IWBC Board Member Bios
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.
HON. ROSEMARY COLLINS, Director
Hon. Rosemary Collins recently retired as a Circuit Court Judge for the 17th Judicial Circuit in Rockford, IL. An internationally recognized leader trained on the dynamics of domestic violence, she established Children’s Safe Harbor, a free exchange and supervised visitation center, and was a founding board member of the Family Peace Center. She believes in the positive role of sports in childhood development and proudly recalls as an adult player on a woman’s softball team singlehandedly executing a double play while playing second base.
DR. CATHY HEADLEY, Director
Dr. Cathy Headley is an associate professor in Kinesiology at Rockford University and a passionate Chicago Cubs fan. Her earliest memories are learning how to score baseball on her father’s lap watching the Cubs. She tried out for the Colorado Silver Bullets (and didn’t make it!) yet continued to coach young girls in softball and soccer and spent time on many ball fields. Her passion for service spills over into her classrooms, connecting Rockford University students with the International Women’s Baseball Center. Her passion for women’s sports and service are guiding her future research.
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.
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.
RYAN WOODWARD, Director
Ryan is an avid fan of minor league baseball and enjoys visiting and studying the history and architecture of ballparks. 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 developed the inaugural Women in Baseball Week in 2017 and continues to explore projects commemorating women in baseball. Pursuing 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. Originally from Kentucky, Ryan currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA.
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MAYBELLE BLAIR, Founding Director Emeritus
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.
KAREN VIOLETTA KUNKEL, Founding Director Emeritus
Karen, who earned two degrees from Michigan State University, played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was one of the founders of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association and was a technical advisor on the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own”. Perhaps Karen’s greatest achievement in sports was organizing and administering the U.S. Olympic Training Center at Northern Marquette University providing athletes, coaches and the Olympic movement training, research, sports medicine and the opportunity for educational advancement.
JANE MOFFET, Founding Director Emeritus
Jane is a former utility player who played from 1949 through 1952 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was among the most versatile players in the late years of the league. She graduated at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, received her Masters degree at Rutgers University and worked in education for nearly four decades. “Its funny, I worked in education for 42 years, but people remember me best for baseball”.
EDE MOODY, Founding Director Emeritus
While playing fast pitch softball in Kalamazo, Michigan she was recruited by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She graduated from Western Michigan University and is a retired educator, administrator, guidance counselor, and consultant. During her professional tenure she developed and implemented academic and behavioral/classroom management programs at both the state and local levels. She is a former officer of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association.
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.
HON. ROSEMARY COLLINS, Director
Hon. Rosemary Collins recently retired as a Circuit Court Judge for the 17th Judicial Circuit in Rockford, IL. An internationally recognized leader trained on the dynamics of domestic violence, she established Children’s Safe Harbor, a free exchange and supervised visitation center, and was a founding board member of the Family Peace Center. She believes in the positive role of sports in childhood development and proudly recalls as an adult player on a woman’s softball team singlehandedly executing a double play while playing second base.
DR. CATHY HEADLEY, Director
Dr. Cathy Headley is an associate professor in Kinesiology at Rockford University and a passionate Chicago Cubs fan. Her earliest memories are learning how to score baseball on her father’s lap watching the Cubs. She tried out for the Colorado Silver Bullets (and didn’t make it!) yet continued to coach young girls in softball and soccer and spent time on many ball fields. Her passion for service spills over into her classrooms, connecting Rockford University students with the International Women’s Baseball Center. Her passion for women’s sports and service are guiding her future research.
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.
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.
RYAN WOODWARD, Director
Ryan is an avid fan of minor league baseball and enjoys visiting and studying the history and architecture of ballparks. 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 developed the inaugural Women in Baseball Week in 2017 and continues to explore projects commemorating women in baseball. Pursuing 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. Originally from Kentucky, Ryan currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA.
________________
MAYBELLE BLAIR, Founding Director Emeritus
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.
KAREN VIOLETTA KUNKEL, Founding Director Emeritus
Karen, who earned two degrees from Michigan State University, played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was one of the founders of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association and was a technical advisor on the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own”. Perhaps Karen’s greatest achievement in sports was organizing and administering the U.S. Olympic Training Center at Northern Marquette University providing athletes, coaches and the Olympic movement training, research, sports medicine and the opportunity for educational advancement.
JANE MOFFET, Founding Director Emeritus
Jane is a former utility player who played from 1949 through 1952 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was among the most versatile players in the late years of the league. She graduated at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, received her Masters degree at Rutgers University and worked in education for nearly four decades. “Its funny, I worked in education for 42 years, but people remember me best for baseball”.
EDE MOODY, Founding Director Emeritus
While playing fast pitch softball in Kalamazo, Michigan she was recruited by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She graduated from Western Michigan University and is a retired educator, administrator, guidance counselor, and consultant. During her professional tenure she developed and implemented academic and behavioral/classroom management programs at both the state and local levels. She is a former officer of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association.