Felicia Lara joined the Oakland Athletics staff on July 1, 2015 as an Assistant Strength Coach. Lara will assist in the design and implementation of all strength and conditioning programs for the Golden Grizzlies' 18 intercollegiate sports.

Before coming to Oakland, Lara worked as a Strength and Conditioning Fellow for Olympic Sports at the University of Michigan. There she worked with 14 different sports, as well as the spirit squads. Lara also assisted with the men's and women's basketball teams.

Prior to U-M, Lara worked as a Strength and Conditioning Intern at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) as she assisted with football. Before working at UTSA, Lara spent two years with the strength and conditioning department at Texas State University while she earned her master's degree in exercise science and sport in 2014.

A competitive powerlifter, Lara has won several competitions over the course of her career. She captured a gold medal at the 2010 New Mexico Games in Albuquerque, broke an American record at the 2011 World Cup Nationals in Denver and was named the best female lifter overall at the 2013 Manno Classic in Mesa, Ariz.

Felicia is engaged to Fernando Gonzalez and they will be married in August 2015. Originally from New Mexico, they both currently reside in Rochester Hills, Mich.