MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - The Middlebury Athletics' Leaning Into Discomfort (LID) series has been selected for the 2021 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) ChangeMaker Award. Established in the spring of 2021, the award recognizes up to three individual CoSIDA members or staff who have created and managed innovative content during the current academic year. 
 
Head Men's Basketball Coach Jeff Brown, Assistant Football Coach Michael Carr, Jourdon Delerme-Brown, former-Assistant Women's Basketball Coach Savannah Morgan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Ali Paquette, Director of Athletics Erin Quinn, former-Assistant Women's Lacrosse Coach Katie Ritter, and Ellie Thompson are being honored for their contributions alongside the entire Athletics' Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. 
 
The LID series was created in response to the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, and served as a starting point for critical conversations surrounding identity and intersectionality within the athletics department.
 
Leaning Into Discomfort featured 18 episodes with 46 participants including current student-athletes, alumni, coaches, faculty, and staff. The topics discussed ranged from women in sports, LGBTQIA+, anti-racism, body image, ability, accessibility, and mental health. 

All 18 episodes can be found on the Middlebury Athletics YouTube channel.