Penn Athletics names Kayla Storrs as Head of Community Engagement and Wellbeing

Kayla Storrs was named the new head of community engagement and wellbeing at Penn on Monday. The position is a collaboration between Wellness at Penn and the Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics. 

Storrs previously served as the associate director of people, culture, and belonging for the University of Oklahoma Athletics, where she led programs and initiatives to foster employee engagement and strengthened the athletic community during her one year tenure.

1996 College graduate and Penn’s T. Gibbs Kane, Jr. W'69 Director of Athletics and Recreation Alanna Wren cited Storrs' work to foster change when considering her for the position. In an official Penn Athletics announcement, she noted that they "were compelled by her specific experiences in admissions and recruitment, public health and her work in higher education and also independent schools. Her academic and professional credentials will help Kayla make an immediate impact on both our Division and Wellness at Penn,” Wren said.

Storr graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Health Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in African American studies from the University of Oklahoma in 2014 before earning her Master of Public Health from the University of Kentucky in 2016. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Adult and Higher Education at the University of Oklahoma. A Gates Millennium Scholar, Storrs also worked as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma, Kentucky, and at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School  in Indianapolis. Her current research focuses on parental support of first-generation college students during their admissions process.

At Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, Storrs helped shape hiring practices — something she continued within the University of Oklahoma’s Office of Recruitment and Admissions where she served as an admissions counselor and assistant director of diversity enrichment programs. Her background in health studies, college admissions, hiring practices, and diversity enrichment programs brings a fresh perspective in her new position to shape the Penn Athletic community into one of diversity, commitment, and shared values, according to the official announcement.

“This work is personal to me,” Storrs said, “I care deeply about community and holistic wellbeing, and I’m looking forward to building intentional spaces where that’s not just a goal, but a lived experience.”