WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Howard University Athletics Department added four new members, Candace Johnson, Nichole Williams, Rodney Hill and Paul Bowden, to its staff and promoted current employee Leslee Roper in April.
Candace Johnson begins her first year as Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations at Howard University after being hired in April 2016. She is the primary contact for the Bison women's volleyball, softball, women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's soccer, women's bowling, men's and women's swimming and diving and women's lacrosse teams.
"We are very excited about having Candace come on board," Howard Sports Information Director Edward Hill, Jr. said. "This department has had a rich history of young professionals in this position who have gone on to make their marks. Kevin Paige (Morgan State), Chevonne Mansfield (American Athletic Conference), Romanda Noble (Claflin University) and Lamar Carter (University of Cal at Berkeley) all sharpened their skills here before moving on to their present positions. Candace brings that same kind of talent to the position."
Before coming to Howard, Johnson was an Athletic Communications Assistant at the University of Connecticut and worked primarily with the field hockey, men's and women's swimming and diving, women's rowing, softball and volleyball teams.
At UConn, she also served as the secondary for the women's basketball team, who won the 2016 National Championship, making history with its fourth-straight national title. She was responsible for writing press release, previews and creating graphics for the historic program.
Prior to her time at UConn, she worked as a Sports Information Intern at Coppin State University, where she was responsible for women's bowling, women's basketball, volleyball and cross country.
Johnson graduated from Guilford College in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management. During her undergraduate career, she served as a Sports Information Assistant and Team Manager for the football program at Guilford. She was also a two-year Game Day Operations Intern for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
A native of Washington, D.C., Johnson currently resides in Bowie, Md.
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Nichole Williams was hired in April 2016 by Howard's Athletic Director Kery Davis and will be assisting the department with administrative duties, as well as marketing and development projects.
A native of Portsmouth, Va., Williams earned her Bachelor's degree in Occupational and Technical Studies with an emphasis in fashion and a minor in marketing in 2008. She also earned her Master's in Business and Industry Training in 2010.
In previous years, she taught Advertising and Promotions at Old Dominion University along with Advertising and Promotions at The Art Institute in Virginia Beach, Va. She also assisted in creative marketing projects in NYC for corporate fashion showrooms and New York Fashion Week.
Williams is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
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Rodney A. Hill is returning to his alma mater as the Strength and Conditioning Coach after serving as a Strength and Conditioning Graduate Assistant at Mercer University. While at Mercer, Hill gained a solid knowledge base on Olympic weight lifting along with the science and practice of strength training.
Prior to his time at Mercer, Hill served as the Strength and Conditioning Intern under Dwight Galt III at Penn State University, where he worked with numerous sports but had a main focus on football.
Before Penn State, he was an Assistant Defensive Line Coach at Kutztown University and also helped with weight room training.
Hill played football at Howard from 2009-2012, helping the Bison post a 7-4 record in his final season; their first winning season in Bison football in 13 years. Hill was three-year starter and graduated from Howard with a B.S. in Human Performance with a concentration in sports medicine and a minor in chemistry. He went on to Mercer, where he is expected to receive his M. Ed. in Higher Education Leadership in May 2016.
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Leslee V. Roper was promoted to Assistant Director of Operations in April 2016. She joined the Howard University staff in August 2013 and is responsible for the game and event operations for men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming and women's lacrosse.
Before joining the Howard University staff, Roper worked at the NCAA in their Championships and Alliances department as a Postgraduate Intern working on events such as the Men's Final Four, FCS Football, Indoor Track and Field, Cross Country and Women's Lacrosse Championships. Prior to this assignment, Roper was an Event Operations Graduate Assistant in the athletics department at Georgia State and also held stints in academics and football equipment operations during her time there.
Roper is a New Jersey native who obtained her Bachelor's degree in Sport Science and Fitness Management from North Carolina A&T State University in 2010 and a Master's in Sports Administration from Georgia State University in 2012. Roper is also in process of obtaining her MBA from Howard University with a graduation date set for May 2016.
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Paul Bowden came to Howard University in April 2016 to serve as the Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Support Services.
Prior to Howard, Bowden spent 10 years as the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance at George Mason University. This is his second time at a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) institution, after spending four years at Hampton University as the Assistant Director of Athletics and Compliance Coordinator before being promoted to Associate Director in 2004.
Bowden earned his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Hampton in 1991 and received his Master's in Interdisciplinary Science from George Mason in 2014.
