Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Region: Latin America & Caribbean

Cobi Jones

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2014  –  Burma
  • 2014  –  Brazil
  • 2015  –  Tonga
  • 2015  –  Fiji
  • 2021  –  Virtual
  • 2024  –  Greece

Cobi Jones is a Southern California sports legend, maintaining the title of the longest standing member of the LA Galaxy dynasty. LA’s “Original Cobi,” spent 15 seasons with the Galaxy, as both a player and coach from 1996 – 2010. A 2011 US Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, Cobi is a two-time MLS Cup winner (2002, 2005) with a storied international career with the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team. A permanent fixture with the team from 1992- 2004, he played in three World Cups (1994, 1998, 2002) and has the most international appearances for the Men’s side with 164 caps. He is also a 1992 Olympian. Prior to his MLS career, Cobi played overseas with Coventry City (English Premier League) and the Brazilian side, Vasco de Gama.

Today, Cobi is one of the sport’s preeminent broadcasters working with FOX Sports, where he was part of both the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup broadcast teams, both as a game analyst (2018) and co-hosting World Cup Tonight (2018-2019). He is the lead English language analyst for Fox’s coverage of Liga MX, Mexico’s top professional soccer league. He has also covered the Bundesliga, US Men’s National Team games, CONCACAF Champions League, the Gold Cup, and various FIFA tournaments for Fox. Cobi has been in the booth as the color commentator calling the LA Galaxy matches since 2012 for Spectrum SportsNet (formerly Time Warner Cable), Pac-12 Network, BeIn Sports, Next VR and he was also part of the 2012 NBC Olympic coverage.

A UCLA Hall of Famer and 1990 NCAA Champion with the Bruins, Cobi works closely with the LA2028 Olympic Committee, The Rose Bowl Institute, the LA84 Foundation, Cal South, AYSO, the US Soccer Foundation, and others. He represented the White House as part of the Presidential Delegation, attending both the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final in Canada and the 2014 FIFA Men’s World Cup Final in Brazil. He is also consistently part of the US State Department’s Sports Envoy.

In the Fall of 2020, it was announced that Cobi joined the esteemed ranks as one of the founding investor owners of the NWSL’s newest team, Angel City FC, brining women’s professional soccer to Los Angeles. Cobi joins sports greats Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Serena Williams, actresses Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner, America Ferrara and other notable names as part of the ownership group that is moving the needle for parity and equality in sports.

In an effort to work toward racial equality, improve the gender pay gap and continue to help elevate American soccer on a global level, Cobi will work with US Soccer and the US Soccer Foundation to bring his passion and commitment to the beautiful game to another level.

Agnus Berenato

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  Guyana
  • 2017  –  Suriname

Agnus Berenato has earned a reputation of turning around struggling programs and building them into winners. After one season as the head coach of the Kennesaw State women’s basketball program, Berenato has shown signs of building upon that legacy.

In her first season leading the Owls, Berenato guided Kennesaw State to a 10-20 overall record, 8-6 ASUN Conference mark, and the program’s highest seed in the league’s postseason championship. KSU, which won eight of its final 12 games, hosted a tournament game for the first time, defeating NJIT, 62-60, and advanced to the ASUN Championship semifinals for the second time.

Under Berenato’s leadership, Kennesaw State had four players earn ASUN Conference postseason honors. Carlotta Gianolla was unanimously voted Freshman of the Year and selected to the All-Freshman team, while senior Deandrea Sawyers was tabbed second team All-ASUN Conference by the league’s coaches.

The Owls also proved to be winners in the classroom as juniors Chloe Branch and Clara Young were named to the ASUN Conference’s All-Academic team.

Berenato came to Kennesaw State with the distinction of being the winningest coach at the University of Pittsburgh and the second-winningest at Georgia Tech.

The 30-year coaching veteran has also enjoyed success on the recruiting trail since being hired on March 30, 2016 as she signed nine players who will join the program in the fall, including the Georgia 6A Player of the Year.

Within three years of assuming head-coaching duties at Georgia Tech, she led the Yellow Jackets to the 1992 WNIT championship. The next year, Tech made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Two years after taking the helm at Pitt, the Panthers rattled off five consecutive postseason berths, including back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16’s in 2008 and 2009.

Berenato has won 454 games in her 30-year head coaching career that spans four years at Rider University, 15 at Georgia Tech, 10 at Pitt and one at Kennesaw State. Her teams have competed in the postseason 11 times.

