Dr. Stuart Brown

Dr. Sandra Serafini, Ph.D.

Sandra is a retired FIFA Referee and NISOA National Referee with over 30 years of officiating experience in soccer, including collegiate, professional, and international competitions. She was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame for her work in soccer officiating, education, and development. She has served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives & Innovation at the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), Vice-Chair of the Referee Committee for U.S. Soccer, and Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO). She currently serves as an Elite Assessor for Concacaf and is an Instructor for the U.S. Soccer Referee Department.

She is co-founder of Ref Insight, a comprehensive sports officiating management platform serving organizations including U.S. Soccer, Michigan, Wisconsin, Eastern New York, and Kentucky. The platform integrates referee assignment, evaluation, and development.

Sandra's unique background combines elite-level sports officiating with neuroscience expertise. She holds a Ph.D. in Speech & Hearing Sciences/Neuroscience from the University of Washington and served as faculty in the Department of Neurosurgery at Duke University Medical Center, conducting clinical research in neurocognitive mapping of adult and pediatric epilepsy and brain tumor patients. This distinctive background has made her a sought-after speaker in both officiating and corporate settings, where she helps professionals optimize mental performance and decision-making under pressure.

Cindy Reid

Cindy has been a licensed C1 and C2 Steward for over thirty years and has officiated numerous times at all of the national breed championships as well as at major events in the hunter/jumper world. She is also a Dressage Technical Delegate and has managed several breed championships, including the Western Dressage World Show.

For many years she has been involved with continuing education for stewards, serving as a moderator for both licensed steward and applicant clinics. She has a strong interest in improving the educational opportunities and programs for stewards. Cindy has served on committees for USEF, USHJA and AHA.

Based in California, Cindy is also retired from a career in law enforcement, where she held a variety of assignments, from detective to patrol sergeant. She is a graduate of the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute and initiated many programs at her police department, from the first citizen’s academy to an educational partnership with victim/witness programs.

Bill Topp

Topp of Racine, Wis., was elected president of NASO in 2023. He previously served as the NASO secretary. Topp is chief operating officer and executive editor for Referee magazine; he has worked for Referee and NASO since 1990. Topp is a high school football official, former small college football official, former small college and high school basketball official, and former major college baseball umpire. He has worked multiple state tournament and postseason collegiate assignments. He is also a former high school conference commissioner and assigner, local association leader and a current Officiating Development Alliance member. He serves as an advisor to the Positive Coaching Alliance and Little League Baseball.

Grania Willis

Grania Willis is a former international equestrian athlete, representing Ireland in Eventing. In her journalistic career, she worked as equestrian correspondent for the national daily newspaper, The Irish Times, and its sister weekly publication, The Irish Field. She was also equestrian correspondent for the national broadcaster, RTE, for both television and radio. She covered four Olympic Games and multiple FEI Games and Championships during her time as a reporter.

In 2007, she was offered an 18-month contract as equestrian events consultant at the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), Venue Provider for the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic equestrian disciplines. She joined the FEI in 2009 as Press Relations Director, and became FEI Communications Director at the beginning of 2017.

Since leaving the FEI at the end of 2021, she is now an Executive Communications Consultant to multiple entities, including the FEI, and is acknowledged as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) across all facets of equestrian sport, particularly the interaction between the sport and the media.