Atlanta, GA (January 21, 2025) – After an extensive search, over six months time and more than 250 candidates, the American Association of AdaptED Sports Programs Co-Founder and Executive Director Tommie Storms and Board of Directors are proud to announce the next Executive Director of the organization, Dr. Jenny Millward. Dr. Millward was named the American Association of AdaptED Sports Programs’ (AAASP) Executive Director, succeeding Co-Founder, Tommie Storms. Dr. Millward was confirmed and unanimously approved at the December 18, 2024 AAASP Board of Director’s meeting. Storms’ upcoming retirement brings to close 29 years of service at AAASP.
Dr. Millward steps into this new position with more than 31 years in special education, educational leadership and non profit advocacy for children with disabilities. Most recently, as the Executive Director of the National Alliance for Medicaid in Education (NAME), Dr. Millward brings her strengths in building partnerships, finding funding and advocating for public policy to take the reigns to help guide and enact change in the disabled community.
Dr. Millward was first introduced to the American Association of AdaptED Sports Programs as a Special Education Teacher in Houston County Schools, right around the time of the organization’s inception. Dr. Millward was an advocate for the program, learning first hand the positive impact adapted sports can have on a school district, its students, their families and the community. Dr. Millward’s interaction with the program grew, as she became the Program Specialist, then Director of Student Services for Houston County Schools, supervising the Houston County Sharks program as one of her many responsibilities. The Houston County Sharks have gone on to win 39 State Championship Titles over the past 18 years.
“I am truly excited to accept this position, to help shape the future of AdaptED Sports in schools across the country,” said Dr. Millward. “I am grateful for a career filled with opportunities to advocate for students and improve on their experiences, and I plan to continue the work Bev Vaughn and Tommie Storms have started to give more disabled children the opportunity to get ‘off the sidelines, and into the game.’”
Following the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, AAASP was created with the mission to develop and support a standardized structure for education-based adapted athletic competition to improve the well-being of students with physical disabilities. Under the leadership of Vaughn and Storms, AAASP has become one of the most successful examples of competitive, inclusive, and compliant interscholastic adapted athletic programs in the United States.
Dr. Millward holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from Georgia Southwestern State College. She also has a Masters in Special Education, and a Specialist Degree in Middle Grades Education from Georgia Southwestern State College. Dr. Millward received a Doctorate from Georgia Southern University in Curriculum Studies: Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading: Emphasis in Instructional Improvement. She has received numerous awards and honors over her career, including the IMPACT Award in Special Education from the Middle Georgia RESA in 2017, the GAEL (Georgia Administrators of Educational Leadership) Jim Puckett Outstanding Educator of the Year Award in 2020, G-CASE New Special Education Director of the Year Award in 2018, and AAASP’s own ASPIRE Award for Advocacy in 2021. Dr. Millward enjoys service to her community and spending quality time with her husband, Shawn, and their family. She enjoys traveling to visit National Parks and eating at local restaurants while adventuring.
The American Association of AdaptED Sports Programs, Inc. (AAASP) is celebrating its 29th anniversary this year of bringing interscholastic wheelchair sports to schools. AAASP, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia since 1996, has developed one of the nation’s most comprehensive school-based athletic programs for children with physical disabilities attending grades 1- 12. Many prominent individuals and national organizations in the industry have recognized AAASP as the model for the nation. For more information about AAASP, please visit our website at www.adaptedsports.org or join our conversations on Facebook (American Association of AdaptED Sports Programs), Twitter or Instagram at: @AdaptedSports.
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Contacts: Terri Grunduski, AdaptED Sports tgrunduski@adaptedsports.org 404-226-7497