Front Office Staff Directory

Mr. Carney is Senior Vice President at Janney. He has had a 30-year career in investment management, currently managing nearly half a billion dollars in assets. He was instrumental in the debt-free acquisition of the Caribbean Baseball Initiative's (CBI) New Orleans Baby Cakes and Port Charlotte Stone Crabs franchises. He spearheaded the funding and building of a regional amateur baseball facility in Rhode Island and has organized, funded and participated in Rhode Island's first goodwill tour of games vs. the Irish National Baseball team. Mr. Carney has been recognized by On Wall Street Magazine as one of America's Top 50 Financial Advisors.

Jordan Kobritz is a Partner and Senior Advisor to CBI Investors Limited Partnership, the parent company of the Wichita Wind Surge.

Jordan graduated from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., with a B.S. degree in accounting and earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Cornell University Law School. He passed the Certified Public Accounting exam while in law school and was a practicing attorney, assistant county prosecutor and CPA in his hometown of Bangor, Maine for ten years prior to embarking upon a career in sports.

Over a 20-year period, Jordan owned and operated two Minor League Baseball teams, the Maine Guides, a Triple-A team in the International League, and the Daytona Cubs, a Single-A team in the Florida State League. He also developed a minor hockey league and operated baseball fantasy camps.

Jordan's 'third career' has been in academics. After graduating from law school, Jordan began teaching business law at Husson University in Bangor and the University of Maine in Orono. He continued teaching while moving around the country, first to Florida, then Arizona and ultimately, upstate New York. He has taught Sport Management and Sport Law at St. Cloud State University, Eastern New Mexico University, Saint Leo University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Wyoming.

In 2006, Jordan became a full time Professor of Sport Management and Sport Law at Eastern New Mexico University. Since 2012, he has been a Professor at the State University of New York at Cortland, where he also served two terms as Chair of the Sport Management Department, overseeing approximately 500 students and 17 faculty members. Jordan has published numerous academic articles on various topics related to sports business and presented at conferences in the U.S. and abroad.

In addition to his teaching, Jordan authors a weekly sports business column, "Sports Beyond the Lines," in which he comments on financial, marketing, management, legal, media/public relations, political, labor and ethical issues in the world of sports. The column is published in newspapers around the country, posted on numerous websites and is available on the blog he maintains of the same name. Jordan is a frequent commentator on sports business related issues. He has been quoted in media outlets in this country and around the world, including The New York Times, Boston Globe, USA Today, Saint Pete Times, The Daily Express (London), The Guardian (UK), The Independent UK), San Antonio Express, El Paso Times, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, ABC, NBC and on blogs and websites such as BizofBaseball.com, ESPN.com, sportsonearth.com, and fosxsports.com.

Jordan currently serves as the Director of the Charlotte Stone Crabs, the Single-A Florida State League affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, which is owned by CBI. He has traveled extensively to Cuba on behalf of SUNY Cortland and CEBF, the Caribbean Educational and Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) entity.

Jordan and his wife Debbie have two sons, two horses and several cats.

Annie Life began her baseball career with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in 1979 before embarking on a lengthy career in the health care industry. She oversees all aspects of the Wind Surge Community Relations efforts, in addition to other responsibilities vital to the management of the club’s operations.

Since joining the CBI-LP baseball group Life served in several capacities including assisting with operations at Port Charlotte Sports Park in Florida, home of the Class A Charlotte Stone Crabs, and the nationally-recognized rebranding of the Triple-A New Orleans franchise from Zephyrs to Baby Cakes. She was instrumental in the launch of the Caribbean Educational and Baseball Foundation. A driving force in the creation of several baseball goodwill initiatives, Life has traveled to Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cuba, assisting in youth clinics while delivering baseball equipment to youth in the Caribbean basin.

Prior to returning to baseball, Life enjoyed a distinguished 25-year career in the healthcare industry having developed and managed the Occupational Health Department at the local hospital providing services for more than 300 companies. Additionally she developed and managed a nationwide phlebotomy network providing services to more than 15,000 patients.

Life studied at Penn State University and earned her RN degree from Valencia College. A Certified SCUBA Divemaster, and former Little League and swim coach, she has volunteered her time with youth programs, clinics, and day care facilities in both the United States and Honduras, and is an active fund-raiser for the ALS Foundation, St. Jude’s Hospital and Breast Cancer Awareness.

Entering his 39th season in professional baseball, Jay Miller spent the last three years as President of the Sugar Land Skeeters on the Independent Atlantic League, overseeing two Atlantic League championships and successive attendance increases. His tenure as President of the Wichita Wind Surge began in January 2019.