On the court, Berenato has mentored five players to All-America recognition — from Georgia Tech: Joyce
Pierce, Kisha Ford and Sonja Mallory and from Pittsburgh: Shavonte Zellous and Marcedes Walker. Her
players achieved 21 all-conference honors at Pitt, and 16 more at Georgia Tech.

Berenato emphasizes the development of the total person, and her student-athletes have complimented athletic success with academic achievement. Every one of her student-athletes who have completed their eligibility have graduated.

She is recognized as an inspirational leader and motivator and a dynamic public speaker, while also giving back in the community. Additionally, Berenato actively serves as a mentor to several former student-athletes and assistant coaches, who continue to impact the game of women’s basketball.

A 1980 graduate of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., Berenato earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and was a three-year starter on the basketball team. Playing for former NBA star Fred Carter, she was a two-time captain for the Mountaineers. Following eight years of service on the college’s Board of Trustees, she is now a Trustee Emeritus.

Named an ACC Women’s Basketball Legend in 2014, Berenato was recognized on two occasions as a
Division I Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club. She has been inducted into the South Jersey Hall of Fame, the Rider College Hall of Fame and the Mount St. Mary’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

In May of 2009, Berenato was awarded with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Seton Hall
University and delivered the commencement speech to its spring graduates. She also holds an honorary
Doctorate of Humane Letters from her alma mater, Mount St. Mary’s.

The product of a basketball family, Berenato’s sister is Bernadette McGlade, a former Georgia Tech head coach and now the commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Sue Wicks

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2009  –  Philippines
  • 2010  –  Indonesia
  • 2011  –  Dominican Republic
  • 2013  –  Malaysia
  • 2016  –  Cambodia
  • 2017  –  Jordan

Sue Wicks was a first-round selection by the New York Liberty in the WNBA’s inaugural draft in 1997. Wicks went on to play six seasons with the Liberty, earning an All-Star selection in 2000. She also was the recipient of the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award in 2000. Wicks finished her WNBA career in eighth place all-time in blocked shots.

Wicks played collegiately at Rutgers University, where she was a three-time All-American and the 1988 National Player of the Year. She was inducted into Rutgers’ Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in June 2013.

Olympia Scott-Richardson

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2011  –  Dominican Republic

Olympia Ranee Scott was born the day of the closing ceremonies of the Montreal Summer Olympics, hence the name. She is the daughter of Stephan T. Scott, M.B.A. and Jacqueline Parker Scott, Ed. D., M.B.A., sister of Tres Mali Scott and Stephen Thomas Scott and proud mother of BreAzia, her only child and engaged to Rachman Crable.

A native of Los Angeles, Olympia attended St. Bernard High School where she participated in a variety of extra-curricular activities especially student government, basketball, and track and field. She held various offices such as Class President, Commissioner of Campus Communications and Commissioner of Athletic Affairs. She was also a 4-year starter for her high school basketball team and led her team to her school’s first girl’s CIF Championship and back-to-back California State Championships her junior and senior years. She set various high school records including recording 39 rebounds in a single game and triple-jumping 37 feet. Olympia was named to the California All-State team for basketball. She was also recognized as the Division IV California State Player of the Year and named a Kodak All-American.

She also received the Cheryl Miller award for being the best player in Southern California. Olympia was the youngest player ever to play in an Olympic Festival for a team sport in 1994 where she also set the single-game shot-block record of 4 while playing for the West team.
Olympia also grew up in Jack and Jill of America, Inc., a national organization for children, empowering them to excel through leadership and service in our communities. Her mother, Jacqueline Parker Scott, Ed. D., M.B.A., is a past National Program Director and Far West Regional Director as well as the founder of Jack and Jill of America’s National Teen Leadership Development Program. In high school, Olympia held office as the Far West Regional Teen President of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.

Olympia received a full athletic scholarship to Stanford University where she was a 4 year starter for the women’s basketball team. She led her team to 4 Pac-10 Conference Championships with back-to-back undefeated in conference seasons. She also helped her team to 3 NCAA Final Four Appearances in her four years. During her tenure as a Cardinal she received various accolades including Kodak All-American, All-Pac-10 conference, and was a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award.

Olympia also played on the US Women’s National Basketball Team. She competed in the R. Williams Jones Cup Tournament in Taiwan, winning the bronze medal in 1995. She also won a gold medal for the USA in the World University Games held in Sicily, Italy in 1997. In 1998, Olympia became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and graduated from Stanford with a BA in Sociology. Also in 1998, Olympia was picked 11th overall in the WNBA draft. Since then, she has played on 6 different teams over the past 10 seasons. She played her most statistically productive seasons in Indiana for the Fever. She was the first player to grab 300 rebounds in a Fever uniform along with being the previous record-holder for most rebounds in a single-game with 17. She also had a career high in points with 31 vs. the Utah Starzz in 2002.

