Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Region: Middle East

John Kessel

Volleyball

Served as envoy

  • 2010  –  Bolivia
  • 2021  –  United Arab Emirates

Since 1985 John has been working for the National Governing Body of the sport, USA Volleyball (USAV), now as Director of Sport Development. He has been coaching since 1971 at the collegiate level or above, including Women’s U.S. Open titles in 1986 & 1987. A sought after international lecturer, he has conducted seminars in all 50 states, and in over 60 nations. He has been part of every summer Olympics or Paralympics but two starting in 1984 and many Beach and ParaVolley Volleyball World Championships. He is currently Secretary of the NORCECA Development Commission, and Director of Development for World ParaVolley, and part of the national staff of Beach Nation.

In 1995, Volleyball Magazine’s special Centennial issue named him one of the 50 most important people in the world within the sport in the past 100 years.

In 2013 the American Volleyball Coaches Association inducted him as their 60th ever member of the AVCA Coaches Hall of Fame.

In 2019 he became the 50th recipient in history of USAV’s highest award for a lifetime of service, the “Frier Award”-named in 1965 in honor of Dr. Harold T. “Frier” Friermood, the second President of the USVBA (1952-1955) and one of the principal individuals responsible for volleyball in the Olympic Games.

Also in 2019, Colorado College, his alma mater, awarded him the school’s highest honor, the Louis Benzet award in recognition of his influence in shaping the lives of players and coaches around the world and his achievements in advancing and elevating the science of teaching and coaching.

He is a busy author, with over half a dozen USAV books, including the IMPACT coaching manual, the Jr. Olympic Volleyball Program Guide, and more recently the Minivolley 4 Youth , Youth Coloring Book, STEM Volleyball program and countless articles. His blog called “Growing the Game Together” is the second most popular blog of the hundreds found on the US Olympic Committee’s Team USA website and he promotes the “Grassroots” Button on the USAV website with material, mobile coach apps, videos, posters, and information for clubs, schools, coaches, parents, players, and officials. He pioneered USA Volleyball on the Internet, helping the late Tom Jack develop the original site, one of the first 1,000 websites listed on Yahoo. He is an administrator of over 21,000 closed membership Facebook page “Volleyball Coaches & Trainers” and his Twitter account @JohnKesselUSAV has over 5,000 followers while following less than 100.

He has received many other awards, including USA Volleyball’s Honorable Mention in 1978 and 1986, the Harry Wilson Distinguished International Service in 2004, the George Fisher Leader in Volleyball in 2006 and in 2007 was named a Sport Ethics Fellow by the Institute for International Sport. His work in breaking down the silos of learning between sports has seen him keynote speaking for USA Hockey, USA Shooting, USA Sailing, USA Synchronized Swimming, USA Swimming, USA Polevaulting, the American Hockey Coaches Association, US Olympic Committee & US Paralympics, FIVB, IOC and IPC and several Major League Baseball teams.

In 1975-79 he served at Outdoor Volleyball Director for Colorado Volleyball Association and assisted its transition from USVBA Region 8 to stand alone USAV Rocky Mountain Region. From 1982 to 1990 he was Director and Coaches’ Coach of the Albuquerque Junior Olympic Volleyball Program. For a month in the summer of 1991, he was one of four featured speakers at the first ever International Youth Volleyball Coaches Symposium in Olympia, Greece, attended by over 50 nations, and he repeated that role in the International Volleyball in the Schools Seminar in Canada in 1995 and 2007 and in Thailand and Vietnam in 2013 and 2014. During the Centennial year of volleyball he was the principal speaker at the Centennial Advanced Teaching and Coaching Seminar in Beijing, China. He was on staff for both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics and served as producer for both the 1996 Centennial Olympics for indoor volleyball in Atlanta, and subsequently producer and announcer for the 1996 Paralympics in Sitting and Standing volleyball. For 1999-2000 he was director of the U.S. Olympic Challenge Series, the Olympic qualifying series, which included an FIVB World Tour Grand Slam stop in Chicago with $400,000 in prize money for that one stop alone. He also served as head coach/team leader for the 1999 and 2003 USA Pan Am Games Beach teams, with a silver medal, and 4th and 5th place finishes in the four events. In 2004 and 2005, he directed the

National High Performance Beach Camp, worked his 10th US Jr. Olympic Beach Volleyball Championships for USA Volleyball in Hermosa Beach, an event he started in 1994 with Dale Hoffman of the California Beach Volleyball Association, and worked with the AVP.

