Achieve DC Coaches
Head Coach Jeff Horowitz
Jeff is a ACHIEVE’s Program Manager. He is a certified running and tri coach, personal trainer, writer and magazine editor. Formerly a practicing attorney, he quit law in 2008 to pursue his passion for endurance sport. He has run 151 marathons (and counting), including at least one in every state, and across the world from Antarctica to Africa and China. Lately he‘s taken up ultramarathons, favoring the 50-Miler, and also has run the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race. Jeff is especially proud to be working with the DC Tri, The Nation‘s Triathlon, and ACHIEVE Kids Tri, and helping to get DC recognized as Tri Town USA. Jeff is a USA Triathlon certified coach and responsible for the ACHIEVE training manual.
Head Coach Michelle Harburg
Michelle joined ACHIEVE in 2008 as a coach at Turkey Thicket. She loved the mission of the camp so much that she stayed on to help year round as staff. She is also an accomplished triathlete herself and a USA Triathlon certified coach in all three disciplines. Michelle completed her second Ironman on May 1, 2010 in St. George Utah where she came in 2nd in her age group and qualified for Kona‘s World Champion Ironman Race. Michelle is currently is attending American University for her MBA while working as Program Director for ACHIEVE Kids Tri. She loves her job and is excited to see ACHIEVE grow.
Meet Our 2011 Coaches
Coach Larry Thompson
This is Coach Larry’s second year with Achieve. He has been a swim instructor for three years, coached basketball, football, soccer, and triathlon. He is currently a personal trainer at WSC in Columbia Heights. Coach Larry’s favorite sport to watch is boxing. He likes that he is able to play every sport, whether he likes them or not.
Coach William Jordan
Coach William currently runs track and field at Living Stone College. He placed sixth in his conference in the Triple Jump. He became interested in ACHIEVE so that he could give back to his community, using his knowledge of track and field.
Coach Rebecca “Becky” McLean
Becky is returning to ACHIEVE this summer and is serving as Floater/Head Coach at Turkey Thicket. Becky is pursuing her Masters in Public Health at the Colorado School of Public Health, focusing on community and behavioral health. She is the Community Coordinator for a Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria, working on healthy food access initiatives for Alexandria’s youth. She is a certified personal trainer and loves teaching spinning and bootcamp classes. Becky took on the sport of triathlon back in 2009 and has not looked back – she is training for her first Half Ironman, Poconos 70.3, this fall!
Coach Colin Moran
Coach Colin is a senior at Kennesaw State University in Georgia with a major in history. In under a year, Colin has participated in a half-marathon and eight triathlons; including DC Tri, Escape from Alcatraz, and Nation's Triathlon. In addition to his love of triathlons, Colin has trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for over four years and competed in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship last year as a purple belt. The Achieve Program attracted Colin due to his enjoyment of working with children and his belief in its commitment to promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Coach Ra-Naa Watson
What got me interested in Achieve was first my sister placing as a top winner in the Achieve triathlon last year, which probably most likely had to do with her background and swimming. As I watched the triathlon last year, I realized how great the program is. Teaching inner city youth to not only ride a bike and run competitively but also swim, which many have a hard time with , was something I wanted to be apart of..
Coach Shaun Reddy
Shaun is a personal trainer with a Master’s degree in Exercise Science. His personal involvement with exercise has included bodybuilding, yoga, pilates, and most recently endurance training. He completed his first triathlon in 2010 and was officially “hooked”. Shaun is most proud of completing his first triathlon, the Nation’s Tri, in 2010. He felt like an athlete for the first time when he crossed the finish line. Shaun is excited to work with ACHIEVE because he values his community and wants to contribute to it in a way that parallels his skills and interests. He has a lot to teach the kids involved in the program while also a lot to learn from them about being a better coach, triathlete, and member of the community.
Coach Rob Foreman
Rob has been a lifelong athlete. His love for exercise started with cross-country and swimming in high school. At the collegiate level he transitioned to rowing. After college he discovered the sport of Triathlon. Rob has competed in a number of Olympic distance races. His background is in fitness. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach, Corrective Exercise Specialist, and a US Rowing certified coach. Rob enjoys educating people of all ages on how to choose a healthy lifestyle.
Monique Major
Coach Monique just graduated from Howard University where she was the co-captain for the women’s swimming and diving team. She went lifetime best times in all of her events at her conference championships after not competing for over a year and half. Along with swimming, she also ran track and cross country in high school and her first year in college. Coach Monique enjoys being active and is ecstatic about a coach with ACHIEVE so that she can help young athletes find the joy in being physically fit.
Coach Jessica Oldham
Jessica has been competing in triathlons since 2004 and always welcomes the opportunity to share her love of the sport with others. Passionate about exercise as a whole, Jessica sought her masters degree in exercise physiology from the University of Utah. She is currently working towards a PhD in Kinesiology at the University of Maryland, and is examining the relationship between exercise and cognitive health in children. She is most excited to work with ACHIEVE, because the camp exposes youth to a world of personal growth, accomplishment, and healthy living that can last a lifetime.
