Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Region: Ethiopia

Sylvia Fowles

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Ethiopia

Sylvia Fowles, or “Mama Syl,” as she is endeared by many, is a WNBA MVP, 2x WNBA Champion and Finals MVP, 4x Defensive Player of the Year, 8x WNBA All Star, 4x Olympic Gold Medalist, and icon; she owns the record for the first goaltending call in the WNBA and First Dunk by a woman in international competition, as well as a lengthy list of athletic accolades. But post-2022 retirement, she continues to pour into extracurricular passions and philanthropy.

Sylvia Fowles is one of the game’s All-Time Great centers, well known for her warmth and heart. Loved and respected by all, she is a study in opposites – a balance of intensity on the court with an easygoing and fun-loving personality off of it. She is an avid outdoorswoman and plant lover, as well as a mortuary scientist who can sew, cook, draw, and play the saxophone. A true renaissance woman, she works hard to support the youth and families in the communities she loves—a mark of her giving heart and lasting legacy.

Johnny Collins

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2018  –  Philippines
  • 2018  –  Vietnam
  • 2019  –  Burma
  • 2019  –  Ethiopia
  • 2019  –  Kuwait
  • 2022  –  Kyrgyzstan

Johnny Collins is an “A” licensed soccer coach who has been coaching all over the world for the past 25 years. He has coached at all levels but prefers working in youth development. An orphan himself, he loves working with underprivileged kids and he has an 18 year old daughter so empowering young women is also a passion of his.

YeRuchia “Rushia” Brown

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  Ethiopia

Rushia Brown was born in the Bronx, NY and raised in South Carolina. As a sophomore, she first picked up a ball and joined the Summerville High School Junior Varsity basketball team. Athletic, yet untrained, Rushia began a journey that would forever change her life. Through hard work and dedication, she was one of the top student-athlete recruits in the state of South Carolina as a senior; being courted by esteemed universities such as Harvard, Duke University and her then dream school, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. With the recent loss of her father, Rushia chose to stay close to home and attend Furman University.

As a Lady Paladin, Rushia pursued her education and competed on the court, attaining every accolade available including Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, multiple MVPs, Southern Conference Player of the Year, Edna Hartness Athlete of the Year and eventually having her jersey hang from the rafters as #34 was retired, never to be worn again. Rushia’s collegiate years lead to a 10 year professional career overseas, which spanned 5 countries; Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Korea and 7 years in the WNBA; 6 years in Cleveland and 1 year in Charlotte.

Brown is currently working to make a difference in the lives of girls and women through the sport of basketball. Rushia is the Founder/President of the Women’s Professional Basketball Alumnae (WPBA), the only organization structured to assist women who have played professionally in the WNBA or in Europe as they transition into mainstream society.

Rushia is also the Director of Public Relations for Young Black Entrepreneur Magazine,(YBE) an educational platform for those with entrepreneurial aspirations.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  Ethiopia

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson began his career at Chester high school, where he led the Clippers to PIAA Class AAAA state titles in 2011 and 2012, and a runner-up showing in 2013.

During his college career, Jefferson played two seasons at Arizona (2013-15), helping the Wildcats to consecutive Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. He was named First Team All-Pac-12 and selected to Pac-12 All-Defensive Team by the coaches and Earned Pac-12 Tournament All-Tournament Team honors.

In 2015, Jefferson was a first round draft pick (23rd overall) by Portland. He was then traded by Portland, along with with Steve Blake to Brooklyn, for Pat Connaughton and Mason Plumlee. In 2019, Jefferson signed as a free agent with Toronto. In the 2019-20 season, Jefferson posted averages of 7.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 18.7 minutes in 60 games with Toronto.

Lesle Gallimore

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2012  –  Morocco
  • 2016  –  Ethiopia
  • 2022  –  Israel

At Washington
• Started in 1994 at UW, completed her 22nd season with the Huskies – the longest tenure of any coach in the Pac-12
• Appeared in 14 NCAA tournaments, twice having advanced as far as the quarterfinals J(ELITE EIGHT)
• Won a Pac-10 Championship in 2000
• Coached Hope Solo and Tina Ellertson (Frimpong), both with ties to the U.S. WNT, as well as Kate Deines and Veronica Perez, with all four playing in the NWSL (Lindsay Elston and Kate Bennett now also)

Previous/Other Coaching Experience
• Four-time All-American at California (1982-85)
• Led the Golden Bears to the national playoffs three out of her four seasons
• Named the school’s 1976-86 Athlete of the Decade
• Served as an assistant at California from 1986 through 1989
• Helped the Golden Bears reach the NCAA soccer Final Four twice, in 1987 and 1988
• Obtained her United States Soccer Federation “A” License, the highest coaching license available, in 1993
• Member of U.S. Soccer National Coaching Instructor Staff
• Member of U.S. Soccer Youth National Teams Staff
• Vice President of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and will become President in 2018

Playing Career
• Four-time All-American at Cal from 1982-86
• 3 x Olympic Sports Festival Gold Medalist
• US National B Team
• Reached the Final Four in 1984
• Inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 19954
• Inducted into the California Women’s Soccer Inaugural Lair of Legends in 2015
• Named to the Pac-12 Conference All-Century Team Starting XI in 2015