For over a decade he served as one of 8 members of the International Volleyball Federation’s Technical Commission, as Secretary, and he remains a FIVB Level IV Instructor, beginning in 1988. Since 2001 to 2016 he served as Secretary on the NORCECA Technical and Coaches Commission, and for 2016-2020 is Secretary of the Development Commission, developing clinics and the “Leave a Ball Behind” Program to enhance zonal volleyball growth, and directed a two year State Department Sports United Grant to assist coaches in six NORCECA nations in 2011-12. He helped run the World Sitting Volleyball Championships in 2010, and the Director of Development for the World Organization of Volleyball for the Disabled (WOVD – now known as World ParaVolley or WPV) for 2012-2020.

He was Team Leader for the 2000 USA Olympic Beach Volleyball Teams in Sydney, which brought home one gold medal, and for the 2004 USA Paralympic Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team in Athens, which came home with the bronze medal. For over a decade he served as one of 8 members of the International Volleyball Federation’s Technical Commission, as Secretary, and he remains a FIVB Level IV Instructor. He served on Jury at the London 2012 Paralympics for Sitting Volleyball, in 2014 and 2018 for the ParaVolley World Championships, 2016 and 2019 for the WPV Intercontinental (the final Rio qualifier) and in 2016 Rio Paralympics where the USA women won the gold medal and will be on jury in 2020 for the last qualifier for the Tokyo Paralympics.

As a player he has participated in 16 U.S. Open Championships and was a 7 time Regional Champion. He also has played professionally with the Denver Comets in the old International Volleyball Association, and a year in Italy for the Alessandria Volleyball Club. Recently he competed for the Time Lords in the 55 & over division, 36 years after his first US Open in 1973.

His son Cody was a three time All American and four year starter at Princeton leading the nation as a freshman and senior in kills per set. For the past five years Cody has been a starting outside hitter in the top German professional league – currently for Berlin Recyling, the top team in the Bundesliga – after captaining the USA World University Games team and playing for the USA Men in the two PanAmCups and other international events. Five summers ago Cody also become the youngest doubles player in 42 years to win the Aspen “MotherLode” men’s Open, and Atlantic City “Big Shot” Open, plus 10 other Beach Open events in the west. His daughter was a member of Cheyenne Mountain HS, which won four straight state titles in volleyball, and played for Bowdoin College, graduating Cum Laude in Neuroscience. She has guided climbs up Kilimanjaro and in Patagonia, Chile, taught two years at the Asian Pacific School in Hawaii, and after a gap year traveling the world she is a TA getting her masters in Speech Pathology at CU Boulder. He is married to Lily Fernandez, who has 3 kids, Jose, Dan and Elysse – and Elysse is the assistant women’s volleyball coach at the US Air Force Academy.

His main goal is to help make coaches more efficient, positive and creative, no matter what level – 7 year olds in an elementary school program or National team players and programs. He challenges old ways of thinking and help coaches create what they need, while having fun in the process. John has a BA in Biology and Economics received from The Colorado College in 1974, and from 1996- 2015 he was a single dad. His pastimes beside volleyball include fly-fishing, writing, skiing, lacrosse, mountaineering, upland game hunting, deep-sea fishing and travel. John can be reached at USA Volleyball.

