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OUR VALUABLE TEAM MEMBERS

Mark Frank

Director of Operations

Mark joined the Triangle Aquatic Center in July 2016. He has extensive marketing experience and has owned and worked for a variety of companies including Write More Education Resources, DMR Networks, VideoSite, Inc., and Muzak, LLC…

Derek Wall

Executive Director​
Derek Wall, a local entrepreneur, re-joined the Triangle Aquatic Center in the fourth quarter of 2022. Derek has spent the past decade building a local pool management and staffing company, which he recently has sold in order to oversee all programming and operations at TAC.

Tiffany Miller

Finance Director

Tiffany joined the TAC in September 2018. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in North Carolina and comes to us from the service industry where she oversaw all accounting, financial and HR functions.…

Darria Chance

Programs Manager

Darria joined TAC in October 2019 as a swim instructor. She currently manages the Learn to Swim and private lesson programs. Darria has 8 years of experience in aquatics as a lifeguard, swim instructor and swim coach…

Ben Hartwick

 IT/Visual Services Manager

Ben joined TAC in March of 2020, originally a consultant for the AV department.  He soon joined the TAC family as an employee, becoming the IT and Visual Services Manager.  Ben’s efforts at TAC have revolutionized our video and streaming capabilities, spearheading the effort behind the virtual connectivity…

Bruce Marchionda

TITANS Swim Team / Head Coach
Bruce begins his first season with the TAC Titans. He brings with him over twenty-nine of coaching experience at the collegiate, prep school, and club levels. He has already had a major impact on the Titan swim program including creating a 15:1…

John Payne

TITANS Swim Team / Associate Head Coach / TITANS Masters Head Coach
John “JP” Payne has over 25 years of coaching experience at all levels of competition from the youngest beginner to elite professional athletes. JP began his coaching career at the Raleigh YMCA in 1988 working with Brooks Teal …

Ryan Dobrzynski

Customer Service Manager

Ryan Dobrzynski. joined the TAC staff in February of 2022 as a customer service desk attendant, and now is the Customer Service Manager.  He grew up in Minnesota, just south of the Twin Cities. Ryan is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in Sports Management. He currently residing in the Raleigh area.

Kenneth Tackett

Facility Manager

Kenneth joined the Triangle Aquatic Center in 2021. He was promoted to Facility Manager in June 2022.  He had owned a HVAC company for several years and has worked for Lee Air, Allen Kelly, Costal Mechanical, and Axis Technologies. He has over 18 years of experience in the field of HVAC. He holds certifications in HVAC, EPA universal 601 refrigeration license, Tracpipe, and many more.

Matthew Cardenas

Events Coordinator

Matt joined TAC in October 2021 as a Swim Instructor. He is native Ruston, Louisiana and is a Psychology alumnus of Louisiana Tech University. He holds many aquatic related certifications, including Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor and WSI.

Adam Blevins

Associate Director of Operations

Adam joined TAC in December 2022. Throughout his career, he has worked in various management roles in the private and corporate sectors. These positions include working as a director for a large health and fitness facility and opening, owning, and operating a multi-use fitness facility for over 7 years in the Raleigh area.

Mark Frank

Mark joined the Triangle Aquatic Center in July 2016. He has extensive marketing experience and has owned and worked for a variety of companies including Write More Education Resources, DMR Networks, VideoSite, Inc., and Muzak, LLC. His professional experience includes all levels of management, marketing, training, network services, web design, private television networks, and restaurant operations. Mark is also a NCS/USAS Certified Official with over sixteen years of experience. 

Mark has a degree in Marketing from Robert Morris University and Management from Penn State. He has been married to his wife Sharon and has two daughters; Lauren and Jessica. Mark is a native of Pittsburgh, PA and he and his family currently live in North Raleigh.

Derek Wall

Derek Wall, a local entrepreneur, re-joined the Triangle Aquatic Center in the fourth quarter of 2022. Derek has spent the past decade building a local pool management and staffing company, which he recently has sold in order to oversee all programming and operations at TAC. Prior to his stint in pool management, Derek served as the Operations Director of TAC and was instrumental in the founding of the TAC TITANS USA Swimming team program. Derek graduated from Campbell University with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Marketing.

Derek lives in Apex, NC with his wife, Ashley Twichell, who is a multiple time world champion open water swimmer. When Ashley qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she became the oldest rookie swimmer to do so since the early 1900s. Ashley and Derek have recently welcomed their first child, Lochlan William Wall.

