Marshall University Athletics
Champions Advisory Board
Roster
Cindy Carlisle
Cindy Dawson Carlisle grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was recruited by several Division I university programs while in high school and made the wise decision to attend Marshall University as a scholarship student-athlete. During her time at Marshall, Cindy was a four-year letterman on the Marshall University Track and Field team where she made her mark by earning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1995, Arlene Stooke Leadership Award in 1996-1997 and 1997-1998, All-Conference awards in the 55-meter dash, 55-meter hurdles, and 100-meter hurdles in 1997. Cindy served on the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee from 1995-1997 and was selected to represent Marshall University at the 1997 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum. During her free time, Cindy was an active member in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapter at Marshall University where she served as the huddle lead for the Community service committee.  Cindy graduated from Marshall University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting and in 1999 with a Master of Science, Adult and Technical Education. Cindy was inducted into the Marshall University Black Legends Hall of Fame in 1999.Â
Upon completion of her degrees, Cindy gained industry experience that spans across Medical Technology, Pharmaceutical/Biotech, and High-Tech Industrial.  She evolved her professional career through a willingness to take on multi-functional experiences in finance, global brand management, product development, leading large-scale process re-engineering initiatives, and broader functional expertise as a human resource professional. Cindy began her career at General Electric in finance before moving to Johnson & Johnson. At Johnson & Johnson, she held roles of increasing responsibilities in finance, continuous improvement, marketing, and human resources. She moved to the role of Vice President, Human Resources of the North America Commercial organization for the Diagnostics division of Roche, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. In 2019, Cindy joined Stryker Corporation and currently serves as the Group Vice President, Human Resources for the Global Quality and Operations organization. Â
As a community leader, she served in numerous organizations to support the advancement of underprivileged youth and community advocacy to address childhood obesity. Cindy volunteered as a youth track coach for 24 years where she was instrumental in the athletic and academic development of countless student-athletes of all backgrounds and socio-economic status. Cindy’s reputation and proven expertise are sources of external attention and admiration. In 2019, she was named as one of Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Women in Corporate America and was featured in HR Magazine for her unique background as a HR leader driving business transformation. Cindy was named as a 2022 Top 50 Human Resource Professional Award winner by OnCon Icon and recognized for being one of the top Human Resource professionals in the world.Â
Cindy met her husband, Lee, at Marshall where he played football and graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Chemistry. Cindy and Lee are the proud parents of son, Lee II, and daughter, Elise.Â