Alyssa Andreno

Volleyball

Served as envoy

  • 2021  –  United Arab Emirates

Alyssa Andreno Attended Brooke Point High School and competed as a part of Metro Volleyball Club, coached by Silvia Johnson. She holds the single-season kill and ace records at Brooke Point. As a junior in HS, she had 253 kills, 151 digs and 106 blocks. As a senior, she served as team captain as a senior and broke her junior records; she was also named second-team all-state, the Conference 15 Player of the Year and All-Regional 5A North. As a 16-year-old playing for the Fredericksburg Juniors Volleyball Club, she was named an AAU All-American as her team placed fifth at AAU nationals.

Beginning her collegiate career, she played in 30 matches as a freshman, starting 18 of them at right side hitter. Recorded at least 10 kills in four matches and finished the year with 1.64 K/S while hitting .265. Also contributed in Tennessee’s blocking game with 69 total blocks, good for 0.75 a set. Started her career at the DISH Tennessee Classic. She led the team with 11 kills against ULM and had 6 blocks against Middle Tennessee. Tallied 16 kills against Eastern Michigan with a .467 hitting percentage. Totaled 11 kills against Western Michigan at the Holiday Inn West Invitational hosted by Western Michigan. In the Tennessee Classic, she tallied three kills on a .429 hitting percentage in the win over ETSU (9/20).

Had five block assists and a service ace in the loss to No. 5 Baylor (9/14). In the win over Houston on Sept. 13, Andreno recorded seven kills on 16 attacks while tallying seven block assists. Finished with six kills on 12 attacks in the loss to Cincinnati (9/6). Recorded a career-high three service aces against Miami (OH), after previously not recording one in her career, at the Spartan Invitational. Hit .250 against No. 6 Illinois and recorded five block assists. Finished with 11 kills on 34 attacks in a loss to No. 6 Illinois.

Sarah Huffman

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2019  –  Kuwait

During her brilliant career way she also was involved in the National team. She spent two years by playing for the “United States U-19” team from 2000 till 2002. Sarah helped National team win the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship. In the 2003 Sarah joined to the “United States U-21”, where she played about four years. Thanks to her skills, U-21 team won on the Nordic Cup in the 2004, 2005 well as in 2007.

In the 2010 she finally appeared in the major National team of the United States. Sarah was honored with numerous awards. She was named Virginia State Player of the Year and as well as finalist for Soccer Buzz National Player of the Year. After a successful professional soccer career, she tried herself as a coach and was a volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater, University of Virginia.

Mary Harvey

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2013  –  Iraq
  • 2014  –  Jordan
  • 2015  –  Canada
  • 2015  –  Jordan
  • 2015  –  Egypt
  • 2016  –  Jordan

Mary Harvey is an accomplished and innovative sports development and governance executive with 10+ years leading initiatives to achieve societal change through sports. Mary’s initiatives have been launched and implemented around the world through a variety of organizations, having sustained impact in the empowerment of girls and women, inclusion of marginalized groups, stewardship of the environment and achievement of health and educational objectives.

Mary has served as a sport envoy for the US State Department’s SportsUnited on several occasions, including missions to Iraq in 2013 and Jordan in 2014. On both missions, the key objective was engaging key stakeholders via sport outreach to promote the inclusion and value of women and girls and to promote acceptance and integration of diverse ethnic groups.

A lifelong athlete, Mary enjoyed an 8-year career with the US Women’s National Soccer Team, winning the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991 and Olympic Gold in 1996. Mary appeared, with her teammates, in the HBO sports documentary, “Dare to Dream”. Mary holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA and a BS from UC Berkeley.

Cindy Parlow Cone

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2006  –  Bahrain
  • 2008  –  El Salvador
  • 2010  –  Azerbaijan

Current: Currently President of United States Soccer Federation. Prior to this, Parlow Cone served as Vice President for a year before being inducted as President. She was also inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2018.

