Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Region: Israel

Debra Belkin Rademacher

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2022  –  Israel

Debbie Belkin Rademacher, was the head coach of the women’s soccer team at the University of Michigan from 1994-2007. From 1986-1991 she was a mainstay on the US women’s National Team, and was a key member of the 1991 U.S. team that won the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Championship. In August 2001, the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame awarded the 1991 U.S. Women’s World Cup champions, the prestigious National Soccer Medal of Honor.

In 2000, Soccer America named her to the Women’s College Soccer Team of the Century. She is a member of the Massachusetts State Hall of Fame, a member of the University of Massachusetts Athletic Hall of Fame, and a member of the National Jewish Hall of Fame.

An outstanding defender from 1984-1988, Rademacher was a three-time All-American at the University of Massachusetts, and led the team to four consecutive Final Four appearances. Named All-New England from 1985-1987, Rademacher helped the Minutewomen achieve a No. 1 ranking during the 1986 season and led them to the NCAA championship game in 1987. Named the Defensive MVP of the 1987 Final Four, Rademacher also received honors from Soccer America, who named her to its MVP teams in 1986 and 1987, and to the All-Decade team (1980s).

Over Rademacher’s four-year career at UMass, the Minutewomen had an overall record of 65-9-4. It was in 1986, during her junior season at Massachusetts, Rademacher joined the U.S. National Team.

In 1992, Rademacher became the head coach at Fairfield University after serving as an assistant at Tufts (1988), and New Hampshire (1989-91). After an record of 6-8-1 in her first season, Rademacher led Fairfield to a 12-4-3 record and the MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) regular season and tournament championship in 1992 as she was named MAAC Coach of the Year. The following year, Rademacher became the head coach at the University of Michigan in the school’s inaugural season of NCAA women’s soccer.

Rademacher led Michigan to a second place regular season finish in 1997. They then won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the next nine years. Rademacher was named Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year that year. Michigan won the Big Ten tournament for a second time in 1999, and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2002. In 2003, the Wolverines advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament. They finished the season ranked No. 16 in the country. Through her final season, in 2007, Rademacher amassed a career coaching record of 178-120-41.

Edwina Brown

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2007  –  Israel

Edwina Brown was born in Dallas, TX and shortly after moved to Lockhart, TX. As a natural athlete, Edwina grew up playing all sports but developed a love for basketball at an early age. In her senior year, she was named the Texas Class 4A Player of the Year and was awarded a basketball scholarship to The University of Texas at Austin.

Edwina had four successful seasons at The University of Texas. She holds a number of UT records including 1,705 career points, 517 career assists and 257 career steals, which is the only player to have at least 1,500 points, 500 assists, and 250 steals. She remains the only individual in school history to lead the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals in the same year, an accomplishment she achieved in both her junior and senior years.

As the 3rd overall pick in the 2000 WNBA Draft, Edwina played five years in the WNBA: Detroit Shock (2000-2002), Phoenix Mercury (2003-2004), Houston Comets (2006 post-season).

Her international experience includes playing in Austria (2001),
Lebanon (2002), Israel (2003-2005, 2007-2010), Spain (2005), and France (2006).

Her NCAA coaching experience includes her positions at the University of Texas (2011) as Strength & Conditioning Coach, at the University of Texas (2011-12) as Assistant Coach, at the University of New Mexico (2012-2014) as Assistant Coach, at the Texas Christian University (2014-2016) as Recruiting Coordinator, and at the Southern Methodist University (2016-2017) as Recruiting Coordinator.

Off the court, Edwina is pursuing her passion of giving back to the community and recently founded a non-profit, MAP’D Out (Mentoring Athletes and Providing Dreams). Raised by her mother and grandmother in Lockhart, TX, Edwina realizes the importance of an inspirational mentor and started MAP’D Out to lend a helping hand to youth in the community that exemplify sportsmanship, integrity and the desire to “MAP OUT” their future goals.

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Edwina also acts as a consultant to coaches that aspire in growing their knowledge and platform in their specific craft. She recently grounded the idea of “Whiteboard Exchange” in which she relays and mentors those with the same vision of growing our community through sport.

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