Miller served as Vice President and General Manager of the Round Rock Express from 1999-2010, overseeing one of Minor League Baseball’s most successful franchises. The Express established a new Double-A attendance record in its inaugural season in 2000, drawing more than 660,000 fans, with Miller earning Texas League “Executive of the Year” honors.

Miller was awarded The Sporting News “Minor League Executive of the Year” in 2001 and 2003, and was named Baseball America “Minor League Executive of the Year” in 2005, when he oversaw Round Rock’s move to Triple-A and the club eclipsed 700,000 in attendance.

Prior to coming to Round Rock, the Chicago native was General Manager of the New Orleans Zephyrs from 1996-98, when he oversaw the construction of a new stadium and led the franchise to record attendance totals in 1997 and 1998, the latter of which was capped by the Zephyrs winning the first-ever Triple-A World Series championship.

A 1981 graduate of Wheaton College, Miller began his baseball career in 1982 as Assistant General Manager of the Eugene Emeralds (Short Season A; Northwest League). After serving as General Manager of the Salem Redbirds (High A; Carolina League), Miller accepted a position with the Texas Rangers, eventually becoming the team’s Director of Customer Relations during a 12-year stay with the franchise. Miller served a second stint with the Rangers as Senior Vice President in 2010 and was promoted to Executive Vice President for Rangers Enterprises, Customer Service and Sales in 2012.

In 2009, Miller was named to, the Florida State League Hall of Fame in 2009, and entered the New Orleans Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Augusto Cookie Rojas hails from Pawtucket, RI. He is a graduate of La Salle Academy, served in the United States Marine Corps, is a Persian Gulf War Veteran, serving with the 6th Motor Transport Battalion during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

He received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island and his Law Degree from Suffolk University Law School, Evening Program in Boston, he served in the administrations of both Rhode Island Attorney Generals Jeffrey Pine and Sheldon Whitehouse.

He then went on to work for the United Way of Rhode Island and served as the Senior Vice President/Annual Campaign Director, managing a team that raised in excess of $20MM annually for those in need in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts. He then went on and served as an Assistant Vice President/Community Development Officer for the largest credit union in the State of Rhode Island, Pawtucket Credit Union. There he created a Community Development Department that administered corporate giving and community outreach, in particular the teaching of Financial Literacy to the under-served in the community.

He eventually transitioned to a career in sports when he served as the General Sales Manager for the Pawtucket Red Sox Baseball Club, Triple A Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. As the General Sales Manager the sales team reached record highs in terms of tickets sold and revenue generated. He also oversaw several successful in game promotions and charitable events for the franchise.

In 2014 he started working for Learfield Sports, as the General Manager for the Brown Bears Sports Properties at Brown University.

He returned to work with Wichita Baseball 2020 Managing Partner Lou Schwechheimer, as the General Manger of the New Orleans Zephyrs/Baby Cakes and is now serving as the Senior Vice President of Sports & Entertainment for the Wichita Wind Surge where he will be responsible for over 130 events, including sporting events, festivals and concerts at the stadium.

He also served as an adjunct faculty member at Johnson & Wales University, Providence, Loyola University & Tulane University in New Orleans where he taught Sports Marketing.

Over the years, he has worked in the Academic, Government, Military, Non-Profit and Private sectors and feels this experience has helped him truly connect with current and prospective community and corporate partners.

His hobbies include running half marathons and marathons, reading, and travelling. He also considers himself a movie aficionado, usually watching every OSCAR nominated movie annually.

He is married to Kristin Rojas and they have four grown children that currently live throughout the country.

He and his colleagues at the Wind Surge look forward to bringing, family, fan friendly and affordable entertainment to the region.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Fresno State University, California, in 2008, Bob then began working for a casual luxury retailer. Although he worked up to a management role, where he was leading a team of 1,000+ workers, after eight years with the company, Bob decided to make a major career change. In 2013, Bob took an internship with the California League, Colorado Rockies affiliate, Modesto Nuts. In this position, he was responsible for many different responsibilities including developing of the Nuts' social media, marketing, and advertising platforms.

In fall of 2016, Bob joined the then named New Orleans Zephyrs as the team embarked on a complete rebrand, transforming into the Baby Cakes. The Baby Cakes rebranding was hugely successful, resulting in over three-quarters of million dollars in merchandise revenue, in a little over one year. Following the 2017 season, Bob was promoted to assistant general manager. In this role, he was responsible for marketing; social media; and all game day responsibilities, employees, training, and the internship program. Thanks to his previous experience in the retail management and internet marketing industries, Bob was able to apply his versatile skills to many aspects of his baseball responsibilities.