Coach Geena Yu
Coach Geena started competitive swimming at a young age. She was a 4 year varsity athlete on her high school swim team. Coach Geena has been teaching swim lessons for 5 years. In college she started to run more and fell in love with spin. She got interested in Achieve Kids Tri because she loves working with youth and the outdoors- a perfect combo!
Coach Cameron Chen
Coach Cameron is in his fourth year as a Varsity rower on the Men's Heavyweight crew team at The George Washington University. In High School Cameron excelled in Tennis and Soccer and holds a black belt in Taekwondo. Last summer he spent three months with Waseda University in Tokyo training with their lightweight team. The summer before, he gained experience by coaching youth rowing in his hometown of Lake Oswego, Oregon. His favorite sport to watch is baseball, where he avidly supports the Seattle Mariners and Right Fielder Suzuki Ichiro. He is most excited to share his knowledge of nutrition and dieting at camp this summer.
Meet Our 2010 Coaches
Coach James Robichaud
Coach James has been swimming competitively for ten years. He just finished his final year of swimming at Susquehanna University. He’s completed three triathlons, and won his age group in his most recent race. He has also competed in road races, from 5Ks to half-marathons. He has taught swim lessons for five years. James got interested in ACHIEVE because he loves the sport of triathlon, and deeply believes in the importance of a healthy lifestyle and promoting that to children.
Coach Amanda Smith
Coach Amanda is a Heptathlete at California Poly Pomona University in Southern California. She is a two time NCAA National qualifier in heptathlon. She is most proud of setting a personal best at the conference to qualify for NCAAs. In the past, she has organized a day camp teaching youth various sports, which in turn encourages them to apply their efforts to get into college. Coach Amanda got interested in ACHIEVE because she wants to introduce kids to a new sport that leads to a healthy lifestyle, as well as help young athletes achieve their personal goals.
Coach Maya Brown
Coach Maya is a distance runner, although she competed in her first triathlon at age 12. She was also a swimmer in high school and college. She recently completed a 50 mile ultra marathon in nine and a half hours. She has worked with youth via the americops program.
Coach Rachel Feldman
Coach Rachel played varsity high school soccer, track and lacrosse. She continued to play lacrosse in college at the University of Virginia. She competed in the Nations Triathlon in September, and placed first in her age group at a 5k race. She has coached at Champions Field House in Bethesda. She became interested in ACHIEVE because she was excited to give back to the DC community where she grew up.
Coach Elora Powell
Coach Elora loves to play every sport. She started playing basketball at a young age and has been playing ever since. She has also played softball, ran track and field, and even bowling throughout high school. During her senior year of high school she was awarded Most Valuable Player, All League, and Most Improved Player. Elora is a third year returning coach. She believes that ACHIEVE is an excellent program that helps young athletes develop new skills in the discipline of triathlon. The improvement in the athletes from week one to race day is amazing. Elora’s favorite part is the athlete’s faces when they are crossing the finish line.
Coach Ricardo Willis
Coach Ricardo has an athletic background in martial arts, wrestling, and cross country. He is a Presidential Physical Fitness Award Winner. He was a parent volunteer at ACHIEVE last year, and had so much fun, he decided to become a coach this year. He is looking forward to the opportunity to instill core values in the children regarding health, exercise and respect.
Coach Leighton Thomas
Coach Leighton grew up as a gymnast, and played tennis in high school and college. She also rock climbs. She discovered triathlon five years ago, and has been hooked ever since. The athletic accomplishment that Leighton is most proud of is learning to swim-something she did to complete her first triathlon. Two years later, she finished an Ironman! Leighton is excited to show kids that they can accomplish anything they put their minds to!
Coach Ginger Richards
Coach Ginger grew up in Colorado mountain biking and snowboarding, but two years ago discovered a passion for running. Since then, she has completed two Olympic distance triathlons, two 200 mile running relays, a century bike ride-and she’s just getting started! In the past, Coach Ginger worked as a youth services and outreach librarian. She got interested in ACHIEVE because she enjoys working with children and she’s hooked on triathlon-so she is interested in sharing that passion with young people.
Coach Caitlin Burman
Coach Caitlin started competitive swimming at the age of six, and swam through high school. She was also on the rowing team in high school. Coach Caitlin has been teaching swim lessons for 9 years. She became interested in triathlons in College, and has served as treasurer, president, and captain of the University of Miami TriCanes. She has competed at USAT Collegiate Nationals the last three years.
Coach Derek Stone
Coach Derek runs Track and Cross Country at the University of Michigan. He is one the top mile runners in the country. He participates in triathlons to cross train, and won the men’s sprint race at the Inaugural Washington DC Triathlon in June. He became interested in ACHIEVE because he enjoys coaching the youth.
Coach Mike Fucci
Coach Mike started his endurance sport career when he joined his cross country team in high school. After three years, he made it on to the very competitive varsity squad, and won states as the underdogs. Mike decided not to run for his college, George Washington University, and instead decided to try triathlon. Coach Mike has been competing in triathlons for the last three years, and is working towards hi s elite card.
