Our Coaches
DJ Vaglia
Coach DJ is head coach of Mt. Lebanon Rowing and leads the men's team. He joined Mt. Lebanon Rowing in the Fall of 2014 to coach the novices and to assist with the development of the varsity boys. DJ is also an alum of the program, having rowed for us from 2004-2008. After graduating from Mt. Lebanon, he rowed at Cornell from 2008-2012. DJ also heads up our equipment maintenance and is U.S. Rowing Level II certified.
Julia Kelly
Coach Julia joined MTL in the fall of 2018 as an assistant coach. She is now the Novice coach as of 2019. Coach Julia is also the head of coxswain development for Mt Lebanon Rowing.
An alum of MtL, Coach Julia was a coxswain for the team from 2011-2014. Julia was a coxswain for Syracuse University for two years and graduated in 2018. Julia is U.S. Rowing Level 1 certified.
Brian Cusick
Coach Brian joined Mt Lebanon Rowing in the fall of 2003 as one of the Novice coaches. He moved up to the men’s team in the fall of 2007 and is now coaching the Women’s team as of 2022. An alum of Mt Lebanon, Coach Brian both rowed and coxed from 1995 to 1999.
Brian is U.S. Rowing Level II certified. He graduated Allegheny College in 2003 with a BS in chemistry and graduated from CMU in the fall of 2009 with a Ph.D. in chemistry.
Salli Bowman
Coach Salli is the head of Sculling development for the Mt. Lebanon crew team, working with both the men and women's teams. She joined MTL during the summer of 2021 as an assistant coach.
Coach Salli had originally started rowing at Oakland Catholic, before transitioning into a sculling focus at Steel City Rowing for the remainder of her high school career, and afterwards going on to row for Cornell University's D1 team.
Lily Robertson
Coach Lily joined MTL in the winter of 2023 as an assistant coach and has since advanced to a novice coach. She is a Lebo rowing alum, having rowed on the team from 2014-2018. Lily is U.S. Rowing Level II certified.