Derek’s “Gold Medal Promise” is sure to find its way into the hearts of all TAC employees, TITANS coaches and our numerous aquatic constituents. Please stop by and say hello; there is always time to hear form our customers when in the pursuit of excellence!

Tiffany Holland

Tiffany joined the TAC in September 2018. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in North Carolina and comes to us from the service industry where she oversaw all accounting, financial and HR functions of several commonly owned businesses.

Tiffany graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelors degree in Economics and a Masters degree in Accounting. She is a native North Carolinian living in Raleigh with her children and yellow lab, Hazel. She enjoys staying active and has aspirations of joining the TITANS Masters team. Stay tuned!!

Bruce Marchionda

Bruce begins his first season with the TAC Titans. He brings with him over twenty-nine of coaching experience at the collegiate, prep school, and club levels. He has already had a major impact on the Titan swim program including creating a 15:1 swimmer to coach ratio and creating an environment that is conducive to great swimming.

Some of Bruce’s recent accomplishments include; qualifying two swimmers for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio Brazil, qualifying two swimmers for the 2015 World University Games, produced 2014 American Record holder, 2013 World Record Holder, 2013 SC USA National Champion, and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist. Bruce was on the USA coaching staff for both the 2012 and 2014 SC World Championships. He was recognized by the American Swimming Coaches Association as a Coach of Excellence for the past eight years. He has received Coach of the Year honors eight times from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Conference USA, and the Sun Belt Conference.

Bruce’s strength is the rapport that he establishes with his student-athletes. This relationship is based on mutual respect and a coaching philosophy that focuses on the whole person. This approach enables the student-athlete to be successful in all areas of their lives.

Bruce’s Head Coaching experience began at Norfolk Academy in Norfolk Virginia where his teams won fifteen Virginia Independent School State Championships. As Head Coach at Clemson University from 1994 – 2002 his team’s set 34 Clemson University school records, swimmers qualifying for the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, and won the 1997 Women’s Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. His tenure at Western Kentucky University included placing Claire Donahue on the 2012 USA Olympic Team, establishing 107 Western Kentucky University school records, and an over-all dual meet record of 2018-30-1.

John Payne

John “JP” Payne has over 25 years of coaching experience at all levels of competition from the youngest beginner to elite professional athletes. JP began his coaching career at the Raleigh YMCA in 1988 working with Brooks Teal as an Assistant Senior Coach and saw immediate success with the team winning the YMCA Men’s National Championship, a team which included 1996 Olympic gold medalist, David Fox. From there he assumed the Head Senior Coach duties with the Durham Aquatic Club producing a USA Swimming Junior National Qualifier in his first year. His next coaching step took him to the New Wave Swim Team, where he served as Head Age Group Coach leading the top 12 and Under group that consisted of multiple state champions, NC Swimming state record holders, and Top-16 age-group swimmers including future Olympic gold medalist, Charlie Houchin. John returned to coaching at the Capital Area YMCA as a lead senior coach in 1996, helping the team win the 1997 Women’s Long Course YMCA National Championship. Following a period of employment in the technology industry, JP returned to the New Wave Coaching staff in 2009, serving as Head Age Group Coach and site coordinator for the Optimist site.

JP is also the founder of [iX3]sports which provides him the opportunity to expand his influence through the professional ranks of the swimming world. Currently, through that platform, he coaches two-time Olympian, Chloe Sutton, 2012 Olympic and 2013 World Championship gold medalist, Charlie Houchin, USA Open Water National Team members Ashley Twichell and Alex Meyer, who is also a member of the 2014 Pan Pacific Games team and 2014 National Open Water 5K Champion, and Puerto Rican National Team Member, Christian Bayo.

In addition to having developed a successful swim coaching career, in 2004 JP expanded his application and study of sports coaching to include soccer, cross country, and triathlon. He helped found the St. Timothy’s School Cross Country program and coached future state and national record holder, Wesley Frazier. He is a certified coach by both USA Track and Field and US Youth Soccer. He has also worked with World Champion multi-sport athletes, including World Aquathlon Champion, Andrew Ferrell.

JP is active with both USA Swimming and NC Swimming . He has worked as a staff member of USA Swimming’s National Open Water Select (2011-2014) and National Select (2012 & 2013) camps. As a member of the NC Swimming Open Water committee, he helped to develop the NC Open Water Select Camp and has served as its head coach since its inception.

