Applied sport psychologists, a sports psychiatrist, research methodology experts, and retired athletes volunteered their time and expertise to develop the Athlete Transition Study. They intend to educate fans, media, and sport institutions about the retirement experience and lives of elite athletes and improve programming and funding to maximize results. The research team, led by Dr. Daniel Zimet, has, to date, provided all funding for the project.

Daniel Zimet, Ph.D., CMPC
Principal Investigator
Dr. Dan Zimet has been in Private Practice as a Licensed Psychologist and Sport Psychologist (CMPC, Certified Mental Performance Coach) in Howard County, Maryland, for 20-years. His clinical work focuses on adolescents to young adults, relationship counseling, and sport. As an athlete, Dr. Zimet has over 30 National Master titles in Handball, was ranked #3 on the 2018 SRWPH tour, and he continues to play at the Open level.

Virginia (VJ) Iannone, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. VJ Iannone is a Licensed Psychologist specializing in Clinical and Sport Psychology and a Professor of Psychology at Stevenson University. A lifelong athlete, Dr. Iannone earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, where she played Division-III volleyball. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and joined Stevenson’s faculty (then Villa Julie College) shortly after.

David R. McDuff, M.D.
Investigator
David R. McDuff, M.D. is the long-time Sports Psychiatrist and Mental Preparation Trainer for the MLB Baltimore Orioles (1996-present) and NFL Baltimore Ravens (1996-2013) and, more recently, the Performance Medicine Physician for the NFL Indianapolis Colts (2015-2018). He is also the author of the 2012 book “Sports Psychiatry: Strategies for Life Balance & Peak Performance.” He was recently appointed (2018) to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Consensus Panel and Work Group on Mental Health in Elite Athletes. He is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore USA, where he serves as the Director of its Sports Psychiatry Program.

Tim Herzog, Ed.D., CMPC, BCB
Investigator
Dr. Tim Herzog is a Licensed Psychologist in Virginia and a Licensed Counselor in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Montana. Working with athletes nationally and internationally, his practice, Reaching Ahead, is based in Annapolis, MD. Dr. Herzog is a Fellow with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and serves on the Ethics Committee. He is Board Certified in Biofeedback, is a Certified Mental Performance Coach, and is currently listed on both the USOPC Mental Health and Sport Psychology Registries. Dr. Herzog also pulls wisdom from years of coaching. Notably, he served as Head Coach of the Boston College Sailing Team 2001-2002, when the team placed 5th at ICSA Co-Ed Nationals and received 4 All-American honors (more than prior in B.C. history).

Molly Huie
Survey Programmer
Ms. Molly Huie is a research methodology, survey design, and data analytics specialist working with the Athlete Transition Study team to get the data collection instrument up and running. In her day job, she is the Team Lead for Data Analysis & Surveys at Bloomberg Law – leading a team that designs custom surveys, dashboards, data visualizations, and data science projects in the legal space. Ms. Huie has been with Bloomberg Law since 2015, creating surveys and data-driven content. Previously, she worked for Forrester Research managing global, syndicated surveys, primarily in the financial space. Molly has a B.A. from Butler University and an M.S. from the State University of New York (SUNY). Molly is also a 7-time marathon finisher.

Cory Boatman
Athlete Advisor
A former D1 Athlete, Cory Boatman, now works as a Station Operations Manager for Amazon Logistics. Additionally, he has his own performance business, Art of Rush Training Systems LLC, that develops defensive linemen. He graduated from Syracuse University in 2012, where he lettered four years on the Orange Football Team. After graduation, Mr. Boatman spent five years in education before transitioning to Amazon. As a coach and mentor, he emphasizes developing the complete athlete, focusing on physical, mental & character development.

Nathan Last
Webmaster & Athlete Advisor
Starting in 2008, Mr. Last spent seven years at the University of Utah developing theoretical expertise in applied sport psychology. He played as a Face-Off Specialist for the Utes Lacrosse Team and, upon graduation, opened an applied sport psychology practice serving performance youth programs. He is a contributing author of Amazon Best Seller: Deliberate Discomfort and works with elite teams across both corporate and athletic sectors on optimizing human performance potential through mental skills training.