Mary Beth Challoner

A lifelong athlete and sport leader, Mary Beth's perspective is shaped by both her executive leadership experience and her own journey through high-performance sport. She competed as a varsity hockey student-athlete at the University of Toronto, serving as a two-year captain of the Varsity Blues women's hockey program.

Her passion for sport began at a young age and continued well beyond university, where she challenged herself in touch and flag football for more than two decades. During that time, she earned multiple Canadian and U.S. national championships, gaining firsthand experience in leadership, resilience, team culture, and elite performance.

Prior to founding NextPlay, Mary Beth spent more than 18 years in progressively senior leadership roles in intercollegiate athletics and high-performance sport.

Most recently, she served as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and High Performance Sport at the University of Toronto, overseeing one of Canada's largest and most respected university sport portfolios. She provided strategic leadership across varsity athletics, high-performance programming, student-athlete development, and organizational operations, while fostering partnerships that advanced both athletic excellence and academic success.

Earlier in her career, Mary Beth led marketing, events, and athletic communications initiatives that elevated the Varsity Blues brand through innovative storytelling, digital engagement, event production, and media relations.

Today, Mary Beth combines her experience as a championship athlete, senior sport executive, and entrepreneur to help the next generation of female student-athletes maximize their potential, navigate pivotal decisions, and pursue opportunities with confidence.