Personal
• Native of Redondo Beach, Calif., currently lives in Seattle
• Has a 22 year-old son, Zachary, that is a Lance coporal in the U.S. Marine Corp, stationed in Okinawa, Japan married to Elhiany and has a 3-month old daughter, Leila June
• Graduate from California in 1986 with a degree in psychology

Staci Wilson

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2014  –  Peru
  • 2016  –  Senegal
  • 2018  –  Niger
  • 2019  –  Nigeria
  • 2019  –  Ethiopia
  • 2022  –  Cameroon
  • 2023  –  Mexico

Staci Wilson – former professional soccer player with extensive experience training athletes, teams and coaches. An NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach, she holds a US Soccer B Coaching License, and has teaching certifications in yoga and Pilates. She played professional soccer for the Carolina Courage and on the 1996 USWNT that won the first ever Olympic Gold Medal for Women’s Football. Currently Wilson coaches youth, high school in south Florida and has a soccer consulting business. She devotes free time to giving back to the sport through charitable organizations that target females and underserved communities.

Kate Sobrero Markgraf

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2012  –  Ethiopia
  • 2013  –  Chile
  • 2014  –  Peru

Defender Kate Markgraf (née Sobrero) debuted with the U.S. Women’s National Team in 1998 and earned 201 caps before retiring in 2010. Markgraf was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Teams in the 2008, 2004 and 2000 Olympic Games, playing every minute of all three tournaments. Markgraf also helped to lead the team from the backline at the 2007, 2003 and 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cups.

After becoming the only player to play every minute of every U.S. Women’s National Team game in 2005, she had her first child, Keegan, in 2006. In 2009, she once again took time off from soccer, giving birth to twins, a boy and a girl, Xavier and Carson.

Markgraf was a four-year starter at Notre Dame, where she was a three time NSCAA All American, earning First Team honors twice and winning the 1995 NCAA championship.

Allocated to the Chicago Red Stars for the inaugural WPS season in 2009, Markgraf sat out the year as she was pregnant with twins. She was a founding player in the WUSA for the Boston Breakers and in 2003 she started all 19 games in which she played, helping the Breakers to the playoffs for the first time.

Kim Kammerdeiner

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2019  –  Ethiopia

Born Aug. 12, 1964. Kim is an American retired Goalkeeper for the United States Women’s National Team. Considered a pioneer of women’s soccer in the US, she was a member of the 1991 USWNT that won the first Women’s World Cup in China. From 1988-1991, she played 843 minutes without allowing a goal- a record at the time. In 1990, she was named to the Soccer America All- Decade team. Maslin-Kammerdeiner attended George Mason University and played for the Patriots, who won the NCAA Davison 1 Championship Tar Heels in 1985.

Maslin-Kammerdeiner is Married to her husband of 28 years and has 4 children and one granddaughter and a new grandchild on the way. She is a Teacher of Health and Physical Education and has taught for 26 years, 12 years in High School and 14 years in Middle School. Maslin-Kammerdeiner has been a Coach for more than 30 years in multiple sports. Goal Keeping is a passion for Kammerdeiner and she has coached at all levels both males and females in goal.

Tony Sanneh

Tony Sanneh

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2010  –  Cyprus
  • 2012  –  Ethiopia
  • 2012  –  Malaysia
  • 2014  –  Bangladesh
  • 2014  –  Bolivia
  • 2018  –  Pakistan
  • 2019  –  Kenya
  • 2019  –  Bahrain
  • 2020  –  Virtual
  • 2022  –  Cote d'Ivoire

Among the most successful American soccer players of his generation, Tony Sanneh enjoyed an impressive 17-year professional soccer career. Major career highlights include starring in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, two Major League Soccer championships with D.C. United, and participation in the UEFA Champions League with Hertha Berlin during his six years in the German Bundesliga. Sanneh’s impact on American soccer was recognized by his selection to the Soccer America U.S. Men’s National Team “All-Decade Team,” and he was a finalist for the United States Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2018.

At the height of his playing career, he created The Sanneh Foundation (TSF) to leverage sport’s unique potential to create positive social change for under-served youth through relationships. Since retiring from professional soccer in 2010 and becoming the organization’s full-time CEO, TSF has evolved into one of Minnesota’s leading youth development organizations by serving the holistic youth development needs of increasingly diverse Twin Cities Metro, Central and Southeastern Minnesota.

The Robert Woods Johnson Foundation recently recognized the organization’s work by awarding TSF their annual Sports Award, among the highest honors any organization in the field of health equity and community well-being can receive. The 2018 RWJF Sports award validates The Sanneh Foundation’s approach to creating a culture of community health by leveraging the universal appeal of sports to provide a range of holistic youth programs that address the social determinants that help diverse youth develop the skills to become productive adults

In addition to his executive leadership role with The Sanneh Foundation, Sanneh continues to serve the United States as a Sports Envoy on behalf of the SportsUnited Division of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.