Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Region: Mexico

Chris Mosier

Triathalon

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Mexico

Chris Mosier is a trailblazing hall of fame triathlete, All-American duathlete, and a 6-time member of Team USA. In 2015 he became the first known transgender man to represent the United States in international competition, and was the catalyst for change for the International Olympic Committee policy on transgender athletes. He is also a 2x National Champion and the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Trials in any sport in a category different than their sex assigned at birth.

In 2016, he was sponsored by Nike and featured in his own Nike commercial which debuted on prime time during the Rio Olympics. Chris was the first trans athlete featured in the ESPN Body Issue.

Chris is known as the go-to source for policy and information on transgender people in sport. In 2013, Chris created the site transathlete.com, a resource for students, athletes, coaches, and administrators to find information about trans inclusion in athletics at various levels of play. He has mentored transgender athletes around the globe, from high school and recreational to the professional levels, and helped teams, leagues, and professional sports leagues create gender-inclusive policies.

Azurá Stevens

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2022  –  Mexico

Azurá Breeona Stevens is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Stevens played collegiately for the Duke Blue Devils
and the Connecticut Huskies. She was drafted with the 6th overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings.

Monique Billings

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2022  –  Mexico

Fashion-forward, athletic, cultured, and full of personality. all of these traits describe WNBA player Monique Billings. Born May 2nd, Billings was drafted into the 2018 WNBA draft class. Being afforded the opportunity to do what she loves in playing basketball, traveling the world, Broadcasting, and inspiring others, Billings takes advantage of every opportunity that is presented to her. always looking to inspire and empower others, Monique Billings aims to be a voice and light For women and girls trying to figure out life just like she is.

Bob Mackinnon, Jr.

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2022  –  Mexico

BOB MACKINNON has 35 plus years of experience coaching at the Collegiate and Professional levels, including eight seasons as a Head Coach in the NBA G League. In his first year in the G-League, MacKinnon coached the Colorado 14ers to a 34-16 regular season record and ultimately the 2008-09 D-League Championship.

MacKinnon then went on to coach the Idaho Stampede and Springfield Armor (in his first season in Springfield, he led the Armor to a League record turn around; going from 8 wins the season before to 29 wins), before landing in Los Angles with the Lakers Affiliate. In the 2013-14 season, MacKinnon led the development of three Lakers assignees, while boasting four NBA Call-Ups from the D-Fenders. MacKinnon also coached in China, as the Head Coach of the CBA’s Tianjin Team in 2010 – 11. Additionally, he was selected to run the G-League’s Elite Mini-Camp and National Tryouts for the seven years.
MacKinnon completed his third season as the Head Coach of the Dallas Mavericks affiliate, the Texas Legends in 2020; in his first season with the Legends he led the team to franchise records in NBA Call-ups (5), wins (25) & attendance. In his second season, the Legends led the League again in Call-ups (7), had another win’s record (29), & topped their attendance mark yet again. Over the course of his 8 years in the G League, MacKinnon’s teams have always finished in top 3 in the league in scoring, pace of play, rebounding, steals and assists. MacKinnon is the All-time leader in the NBA G League history in both Call-ups (28) & Wins (207 – the only coach in NBA G League history to record over 200 wins).

MacKinnon’s career began at the Collegiate level at King’s College in Pennsylvania where he played four seasons and got his first coaching opportunity in 1982. He would go on to Coach at the Collegiate level for 25 years starting as an Assistant Coach at Mercyhurst College (1982-85), followed by George Washington University (1985-90), and Niagara University (1990-97), before he was named the Head Coach of the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1997. MacKinnon led the Mariners to two Skyline Conference Championships, securing consecutive NCAA tournament bids, and earning Skyline Conference Coach of the Year in 1999. He then joined the staff at the University of Notre Dame (1999-2000) as an Assistant Coach, followed by being named an Assistant Coach at the University of North Carolina (2000-03), before becoming the Senior Assistant Coach at Marshall University (2003-07).

MacKinnon is a world-renowned Basketball Clinician. He has Directed or spoken at over 300 camps/clinics in 18 countries. He works with the NBA in many of their overseas programs, and with the Tel-Mex foundation in Mexico directing camps for Coaches and youth programs alike. MacKinnon is also a certified trainer for the Positive Coaching Alliance in the United States. He leads and directs workshops for PCA, as they attempt to enhance the culture of Youth Sports in the United States.