Bob moved once again from New Orleans to Wichita as he excitedly joined in the process to aid in the building of the Wichita Wind Surge brand. Now, as Vice President/Assistant General Manager here he is currently responsible for the development and maintenance of all Wichita Baseball's branding, marketing, social, merchandise, community outreach and development as the team prepares for the 2020 season debut.

Graduated from Michigan State University studied Sports and Commercial Turfgrass Management. He was the Assistant Groundskeeper with the New Orleans Baby Cakes the last two years. Outside of baseball he likes to be outdoors hunting and fishing. Proud Detroit Lions/Redwings fan. Go Green!

After making a life changing move from St. Louis to Southwest Florida, Lori began her career in baseball as the Director of Finance for the Charlotte Stone Crabs. After 7 seasons, including one Florida Coast League Championship season, Lori made the move to Wichita to continue her tenure in Minor League Baseball with the Wind Surge.

Engleman, a native of the St. Louis area, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting at Maryville University in St. Louis. After 18 years working as the accountant for a family-owned import company, Lori spend 12 years as a Vice-President in community banking.

Lori and her husband Bryon, have 2 daughters and 4 wonderful grandchildren. In her free time, she enjoys traveling the world with her husband, bicycle riding, and riding their Harley.

Veteran broadcaster Tim Grubbs is in his 26th season in Minor League Baseball. He joined the team after eighteen seasons in New Orleans with the Zephyrs/Baby Cakes. He has also spent three years as the broadcaster for the Tennessee Smokies, Winston-Salem Warthogs and a season with the Hickory Crawdads. Grubbs was named the Southern League Broadcaster of the year in 2001. He broadcast the longest game in PCL history in 2006 when the Zephyrs defeated the Nashville Sounds in 24 innings.

Outside of baseball, Tim has also broadcast football, basketball, hockey, and beach volleyball on Cox Sports Television, ESPN3, and The American Digital Network. He has also done broadcast work for the Tulane Green Wave, and Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Tim handles the broadcasts, team travel and corporate sales.

He is a proud native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and alumnus of Robert Morris University. He lives in Wichita and enjoys spending time with his wife, Emily, their daughter Katie and their beagle Winnie.

Alex graduated from LSU back in 2015 where he majored in Sports Administration with minors in Business Administration and Communications. He joined the organization in March of 2016. This will be his fifth season working in Minor League Baseball with the previous four seasons spent down in New Orleans before the organization relocated for the 2020 season.

When he's not at the ballpark or working an event, He enjoys watching and attending other sporting events as well as exploring the downtown area of Wichita.

Adam joined the front office of Wichita Baseball as Director of Ticket Operations in May 2019 after spending the past seven years with the Sugar Land Skeeters.

Adam, a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, graduated from the University of Saint Francis with an undergraduate degree in Sports Management and an MBA in Organizational Development. He started his career with his hometown Fort Wayne TinCaps while finishing up school before moving to Mobile, Alabama as the Box Office Manager. After 2 seasons in Mobile, he was hired as a Customer Service Manager with the Sugar Land Skeeters where he has worked the past 7 years before coming to Wichita.

2020 will mark Andrew's fifth season in Minor League Baseball. Andrew joins the Wind Surge as the Stadium Operations Manager for the inaugural season . Prior to his time with the Wind Surge, Andrew worked with the Tennessee Smokies in 2016 as their Stadium Operations Trainee and the Charlotte Stone Crabs as their Stadium Operations Manager from 2017 through the 2019 season.

Originally from Newport, Tennessee, Andrew graduated with a degree in Sports Management and Business from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina where he also played baseball. In his free time, Andrew likes to golf, explore the downtown area, watch baseball and football, and travel to the beach.

Originally from LaPlace, LA, Maggie graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a Bachelor’s Degree in General Studies with a concentration in Applied Sciences. Maggie joined the Minor League Baseball family in February 2017 as a Merchandise Intern with the New Orleans Baby Cakes. She has spent the last three seasons as their Merchandise Coordinator.

Prior to her career in baseball, Maggie started her retail career with Abercrombie & Fitch as a Part-Time Associate. She worked with A&F for 8.5 years working her way up to become Assistant Manager. She, also, spent some time with the New Orleans Voodoo Arena Football Team for the 2014 Season as a Game Day Intern and became Merchandise Director the following season.