JP was a letter winner at NC State University and was a member of the 1984 ACC Championship team. Prior to his collegiate career, he was an All-American Swimmer at the Baylor School, located in Chattanooga, TN. He also competed as a professional triathlete for six years throughout the US and Canada earning Triathlon Today! magazine All-American honors and gaining sponsorship from Nike. JP has a B.A. in English and a M.S. in Technical Communication from NC State University. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and three sons.

Ryan Dobrzynski

Ryan Dobrzynski. joined the TAC staff in February of 2022 as a customer service desk attendant, and now is the Customer Service Manager.  He grew up in Minnesota, just south of the Twin Cities. Ryan is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in Sports Management. He currently residing in the Raleigh area.

 

Ryan has work experience in a variety of fields. He has around a pool as a lifeguard, on a golf course as part of the course maintenance crew and has worked at an outdoors center running events for kayaking, fishing, and hiking. Ryan enjoys staying active and going on hikes all around the area.

Kenneth Tackett

Kenneth joined the Triangle Aquatic Center in 2021. He was promoted to Facility Manager in June 2022.  He had owned a HVAC company for several years and has worked for Lee Air, Allen Kelly, Costal Mechanical, and Axis Technologies. He has over 18 years of experience in the field of HVAC. He holds certifications in HVAC, EPA universal 601 refrigeration license, Tracpipe, and many more.

 

Kenneth has a degree in applied sciences from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a degree in HVAC from Vance Granville Community College. He is a native to Durham, NC and is currently living in Stem, NC with his 2 Labradoodles Isabel and Annabelle. 

Matthew Cardenas

Matt joined TAC in October 2021 as a Swim Instructor. He is native Ruston, Louisiana and is a Psychology alumnus of Louisiana Tech University. He holds many aquatic related certifications, including Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor and WSI.

He has over a decade of experience organizing events through the Boy Scouts of America in the Louisiana Purchase Council from summer and winter camps to facilitating Scout participation in the Shriner Circus fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. He also served in middle management staff for Camp Lenox, a sport camp located in the Berkshires of MA. He now lives in Holly Springs with his wife, Jess.

Adam Blevins

Adam joined TAC in December 2022. Throughout his career, he has worked in various management roles in the private and corporate sectors. These positions include working as a director for a large health and fitness facility and opening, owning, and operating a multi-use fitness facility for over 7 years in the Raleigh area. Further work experience includes management roles with Anheuser-Busch Parks and in the logistics and commercial home-building industry.

Adam graduated from East Carolina University with a B.S. in Sports & Recreation Management. He holds several physical training certifications and was a competitive CrossFit athlete for many years. Having experience with aquatics and swimming as a youth, his passion for sports and fitness has brought him back to the aquatics industry. Adam is a North Carolina native who grew up in the Raleigh area.

Anna Hergenrader

Anna Hergenrader joined the Triangle Aquatic Center family prior to the construction of the facility. She has watched the organization grow from bricks and dirt, to the strong swimming presence that TAC now represents within the community.

Anna has over eighteen years of experience in public accounting, and is a partner with James A. Lucas and Company, LLP, the CPA firm that handles TAC’s financial reporting and tax preparation. Anna was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, but grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She served in the US Navy for three years after high school, and then returned to North Carolina to receive her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Campbell University. She joined her firm in 2001, and began working with the Aquatic Center in 2002. She has served on TAC’s advisory board in the past, and is currently the chair of TAC’s finance committee.

Anna is married to Jeff Hergenrader, a sales director in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device space, and they stay busy with their seven-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter. Anna is a member of the Triangle Area Chapter of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (NCACPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AIPCA).

Robyn Curran ​

Robyn Curran works diligently as the Triangle Aquatic Center’s volunteer Senior Director of Finance . Being a lifetime swimmer, a swim-mom, and a volunteer meet director for many years, Robyn’s experience helping TAC pursue its mission has been invaluable.

Robyn and her husband Mike have lived in Wake County since 1988 and currently reside in Cary. They have three grown daughters, Kristin, Bryttany and Danielle.

