Principal Investigator | Associate Professor of Kinesiology

Michael Hemphill, PhD

I am the founder and director of the Restorative Youth Sports lab at UNCG. Originally from western North Carolina, I was pleased to return to his home state in 2016. I identify as a community-engaged scholar and am passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion. In my academic role I teach courses related to youth development, multicultural education, and proposal writing. The Restorative Youth Sports lab encompasses my passion for advancing restorative justice practice and better understanding how this applies to physical education contexts. When not at work, I enjoy listening to a variety of podcasts and hiking in state parks and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Please get in touch if you would like to connect with our work!

Graduate Assistant | PhD Student

Claire Newman

Hi! My name is Claire Newman and I am a second year doctoral student in Kinesiology, focusing on Community Youth Sport Development.  I played collegiate soccer and love all things involving physical activity.  My passion for physical activity has fueled my desire to use sports as a mechanism for teaching life skills to underserved youth.  My research interests involve using the Restorative Youth Sports and Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) models to teach kids valuable life skills that they can use off the field.  When I am not working, you can find me going on adventures with my dog Luna! 

• I coach a local refugee soccer team 
• I have a M.Ed in Exercise Physiology from University of Virginia (Go Hoos!)

Graduate Assistant | PhD Student

Joshua Jordan

Hello! My name is Joshua Jordan. I am husband to an amazing wife of 11 years, and the father of an amazing 10-year-old son, and 6-year-old daughter. I am a first year PhD Kinesiology student here at UNCG. My focus is in Community Youth Sport Development. I am African-American as well as a member of the Goshute Tribe in Ibapah, UT. My research interests are in the intersection between Hip-Hop, basketball, religion, and how a better understanding of this intersection can help physical educators and coaches better serve youth.

•  Played basketball collegiately and internationally in Bolivia and New Zealand.
•  MS in Mental Health and Wellness from Grand Canyon University
• Owned and Operated Follow Through Athletics LLC. A basketball player development company based in Sacramento, Ca. from 2013 to 2021 and partnered with the largest health club chain in Sacramento.

Graduate Assistant | MS Student

Mahlik Conley

Hi, My name is Mahlik Conley, I am from Durham, NC and I am a 2nd year Master’s student in the Department of Kinesiology at UNC Greensboro with a Concentration in Community Youth Sport Development. Some of my research interests include looking at student-faculty interactions/relationships; mentorship relations among young adults and adolescents; and using sports and physical activity as a tool for holistic youth leadership and development. During my free time I enjoy going on walks, talking to people, playing recreationally and listening to Christain hip/hop and R&B music.

• 2020 MLK Service Award, UNC Greensboro, January 2020.
• IBelong Grant Recipient ($500), UNC Greensboro, Jan. 2021.
• Graduate Assistant for the nationally recognized Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, UNC Greensboro, August 2020 – Present.

Graduate Assistant | PhD Student

Youngsun “Sun” Lee

My name is Yongsun “Sun” Lee from South Korea. I am doing my Doctorate in Kinesiology with the CYSD (Community Youth Sport Development) concentration under Dr. Michael Hemphill. I teach Taekwondo-based martial arts at a university, a high school, and a community-based martial arts program to teach life skills. My research interests lie in the area of sport pedagogy, social-emotional learning, best practices for sport-based youth development, and transfer of life skills learning. Mainly, I am interested to see how the paradox of martial arts (practicing fighting skills not to fight) promotes positive youth development. I like to see students smiling after making their own punch-kick sequences that they didn’t know they could do. Youth participation in organized martial arts has magical powers that enable students to make their life stories successful. Restorative justice pedagogy is a way of building bridges between martial arts participation and youth success. So my best practice for positive youth development? I circle up with kids first.

EdD Student | Community Partner

Liz York