While playing in the WNBA, Olympia served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association (WNBPA) for 2 terms. She participated in the last 2 negotiations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the WNBA and the WNBPA as an executive committee member as well as a negotiating committee member.

Olympia was awarded the Community Assist award for excellence in community service and leadership by the WNBA and the Indiana Fever in 2002. She was also awarded the Lysik Ultimate Service Award for leadership and service in Los Angeles in 2007. Her most significant professional accomplishments, however, are her two WNBA World Championships she won with the Sacramento Monarchs in 2005 and again in 2007 with her current team, the Phoenix Mercury. She is the first player in WNBA history to win 2 WNBA World Championships with 2 different teams.

As a mother, 10 year WNBA veteran, and therefore, a role model in the community, Olympia recognizes her responsibility to give back. It is her goal to enlighten, educate, and inspire others through education, basketball, fitness, humor and just forward-thinking in general. Olympia is known for her charismatic and inspiring energy and she uses this as a means to connect people to her positive messages of hope and responsibility. Constantly providing motivational speeches, mentoring, or coaching to youths and adults alike, she keeps very busy in the community. She also provides basketball camps and clinics through various organizations as well as her own company Champions Clinics, a basketball camp and motivational speaking company she co-founded with Bridget Pettis, a former Indiana Fever teammate and the assistant coach of the 2007 WNBA World Champion Phoenix Mercury.

Previous to starting Champions Clinics, in 2002 Olympia and her mother (also a certified parenting instructor), provided unique events to the Indianapolis, IN community. Through Olympia’s fan club Olympia Hoops, they provided basketball camps that included a parenting seminar for the parents while their children participated in the basketball camp. The parenting seminars were specifically for parenting athletes.

The events were a success and from this partnership formed an even greater enterprise, Super Parenting. In 2003, Olympia and her mother decided to start a parenting education company to spread parenting wisdom everywhere. Today, Super Parenting LLC has evolved even further into an online company to reach parents worldwide. Specializing in premier online parenting classes they also provide services such as The Super Parenting Social Network; Super Parenting TV; parenting coaches; parenting workshops; motivational speakers; and books.

In her WNBA off-seasons (September through May), Olympia plays professional basketball overseas in various European countries. She has played in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, and Russia for a total of 10 seasons. Her daughter, BreAzia has had the privilege of travelling with her mother to all of these places. She attends school in each country and learns a bit of the language, as well as the culture. It is an enlightening experience for both of them.

Although playing professional basketball worldwide is rewarding, it is not a family career. With the wisdom and insights attained from her parenting education expert mother, Dr. Jacqueline Parker Scott, however, Olympia has learned a delicate balancing act. Truly appreciating and understanding the value of the parenting knowledge gained for her own benefit, Olympia realizes the value in parenting education for parents worldwide. This has motivated her to join the pledge her mother has made 19 years ago, to educate parents. Together, the two women hope to be a force to be reckoned with, when it comes to disseminating parenting wisdom.

Nykesha Sales

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2009  –  Uganda
  • 2010  –  Cape Verde
  • 2011  –  Haiti
  • 2012  –  Venezuela
  • 2013  –  Ukraine
  • 2014  –  South Korea

The all-time leading scorer in Connecticut Sun history, Nykesha Sales returns to the team for her second season as the community liaison and an assistant to the coaching staff.

In 2013, Sales made numerous community relations appearances on behalf of the Sun, practiced regularly with the team and also provided color commentary on selected team broadcasts.

Sales was the first member of the Connecticut Sun franchise, which began as the Orlando Miracle prior to the 1999 season. She played with the team from 1999-2007, helping the Sun reach two WNBA Finals and four straight Eastern Conference Finals between 2003 and 2006.

A seven-time WNBA All-Star, Sales was the second player in league history to amass 3,000 points, 500 assists and 400 steals during her career – joining Sheryl Swoopes. She finished her career with 3,955 points, 683 assists and 490 steals.

Kayte Christensen

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2011  –  Venezuela

Kayte Christensen was a fan favorite both on and off the court throughout her WNBA career.

As a professional athlete, one of her top priorities was to give back to her fans and community. For her efforts, she was awarded the offseason WNBA Community Assist Award in 2003 and 2004. During the offseason, she stayed in her team’s market to work with local schools, Boys & Girls Clubs and other community organizations.