Kevin Chignell

Kevin Chignell has a long history in Wake County. He was born in Washington, D.C. but his family moved to Cary in the 1970’s. After graduating from Apex High School, UNC-Chapel Hill, and UNC School of Law, Kevin joined the firm of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein in Raleigh where he has practiced law for over 20 years. He has focused his work on product liability matters, industrial accidents, and commercial motor vehicle litigation. Kevin also served as the firm’s Raleigh Office Managing Partner from 2012 until 2017 and led the design and construction efforts when the Raleigh office relocated to the PNC Plaza in 2014.

He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for Camp Sea Gull & Camp Seafarer and the Board of Directors of the Trucking Industry Defense Association. Kevin previously served on TAC’s Aquatics Advisory Board from 2015-2016.

Kevin’s wife, Jeannine, is originally from New York, but decided to stay in the South after graduating from Wake Forest University and earning a Master’s degree at Clemson University. She works in Human Resources for Blue Cross NC, and they have two swimmers competing for the TAC Titans.

Kevin is a USA Swimming official who regularly volunteers at swim meets as a deck referee, starter, and stroke & turn judge.Away from the pool deck, Kevin enjoys mountain biking and running, and he completed the Beach2Battleship half-iron distance triathlon in 2011 and 2012. Recently, he started working towards earning his private pilot’s license.

Mariana Pulgarin

Mariana worked as a Swimming Instructor and Coach at the Triangle Aquatic Center before becoming the Programs Manager in January 2019. She is in charge of the Learn to Swim Program and Private lessons, coordinating the instructors and assuring students get the skills they need to progress to the next level.

Mariana started her aquatic career in her home country of Colombia in 1998, where she practiced competitive swimming, Fin Swimming and Underwater Hockey. She has more than 10 years of experience teaching swimming lessons, and currently swims with the TITANS Masters team. She has lived in Raleigh since February 2018 with her husband Jonathan.

Lori Kelly

Lori is from Wendell, NC and moved to Cary to pursue a career in Hairstyling. After 20 year in the cosmetology business she came to work at TAC as a part-time receptionist. TAC recognized her people skills and quickly made her a front desk supervisor and now Customer Service Manager. Lori loves overseeing the front desk and welcoming customers to our facility.

Matt Mosher

Born and raised in Durham, NC, Matt has been around and involved in competitive swimming and aquatics nearly his entire life. Matt joined the Aquatic center as a TITANS coach in August of 2016, and joined our staff as lifeguard manager in April, 2018. His management experience includes leading the business development center at a top automotive dealer and pool management for Durham Parks and Recreation.

Matt currently lives in Raleigh and embraces the challenge of creating a professional lifeguard culture where safety is the highest priority, but with customer service a close second.

Elisa Bowie

Elisa joined the Triangle Aquatic Center in April of 2016 and became the Finance Manager in April of 2017. She oversees rentals and the schedule for the facility as well as various finance and HR responsibilities.

Born and raised in the Southern Maryland/VA area, Elisa grew up swimming on summer league, club and high school teams. After high school, Elisa began her career in cosmetology in 2011 and then put that aside in 2015 after moving to NC. Her strong customer service skills and great attention to detail make her a great fit for the TAC team.

Mark Eubanks

Mark joined TAC in January 2019. He has been in the HVAC industry for 37 years with experience in building health science, mechanical repair, equipment start up and commissioning, technician training and management.

Mark served as one of two factory technical representatives for Carrier, Bryant and Payne in eastern half of North Carolina. Mark has earned his AS degree from Chowan College and a HVAC/ Refrigeration degree from Wake Technical College. Mark is a native of Beaufort North Carolina and has a wife and daughter and currently lives in Raleigh.

Mike Curran

Mike is currently the CFO of Swimmingly, LLC, www.swimmingly.app, a software development company creating innovative mobile and website software for the aquatic industry. Prior to joining Swimmingly, Mike spent four years with CAPTRUST Financial Advisors in Raleigh as a Nonqualified deferred compensation consultant.

In addition to his work at Swimmingly, Mike manages the Curran Family Foundation, a private foundation with a mission to positively impact the lives of children and young adults and is the volunteer acting Executive Director for the Triangle Aquatic Center, a nonprofit public aquatic facility in Cary, NC that provides year-round public access to health, safety, recreation and competition aquatic programming.

Mike and his wife Robyn of 37 years have lived in Wake County since 1978 and currently reside in Cary. Mike and Robyn have three grown daughters, Kristin, Bryttany and her husband Jordan and daughter Hailey and Danielle and her husband Travis and son Trevor.