Joel Mrak

Background

About Joel Mrak

Across my life in sport, I have learned that if the only thing that I was able to teach you to do better in this world was to improve at forearm passing a volleyball, then I failed you. As a sport leader, I am in the business of people development, not just athlete development; my mission is to build better people, and not just better athletes. This is the same approach I take as an administrator, and also as an educator. Building better people sounds fun, eh? Now, some people think that all I do all day is setup badminton nets and “run” PE classes for a living; and occasionally, they aren’t wrong, though most of my days don’t look like that. Most days I operate in chaos. And that my friends is a good thing. Leading a team and department in a dynamic environment is busy in any organization and I am grateful to have done that in sport and education for a large part of my career as an administrator, leader, coach, and teacher. No two days are alike, and every day I get to work towards improving a student’s experience on campus or supporting my team around me in their own development. I have learned to lead with this intentionality through processes and planning in strategic planning, marketing, communications, and overall operational practices. When I am not in the stands cheering on my student-athletes or lecturing in a classroom, I can be found in my woodworking shop, or reading about wines and whiskies, or dreaming about the next place on my list to travel to. Simply put, I am a purveyor of the good life. Specialties: Sport management; Non-profit organizations; Program development; Organizational leadership; Administrative leadership; Education; Teaching and learning; People development.