USA Weightlifting Bolsters National Office Team with 3 Hires

COLORADO SPRINGS – USA Weightlifting has added Kelly Chapdelaine, Julia Falamas, and Preston Fekkes to the national governing body’s national office team. Chapdelaine joins as a Membership Services Coordinator, Falamas as a Coach Development Lead, and Fekkes as a Communications Lead. Chapdelaine will work under Membership Services Manager Christina Drown to help oversee the needs of USAW’s more than 22,000 members. Falamas will work under Director of Sport Science and Coach Development Anna Swisher to promote and spread knowledge to coaches in all sports. She’ll aid in coordinating and administering USAW Level 1 and Level 2 courses and other coach development offerings/programs. Fekkes will work under Director of Communications Will Edmonds to aid in elevating stories from the grassroots and high performance levels while also managing sponsorship activations. The hirings bring USAW’s national office staff count to 14.

Chapdelaine comes to Colorado Springs from Keene, New Hampshire, where she was a clinical coordinator with Cheshire Wellness Center. A graduate of Springfield College, Chapdelaine earned her bachelor’s degree in sport management in 2023. While in school, she competed on the club gymnastics team. During her senior year, Chapdelaine interned in operations at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. Her postgrad experience also includes work at the Keene Family YMCA.

Falamas currently coaches weightlifting at Brooklyn Training Hall in New York City and has experience as a nationally-qualified athlete, national technical official, meet director, and regional representative. She first got into the fitness business in 2015, and has worked as the manager and head coach of a number of boutique gyms in New York, including Epic Hybrid Training and CrossFit Spot, before beginning to coach at her current gym in 2022. Before transitioning into the fitness industry, Falamas earned her bachelor’s degree in Theatre Studies at Empire State College in 2012 and worked as a casting and production assistant for Broadcasters in New York City’s busy entertainment industry.  

Fekkes has worked as a communications assistant with USA Weightlifting for the past year, and will continue to work from Tempe, Arizona, in his new role. He graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2024. While in school, he gained communications experience through internships with Sun Devil Athletics and the Arizona Cardinals, as well as various jobs across the real estate, accounting, and service industries. His previous work with USAW included writing all competition recaps for the United States’ five weightlifters at the Paris Olympics in addition to contributing a number of feature stories throughout 2024.