Lacey Henderson

Track & Field Paralympics

Served as envoy

  • 2022  –  Peru
  • 2023  –  Mexico

Lacey was diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma at the age of 9 that resulted in the amputation of her right leg. Despite her disability, she pursued sports cheerleading in high school and college.

After a Division I athletic scholarship for cheerleading, Lacey discovered the world of disability. Only until she started Paralympic track and field did she realize she had been not only avoiding her disability but a huge part of herself. It was a long journey of therapy, finding resilience and a lot of time training on the track, she became an American Record Holder and a Rio Paralympian. She works now as a disability advocate having conversations that normalize being and feeling different and how it is our differences that truly unite us.

She is the host of her own podcast, Picked Last in Gym Class. She has also hosted for Microsoft’s InCulture season on Accessibility and for Ottobock Healthcare’s Fireside Chats.

Pedro Feliciano

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2018  –  Mexico

Pedro Juan Feliciano Molina, nicknamed “The Perpetual Pedro”, is a former professional baseball left-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets between 2002 and 2013.

Francisco Cordero

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2018  –  Mexico

Francisco Javier Cordero (born May 11, 1975) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros from 1999 through 2012, often serving as the closer.

Ken Griffey, Jr.

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2011  –  Philippines
  • 2014  –  Mexico
  • 2014  –  Cuba

Ken Griffey Jr. was born Nov. 21, 1969. He is married to Melissa Griffey. They have three children: George Kenneth III (“Trey”), daughter Taryn Kennedy, and adopted son Tevin Kendall.

Ken Griffey Jr. is one of the greatest baseball players in history. “Junior,” as he is often called, won 10 straight Gold Glove awards, was named to the All Star team 13 times, was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1997, and hit at total of 630 home runs, placing him fifth on the all-time list. He is the first son to play on the same team as his father, current Cincinnati Reds coach Ken Griffey Sr. During his career, Ken Griffey Jr. played for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, plus a short time for the Chicago White Sox.

In November 2008, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named Griffey a public diplomacy envoy. Due to his obligations to Major League Baseball, he was unable to make his first trip until February 2011, when he led a highly successful visit to Manila and Cebu in the Philippines. Ken Griffey Sr. has worked with our sports visitor programs on several occasions, most recently this March with our Honduran baseball coaches program.

Natasha Watley

Softball

Served as envoy

  • 2013  –  India
  • 2014  –  Mexico
  • 2014  –  Cuba

Natasha Watley has mastered softball on every level she has played and competed in; from travel ball from a very young age, all the way through her professional career by taking home a gold medal from the 2004 Olympics & a silver medal from 2008 Olympics.

During the 2004 Olympics, Watley, assisted the US Softball Team on their third consecutive gold medal in Athens, by breaking the Olympic record for stolen bases, and was third on the team with a .400 batting average, with 9 hits and 10 RBI. During the 2008 Olympics, Watley hit .321 in the leadoff position with two home runs and six RBIs.
Also internationally, Watley is a two –time Pan American Gold Medalist (2003 & 2007), three-time World Champion (2002, 2006, 2010), and a four-time World Cup Champion (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010).
As a four-time All- American short stop, Watley, led her UCLA softball team to three straight Woman’s College World Series and the NCAA Divsion 1 Softball Championship title in 2003. She was awarded the Honda- Broderick Cup for top collegiate female athlete, as well as PAC 10 Player of the Year award, in 2003. She was a starter for the Bruins all four years and finished top three in career his (395), top five in career runs (252), top ten in career batting average (.450) and top ten in career stolen bases (158). Watley holds the single season record for hits (112) and is currently ranked fourth in Pac- 10 history; as well as seventh on the all –time NCAA record books with 112 hits in a single season.

In Watley’s high school years, she was named second team Louisville Slugger All- American. She hit over .445 in her last three seasons of high school softball, in addition to stealing over 20 bases stolen each season.

Though, she was a superstar on the softball field, Watley managed to balance her education, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a minor in Afro- American Studies from UCLA. She received her Masters Degree in Business from Saint Leo University.
Currently Natasha Watley is playing professionally in Japan for Team Toyota, competing in the National Professional Fastpitch league with the USSSA Pride.