U.S. National Team: One of the greatest scorers in U.S. history, she retired from international soccer in 2006 after having played 158 times for the USA while scoring 75 goals, good for fifth all-time on the U.S. scoring list … Also had 31 assists in her nine-year National Team career … Youngest player ever to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Women’s World Cup title … Played in her final international match on Dec. 8, 2004, a 5-0 win over Mexico that was also the final game for Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett and Brandi Chastain … 2004: Played in two matches at the 2004 Olympics, starting one … Played in 24 total matches, starting 11 and scored 10 goals with eight assists, finishing third on the team in scoring behind Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm … Scored six of her 10 goals in two games, getting hat tricks against Haiti at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament and against Ireland on the “Fan Celebration Tour” … Her two hat tricks gave her seven for her career, moving her past Michelle Akers and putting her in second place on the all-time hat tricks list, one behind Mia Hamm … 2003: Started 17 of the 19 games she played, scoring eight goals with one assist … Became just the fifth player in U.S. history to score 60 or more goals (there are now six) … Scored four goals against England on May 17 in Birmingham, Ala., it was her first-four goal game for the USA … Started five games during the Women’s World Cup, scoring two goals, both on headers, against Sweden and Nigeria … 2002: Scored 11 goals, second best on the team, in just 14 games, all of which she started … Scored twice in a big 4-0 win over Norway on April 27 … Scored six goals across four consecutive games, sandwiched by two-goal games on July 21 (a 4-0 win over Norway) and Oct. 2 (a 4-0 win over Australia) … Scored five goals in the 2002 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, including a hat trick in the 7-0 semi-final win over Costa Rica that earned the U.S. a berth in the 2003 Women’s World Cup … 2001: Played in three matches for the USA during a limited schedule, starting all three and scoring one goal, that against Germany in the only game of the 2001 Nike U.S. Women’s Cup … 2000: Had a breakout scoring year, leading the team with 19 goals and seven assists … Had four hat tricks, one short of a U.S. record for a calendar year … Had back-to-back hat tricks in the Pacific Cup on June 2 vs. Canada and June 4 vs. New Zealand, making her only the second U.S. player to ever score three goals in two consecutive games … Played in 31 games, but only started 15, scoring a goal for every 76 minutes on the field … Was one of just two players to come off the bench for the USA in their run to the silver medal in the 2000 Olympics … Played a total of 112 minutes across the five Olympic matches … 1999: Started all six games for the USA in the 1999 Women’s World Cup, scoring two goals with two assists, including the first goal against Brazil in the semifinal … Emerged as a starter for the USA in March of ’99 after finally overcoming a nagging hamstring injury … Also scored in the USA’s 7 1 win over Nigeria in Women’s World Cup first round play on a diving header … 1998: Saw limited action for the USA in 1998 due to senior year commitments to North Carolina, but played in 13 games, starting seven, and scored goals against world powers Norway and Germany … Was a member of the Goodwill Games gold medal-winning team during the summer of 1998 … Won U.S. Soccer’s first Chevy Young Female Athlete of the Year Award in 1998 … 1997: Scored the winning goal in the championship game of Nike U.S. Women’s Cup ’97, heading in a cross from Kristine Lilly in the 2 0 win over Italy … 1996: Was the youngest member of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics at age 18 … Scored twice in her full U.S. National Team debut against Russia on Jan. 14, 1996, in Campinas, Brazil … 1995: First trained with the U.S. Women’s National Team in March 1995 … Youth National Teams: Played with the U.S. Under 20 National Team at the 1997 Nordic Cup championship in Denmark in 1997, scoring twice in the tournament to lead the USA to the championship … Also played for the U.S. Under 21s at the Nordic Cup in Holland in the summer of 1998, leading the team in scoring with two goals … Was also a member of the U 16 National Team pool … First Appearance: Jan. 14, 1996, vs. Russia … First Goal: Jan. 14, 1996, vs. Russia.

