Staff Directory

Brianna Wood

Title:
Director of Student-Athletic Development/Academic Coordinator
Email:
Phone:
(252) 737-4472

Officially appointed to the role of Director of Student-Athlete Development/Life Skills following an accomplished volleyball career at East Carolina, Bri Wood now leads the department's holistic student-athlete development initiatives while also serving as an Academic Coordinator. In her role, she develops and oversees programming that prepares student-athletes for success during and after college through leadership development, career readiness, financial literacy, personal branding, community engagement, and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) education.

Since joining the athletics staff, Wood has significantly expanded East Carolina's student-athlete development programming by launching several department-wide initiatives, including the Pirates LEAD Leadership Academy, revamping the SABRE (Student-Athlete Brand Resource Education) NIL curriculum, a structured career development curriculum, and ECU Athletics' first student-athlete networking event connecting Pirates with alumni, employers, donors, and community leaders. She also leads the department's community engagement efforts, coordinating thousands of student-athlete service hours annually while cultivating partnerships with local nonprofits, schools, healthcare organizations, campus departments, and community organizations.

Wood serves as the advisor for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), providing leadership development opportunities while empowering student-athletes to serve their campus and community. During her tenure, SAAC has experienced increased engagement, expanded campus partnerships, and record levels of community involvement.

In addition to her student-athlete development responsibilities, Wood serves as an Academic Coordinator, working directly with Women's Soccer student-athletes to support academic success, monitor progress toward degree completion, and collaborate with coaches, faculty, and campus partners to promote student achievement.

Beyond campus, Wood is actively involved in national collegiate athletics leadership. She serves as Co-Lead of the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) Emerging Professionals Committee and on the N4A MOAA Rising Stars Subcommittee. She is a recipient of the N4A Scholarship Recipient and the MOAA Rising Star Award and regularly presents at regional and national conferences on student-athlete development, leadership, and transition programming.

Across the university, Wood previously served as Chair of the East Carolina University Staff Senate, representing more than 3,000 staff members while collaborating with university leadership to advance staff engagement, advocacy, and professional development initiatives. She also represented East Carolina University as a delegate to the UNC System Staff Assembly.

A four-year letterwinner for the Pirates volleyball program, Wood became one of the few players in program history to surpass both 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, finishing second all-time in both categories. She earned American Athletic Conference First Team honors in 2020 and Second Team recognition in 2019 while serving as a team captain and helping establish herself among the most decorated student-athletes in program history.

Wood received her undergraduate degree in public health (2021) before earning her master’s in sports management in 2023, from East Carolina.