Kiki Baker Barnes is athletics director at Dillard University and interim commissioner for the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. She is the founder of So You Want A Career in Athletics, a professional leadership program for girls ages 13-18.

Barnes’ research involves student-athlete success and coaches’ influence on athlete performance. She is an expert in strategic planning, program management, organizational revitalization and intercollegiate athletics. Before becoming athletic director on a full-time basis, Barnes served as the head coach of Dillard’s women’s basketball team until 2013.

Barnes is the first female and the first African American president of the GCAC. In 2011, 2014 and 2015 she was voted the conference’s Athletic Director of the Year and in 2015 she received the Administrator of the Year award from the National Association of College Women Athletic Directors.

Expertise: Athletic performance, student-athlete success, coach-athlete relationships, strategic planning, organizational revitalization

Location: New Orleans, La.

E-mail: kbarnes@dillard.edu, kiki@kikibakerbarnes.com

Twitter: @KikiBakerBarnes