Additionally on an international scale, Christensen conducted a series of training camps for Palestinian youths and coaches as part of the “Shooting Stars Basketball Camp,” July of 2010, in Ramallah and Bethlehem. The Basketball Camp is a joint-program coordinated between the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem and the Palestinian National Committee of Summer Camps (NCSC). Approximately 200 Palestinian children from Ramallah and Bethlehem participated in the training sessions. The camps promote confidence, self-esteem, team-building and respect among participants, in addition to promoting mutual understanding between Americans and Palestinians.

In December 2010, she traveled to Dakar, Senegal for two weeks during the World Festival of Black Arts and Culture. While in Senegal, she helped organize four basketball clinics that hosted over 200 local boys and girls. In addition to working with the local children, she met with the US Delegation and spoke on behalf of the NBA and WNBA’s experiences in Africa and efforts to make a positive impact in the community.

Christensen came to the Chicago Sky as a free agent after her second tour of duty with the Phoenix Mercury. In 2007, she helped keep the Sky in contention for a playoff spot throughout the season with some quality minutes off the bench. Christensen started seven of the 23 games in which she played, averaging just over two points and nearly two rebounds per game. Due to a back injury, she was released from the Sky during the 2008 season.

Prior to joining the Sky, she began her career playing four seasons in the desert as a member of the Phoenix Mercury. She enjoyed a career year in her second season in the league, starting 16 games and averaging nearly seven points. She opened the 2006 campaign with the Houston Comets after signing as a free agent, but rejoined the Mercury later in the year when she was waived by Houston.

A graduate of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB), Christensen averaged 14.5 points and 9.1 rebounds as a senior and was named Big West Conference Player of the Year and All-Big West First Team.

In her offseasons, she has played internationally in Turkey, South Korea, Russia and Greece.

Christensen is currently a journalist for ESPN.

Jennifer Lacy

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2013  –  Nicaragua
  • 2016  –  Angola

Jenn Lacy is a former American professional basketball player of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

A native of Agoura Hills, California, Lacy played collegiate basketball at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, averaging 9.1 points per game in 103 games over four years. Lacy went undrafted in the 2006 WNBA Draft and joined the Phoenix Mercury for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, winning the 2007 WNBA Championship. She went on to play for the Atlanta Dream (2008-09), Tulsa Shock (2010-14), Los Angeles Sparks (2015) and Connecticut Sun (2015). Lacy played professionally in China during the 2008-09 WNBA offseason with Beijing Shougang.

Chinenye “Chiney” Ogwumike

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2015  –  Brazil
  • 2023  –  Cote d'Ivoire

Chinenye “Chiney” Ogwumike is a professional basketball player for The Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Chiney holds the record for most rebounds in the history of Stanford Women’s Basketball and the Pac-12 Conference.

In 2014, Ogwumike signed an endorsement deal with Nike soon after being drafted first overall in the WNBA. As of 2016, Ogwumike was elected Vice-President of the WNBA Players Association, and signed an endorsement deal with Adidas. In May 2018, Ogwumike signed a multi-year contract with ESPN to become a full-time in-sports analyst.

Candice Wiggins

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2013  –  Nicaragua
  • 2014  –  Chile
  • 2018  –  Algeria

Candice Wiggins is the new Sports Director of Basketball (Girl’s Chair) for the Southern Pacific region of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). She will be operating clinics, leagues, tournaments and national qualifiers primarily in the Los Angeles area of the region.

After spending 12 seasons participating as a professional athlete, including a WNBA championship with the Minnesota Lynx in 2011 and concluding with the New York Liberty in 2015, Candice “Coach Ice” knows what first made her life successful on the court: AAU Basketball. In 2000, her team NJB All-Stars won the coveted 13U Girls title at the Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando. The following year she was featured on the Disney Channel original program Totally Hoops.

A coach at heart, Candice plans to provide her service to an important sports institution, and welcomes people of all ages into the revolutionary sports platform provided by the AAU.

Allyson Felix

Track & Field

Served as envoy

  • 2014  –  Brazil

Allyson Felix is a track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 400 meter races. She is a 2012 Olympic champion, a 3-time World champion (2005-09) and 2-time Olympic silver medalist of 200 meters. A 2015 World champion, 2011 World silver medalist, 2016 Olympic silver medalist, and 2017 World bronze medalist.

Felix also won five additional Olympic gold medals as a member of the United States’ women’s relay teams. Her 200 meters best of 21.69 seconds from 2012 ranks 6th on the all-time list. In the 4 x 400 meter relay at the 2015 World Championships, she ran the fastest split ever recorded by an American woman, and third fastest split ever after Jarmila Kratochvilova and Marita Koch, with 47.72.