When she isn’t cheering for the Wind Surge, Maggie is an avid New York Yankees, New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Pelicans, and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns fan! Geaux Cajuns! Maggie enjoys spending her free time hanging out with friends, visiting historical landmarks, and rock climbing.

Nick joined the front office as a Box Office Manager in March of 2019. Nick's work experience includes working for the Sugarland Skeeters in Ticket Operations during the 2017 season, and while in school he worked in Ticket Operations for the Texas State University athletic department. He also has experience working in event operations for Super Bowl LI in Houston in 2017 and the 2018 Final Four in San Antonio.

A native of Houston, TX, Nick graduated from Texas State University in 2018 with a degree in Finance. When he isn't cheering on Wichita Baseball he is rooting for his Houston Texans, Astros, Rockets, and unfortunately New York Knicks.

Jessi Holman began work with the Wind Surge in September of 2019 as a Sales Executive and will also assist in the areas of ticket operations and game promotions.

Jessi is a native of Wichita who attended Maize High School. She is a 2017 graduate of Dallas Baptist University where she earned a bachelor's degree in Sport Management. Prior to joining the Wind Surge, she was a physical therapy technician in Wichita.

Jessi's father Brad Holman, a Wichita native, has been coaching professionally since 2002 and is currently the Minor League Pitching Coordinator for the Washington Nationals.

Jenn Schwechheimer joins us as a Marketing Associate starting in September of 2019. Her prior experience includes serving as a Merchandise Intern for the New Orleans Baby Cakes in the summer of 2017.

A Native of South Kingstown, RI, Schwechheimer graduated from Roanoke College in 2019 with a degree in Sport Management. During her time there she served as a captain of the Women's Lacrosse team where she set several scoring records, was named First Team All-ODAC, Second Team All Chesapeake Region and was a member of the ODAC All-Academic team.

When she isn't cheering on the Wind Surge, she is rooting for the New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins, and the Boston Celtics. She enjoys spending her free time hanging out with friends, family and dogs, traveling to the beach and checking out local restaurants.

Ryan joined the Wind Surge front office as a Marketing Associate in July of 2019. While in college Ryan worked for the Wichita Thunder in marketing/promotional and game day operations during the 2017 season.

A native of Belmont, NH, Ryan graduated from Wichita State University in the spring of 2019 with a degree in Sport Management. When he isn't cheering on the Wind Surge he is rooting for his Chicago Cubs, Boston Celtics, New England Patriots, and his Alma Mater Shockers

Randy comes to Wichita with a wealth of experience in the Food and Beverage Industry. He started as a concessions supervisor at Auburn University and worked his way all the way to Assistant Concessions manager. Over the next decade of his career he had stops at locations such as Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wisconsin, Potomac Virginia and Charlottesville with the Virginia Cavaliers. Then he moved on to Open buildings such as Sprint Center in Kansas City and re-opened Alex Box Stadium at the Famed Alex Box Stadium home of the LSU baseball Tigers. His Most Recent Stop is as the Director of Concessions at Boise State University. Randy brings not only a wealth of experience, but also, as passion for Food. HE has worked events Such as The 130th and the 133rd Kentucky Derby, Nascar Events and concerts ranging from Elton John, Garth Brooks, Metallica and many more. HE is bringing along his family which consists of his Wife of 16 years Tara Taylor and two amazing children Taylor, 10 and Lily 7.

Lori Buser, Wichita Wind Surge Hospitality Manager, was born and grew up in west Wichita. She fondly remembers attending baseball, basketball, and soccer games with her parents. She was even once an honorary bat girl at a Wichita Wranglers game! After meeting and marrying Greg, who is a recreational hockey player and referee, she added hockey to her list of favorite sports to watch.

Lori graduated from Fort Hays State University with a degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management. Prior to working for the Wichita Wind Surge, Lori spent several years in the Events and Banquet departments of the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, KS. She is responsible for all aspects of the Wind Surge's Club and other special venues, as well as day to day hospitality sales and service. She takes pride in creating relationships with clients and understanding and fulfilling their needs to make smooth and unforgettable events.

Lori loves to travel with her family and explore local food specialties along the way. On days off, she enjoys spending time with her husband and her two teenaged daughters, Chesley and Audrey, and teaming up with her mother to throw great dinner parties for family and friends. Her favorite sports teams are the Wichita State Shockers, Kansas State Wildcats, the Colorado Avalanche, the Wichita Ice Pilots and, of course, the Wichita Wind Surge!