Professional / Club: A founding player in the WUSA for the Atlanta Beat … 2003: Helped the Beat to the Founders Cup championship match with a solid season that included three goals and five assists as she started 17 of the 18 games in which she played … Played mostly in the midfield for the Beat … Named as a reserve to the WUSA All-Star Team … 2002: Started 18 of the 19 games in which she played, scoring five goals with four assists … Helped the Beat to the playoffs for the second consecutive year … 2001: Helped lead the Beat to the WUSA championship game … Scored the game-winning goal in sudden death overtime against the Philadelphia Charge in the WUSA semifinals … Had five goals and seven assists for the Beat during the regular season, finishing 10th in the league in scoring … Was named to the All-WUSA Second Team … Etc.: Her Memphis Football Club won the state championship from 1990 1995 and finished second in the nation at the U 17 level in 1995 … Her club won regional championships in 1992 and 1995 … Named MVP at the 1995 Under 17 U.S. Youth Soccer national tournament.

College / High School: Ended her career for the University of North Carolina with 68 goals and 53 assists in 103 games … The consensus top player in college soccer in 1998, she won both the Hermann Trophy and the M.A.C. Player of the Year Award, joining Mia Hamm as the only two time winner of both awards … Also won the Hermann and M.A.C. after her junior year … Helped UNC to an undefeated regular season and to the NCAA championship game in 1998, leading the team in scoring with 21 goals and 11 assists … Led UNC in game winning goals with seven and was named 1998 ACC Player of the Year … Named a First Team NSCAA All American four times (1995, ’96, ’97 and ’98) … As a junior, she helped UNC to the 1997 NCAA championship, scoring 13 goals with 18 assists … Scored the game-winning goal in the final … Was a First Team All ACC selection in 1996, ’97 and ’98 and the MVP of the ACC Tournament in 1997 … Named to the NCAA All Tournament Team all four years … Overcame early season injuries to lead North Carolina to the 1996 NCAA championship as a sophomore … Scored 15 goals and had 11 assists for 41 points and was a finalist for the 1996 Hermann Trophy and M.A.C. Award … Was the Soccer America Freshman of the Year in 1995 … Voted All ACC and ACC Rookie of the Year as a freshman … Had 17 goals and 12 assists in her freshman year at UNC … Entered the University of North Carolina after completing high school in three years … Named the 1994 Tennessee High School Player of the Year … Was a three time all region and all state selection at Germantown High … Was also honored as MVP of state and regional tournaments … Was one of only two players in Tennessee prep history to score more than 100 goals in a career (105 in just three seasons) and is the all time state leader in assists with 83 … Was also a two time high school All American … Named school MVP in basketball as a freshman.

Personal: Full name is Cynthia Marie Parlow Cone… Nickname is “CP” … Was a member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll from 1996 1998 … Enjoys golf, reading and watching movies … Grew up playing soccer against her three brothers (two older and one younger) … Had a 4.0 GPA in high school and ranked in the top five percent in her class … Majored in Education at UNC …Graduated from UNC with honors… Favorite movie is “Shawshank Redemption” … Favorite athlete is Lance Armstrong … Favorite restaurant is The Latern, an Asian fusion place in Chapel Hill, but her favorite food is “anything my mom cooks”… Her favorite book is “The Power of One” by Bryce Courtenay … Has a street ( Cindy Parlow Drive ) named after her in her hometown of Memphis , Tenn. … Holds her own soccer camps in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as well as Cheyenne, Wyoming.

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

Lorrie Fair

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2008  –  Morocco
  • 2010  –  Paraguay
  • 2012  –  Afghanistan
  • 2012  –  Venezuela
  • 2013  –  Iraq
  • 2014  –  Burma
  • 2016  –  Nepal
  • 2018  –  Pakistan
  • 2020  –  Virtual
  • 2022  –  Cote d'Ivoire
  • 2023  –  Brunei

As an undergraduate student at Carolina, Lorrie Fair Allen helped the women’s soccer team to national championships in 1996, 1997 and 1999. During the same period of time, Allen was succeeding on the field globally, becoming a FIFA World Cup champion and an Olympic silver medalist in 2000.

These days, Allen, a mother of two boys under the age of five, works as a program director for the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project and volunteers as a sports envoy for the U.S. Department of State.

