. With old softball friend Steve McIntosh, Greg, now head of Friends of Beyer, began the renovation of the stadium in 2008, culminating in a re-dedication in June 2010. The new ball field is designed to look like a field from the 1940's and 50's, complete with all wood construction.
TRACY REINER, Museum Board
With four decades in Hollywood, Tracy Reiner's talents include writing, directing, and acting. At age 8, she moved to Los Angeles with her mother, actress/director Penny Marshall, and stepfather, actor/director Rob Reiner. She majored in the History of Storytelling at Bennington College, has authored several scripts and has consulted on studio films. She has worked on scripts for directors Sergio Leone, Francis Ford Coppola, and Garry Marshall. Tracy is CEO of Manifesto Films.
LAURA HIRAI, Youth Ambassador
Laura, a high school student from the United Kingdom, is the first woman in the game of baseball to represent the Great Britain National team, pitching at the U18 European Baseball Championships in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, Laura co-organized and participated in the first ever game of women's baseball in the UK. Laura has also represented the Great Britain softball team since 2012, participating in several European and World championships, even winning the U19 European Championships in 2016 for the first time in Great Britain softball history. Her aspirations are to play collegiate ball in the USA.
KENDRA LEVESQUE, Junior Ambassador
Twelve year old Kendra made her mark in Cooperstown, NY during a home run hitting contest known as the "King of Swat", beating out 103 boys to become the first girl to become the "King of Swat". She plays on three teams in her hometown of New Mexico, and is an infielder and pitcher for the Sparks, a national all-girls team for players 12 and under, sponsored by Baseball for All, Inc. She has traveled all over the world to play the game she loves and the hat she wore at a recent tournament in S. Korea is on display in Cooperstown at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. She's been featured in Sports Illustrated and on ESPN. Someday she hopes to play high school baseball and earn a scholarship to attend the college of her choice and after that, to play professional baseball. She is an ambassador to Baseball For All, Inc. and a youth advocate for the International Women's Baseball Center, Inc.