The Natasha Watley brand is expanding daily. Natasha runs many camps and clinics throughout the nation, has an instructional DVD on the market titled “The Art of Slapping”, and sponsors a 12U Team Watley, in Southern California. Watley is very concerned with the development of today’s youth and cares deeply for underprivileged children.

The Natasha Watley Foundation (NWF) is her newest expansion; which is a public, non profit, national community service organization. Watley uses NWF as a vehicle to help bring the sport of softball to young girls in the nation’s inner cities. The foundation provides an opportunity for young women to compete in leagues and on teams when financial resources are limited; and provides a positive alternative to the every day struggles they may endure in the inner cities.

Lisa Berg

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2016  –  Venezuela
  • 2017  –  Vietnam
  • 2019  –  Burma
  • 2019  –  Kuwait
  • 2022  –  Cameroon
  • 2023  –  Mexico

Lisa Berg is currently a US Soccer Scout for the US Women’s Youth National Teams and she is coaching with Club Atlético Zacatepec and Academia Satélite Futsat in Mexico City, Mexico. She is on staff at the state and regional levels of the Olympic Development Program and she instructs coaching courses for the USSF and FUFA. She was the Technical Advisor for Uganda’s Women’s National Football Team from 2011-2016, coaching the senior women’s Ugandan national football team against Egypt and DR Congo in 2012 and the U20 squad against South Sudan in 2014. She has served as an assistant women’s soccer coach at Bethel University (DIV III), Arkansas State University (DIV I), and University of MN (DIV I). She has the USSF A Coaching License, a M.S. in Exercise and Sport Psychology (Texas Tech University), and a B.S. in Kinesiology (University of Minnesota). She is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist of the NSCA and has the Level 3 Goalkeeping Diploma from the NSCAA. She played NCAA Division I soccer at the University of Minnesota.

Together with the head coach of the Ugandan Women’s National Team, she co-founded Growing the Game for Girls in 2010. G3 has educated over 1,000 coaches and empowered over 10,000 girls through out all parts of Uganda and different parts of Africa. Earlier this year, she created the Leadership Experience Retreat in Mexico to empower girls to take up roles in leadership and use soccer as a platform to transform their community. In 2018, she partnered with the Fare Network to bring coaching education to schools of girls with hearing disabilities and physical disabilities in Uganda. In 2016, she spoke at the Girl Power in Play Women’s World Cup Symposium in Ottawa, Canada and attended the 2016 FIFA Women’s Football and Leadership Symposium in Zurich, Switzerland. Berg has been trained by UN Women and Valencia CF on sustainable practices for sport for development and ways to empower women through football programs. She has been a part of the espnW GSMP, SportUnited funded programs in Uganda with the International Sport Connection, and the Brazil soccer visitor exchange. She was an Envoy to Venezuela in 2016 and Vietnam in 2017.

She has the USSF A Coaching License, a M.S. in Exercise and Sport Psychology (Texas Tech University), and a B.S. in Kinesiology (University of Minnesota). She is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist of the NSCA and has the Level 3 Goalkeeping Diploma from the NSCAA. She played NCAA Division I soccer at the University of Minnesota.

Together with the head coach of the Ugandan Women’s National Team, she co-founded Growing the Game for Girls in 2010. G3 has educated over 1,000 coaches and empowered over 10,000 girls through out all parts of Uganda and different parts of Africa. Earlier this year, she created the Leadership Experience Retreat in Mexico to empower girls to take up roles in leadership and use soccer as a platform to transform their community. In 2018, she partnered with the Fare Network to bring coaching education to schools of girls with hearing disabilities and physical disabilities in Uganda. In 2016, she spoke at the Girl Power in Play Women’s World Cup Symposium in Ottawa, Canada and attended the 2016 FIFA Women’s Football and Leadership Symposium in Zurich, Switzerland. Berg has been trained by UN Women and Valencia CF on sustainable practices for sport for development and ways to empower women through football programs.

She has been a part of the espnW GSMP, SportUnited funded programs in Uganda with the International Sport Connection, and the Brazil soccer visitor exchange. She was an Envoy to Venezuela in 2016 and Vietnam in 2017.