Her dual passion of soccer and advocacy began to take root when she arrived at Chapel Hill. The women’s soccer program is special, and one of coach Anson Dorrance’s goals is to build leaders, Allen said in a 2018 interview. “His biggest hope is that that extends beyond the soccer field.”

As a State Department sports envoy since 2008, Allen works to support the embassies’ diplomatic missions abroad by connecting with people from diverse cultures using a shared love for soccer. Allen also led a six-month expedition beginning in London and ending in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup as part of the organization, Kickabout, which she co-founded and self-funded.

At the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, Allen spearheads the foundation’s grantmaking. She seeks out and identifies community-based organizations in Southern Africa that engage young people to keep themselves and their peers safe from HIV and helps them apply for grants to support them in accomplishing their goals.

In 2016, Allen became a Carolina student once again, pursuing an online master’s degree in public administration through the School of Government.

Danielle Slaton

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2010  –  Paraguay
  • 2012  –  Malaysia
  • 2012  –  Burma
  • 2014  –  Jordan
  • 2021  –  Jordan

Danielle Slaton currently works as the Director of the Coaching for Life Academy at Santa Clara University where she teaches coaches, athletes, and parents about how to integrate life skills development through sports. She is also a sideline reporter for the San Jose Earthquakes and a women’s soccer analyst for NBC, Fox Sports, and the Pac-12 Networks.

Danielle was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team from 2000-2005, winning a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics and a bronze in the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She attended Santa Clara University where she captained the women’s soccer team to the 2001 NCAA National Championship. After she retired from playing, Danielle coached soccer at Northwestern from 2006-2009, where she also earned her Master’s Degree in Sports Administration.

Danielle is passionate about continuing to grow the game of soccer and teaching life lessons through sports. She serves as an advisor to U.S. Soccer’s Athlete Council, travels as a sports envoy on behalf of the U.S. State Department coaching youth about the life lessons that soccer can teach, and is a certified Positive Coaching Alliance trainer.

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.

Lori Lindsey

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2015  –  Canada
  • 2015  –  Egypt
  • 2015  –  Jordan
  • 2016  –  New Zealand
  • 2016  –  Venezuela
  • 2016  –  Samoa
  • 2017  –  Colombia

Lori Lindsey played at the University of Virginia (UVA) from 1998-2001 and was the school’s first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, winning the award two consecutive years (2000, 2001) joining North Carolina’s Mia Hamm as the only other player to achieve that distinction. She finished as the sixth all-time scorer in UVA history with 33 goals and 76 points, NSCAA Second-Team All-American in 2001, and third-Team All-American in 2000. She was also a 2001 finalist for the Mid Atlantic Conference Award and named Female Athlete of the Year at UVA for the 2001-02 academic year.

Lori Lindsey broke into the National Team relatively late in her career but was a consistent call-up from 2009 to 2012. Lori Lindsey made her first appearance on the National Team in July 24, 2005, vs. Iceland. She was called into WNT training camps on the strength of her WPS performance in 2009 but did not appear in a match. Her best and most active year for the USA was in 2010, playing in 13 matches while starting six and upping her career cap total to 14. In 2011 Lori played in 10 games, starting three, and made her first Women’s World Cup team, playing in one match in Germany, starting and playing the entire 90 minutes in the USA’s second group match, with a victory over Colombia. Finally in, 2012 she played in six matches, starting two, and scored her first career national team goal against Guatemala – on a header – at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Vancouver, Canada. She was named as an alternate to the 2012 Olympic Team and traveled with the squad to the U.K

Through the Women’s Professional Soccer League, she played for the Washington Spirit and with Canberra United in Australia. She was the captain of the Washington Spirit in 2013. In the years prior to playing for the Washington Spirit and Canberra United, she also played for the Western New York Flash in the WPSL-Elite and the Philadelphia Independence. Lori was the first player taken in the 2010 Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) Expansion Draft by the Independence and that year she was named to the WPS Best XI and was also named to the WPS All-Star Team.