Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Region: Venezuela

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.

Karin Korb

Wheelchair Tennis

Served as envoy

  • 2015  –  Bulgaria
  • 2015  –  Hungary
  • 2015  –  Romania
  • 2018  –  Venezuela

Karin Korb didn’t pick up a tennis racquet until she was 27 years old. Yet, a year later, she was among the top four women wheelchair tennis players in the world and playing in the World Team Cup, the Fed Cup of wheelchair tennis.

She serves on multiple boards including the Alabama FBI Citizens Academy, a Friend of Mind, Baseline Tennis, America Walks, the Alabama Disability Advocacy Program, the Is-Able Organization’s Advisory Board and the International Tennis Federation’s Player Council. She was awarded the 2018 Athletes in Excellence award by the Foundation for Global Sports Development which recognizes elite-level athletes who have dedicated themselves to bettering their local and global communities through mentorship, service, and volunteerism. Her career in both advocacy and policy has spanned over three decades, and she is fiercely committed to creating a more equitable future for all.

Darvin Ham

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2011  –  Venezuela
  • 2012  –  Burma

Darvin Ham is a professional basketball coach that enjoys fulfillment of helping others. He founded Urban Youth Development in 2003 to bring about a critical change in his communities.

Darvin was born July 23, 1973 in Saginaw, Michigan.

Darvin was shot in a cross-fire one block away from his home at the age of 14, during his 9th grade year, while attending Central Junior High School. The bullet entered his jaw, and lodged in his neck, barely missing his spine by millimeters. No one was convicted for the shooting. Having gone through a life-threatening experience at such an early age, Darvin realized how precious life is and moreover, the terrible circumstances that have entrapped our young men.

Darvin attended Saginaw High School and played just 1 year, his senior year, during 1990-91. After making a verbal commitment to the United States Air Force, Darvin was persuaded by his brother DeRonnie to pursue an athletic scholarship through basketball and was granted a partial scholarship in the summer of 1991 to attend Otero Junior College in LaJunta, Colorado.

After playing the 1991-92 season at Otero, Darvin was voted an All-American and participated at the JUCO(junior college) Jamboree in Vincennes, Indiana during the summer of 1992. There he was discovered by Texas Tech University. He earned his Associate of Arts degree from Westark Community College in Fort Smith, Arkansas in July of 1993.

Darvin attended Texas Tech from 1993-96. During that time, he started all 90 games of his collegiate career. At Texas Tech, Darvin received the following accolades:
• Named to Southwestern Conference Defensive Team (1993-1994)
• Named by The Sporting News as the Southwest Conference “Most Underrated Player” before the 1995-96 season.
• Name second team All-SWC in 1995-96.
• One of four seniors to lead Texas Tech to the Sweet 16 after posting a 28-1 regular season record.
• Featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated after shattering the backboard during an upset victory over North Carolina in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
• Finished the season ranked 9th in the nation with a 30-2 record.
• 1996 NCAA Slam Dunk Champion

Darvin’s NBA Bio:
• Signed as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association.
• Finished 4th in the Nestle Crunch NBA Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in 1997.
• Traded to the Indiana Pacers midway through his rookie season in February of 1997.
• Signed as a free agent with the Washington Wizards for the 1997-98 season.
• Signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1999, and played there until 2002.
• Signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks for the 2002-03 season.
• Signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons in 2003, and played there until 2005.
• Member of the 2003-04 NBA World Champions Detroit Pistons.
• Has appeared in 417 NBA games, with 45 starts.
• Has appeared in 55 playoff games, with 11 starts.
Broadcasting
• FOX Sports Network (FSN) Southwest NBA Analyst
• NBAtv Network Analyst
NBDL
• Drafted 3rd in the 2007-08 NBDL Draft by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds
• 2007-08 Member of the Southwest Division Champion Austin Toros
• 2008-09 Assistant Coach for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds

Coaches that I’ve played for have a combined 3,422 wins.
Bernie Bickerstaff- 414
Dick Motta-935
George Karl-879
Lon Kruger- 69
Terry Stotts-115
Larry Brown-1010

Darvin’s International Bio:
• Played in Granada, Spain during 1998-99 season.
• Featured guest of NIKE Swiss Camp in Zurich, Switzerland in 2002.
• Played in Manila, Philippines in 2006.
• Played in Coamo, Puerto Rico in 2006.
• For the past 8 years, annually oversees a Basketball Life Skills Camp in Bad Honnef, Germany.

Mr. Ham has a wife, Deneitra, of 11 years, 3 sons, Darvin Jr., 17, Donovan, 12 and Dominic,9. Thanks to the priceless examples set forth by his father and grandfather, both of whom are now deceased, Darvin was shown the importance of a strong, positive and influential male role model directly in the home.

His hobbies include fishing, playing dominoes, traveling, jet-skiing, working-out, working with young basketball players (AAU), and going out-to-eat with his wife and kids.

Ruby Rojas

Softball

Served as envoy

  • 2013  –  Nicaragua
  • 2015  –  Venezuela
  • 2015  –  Colombia

• Kinesiology Professor/Head Softball Coach @ Mt. SAC College
• Health and Nutrition Professor at University of Phoenix
• 2008 Olympian-Beijing, China
• 13 year veteran on Venezuelan National Team
• BackSoftball Athlete Ambassador 2008
• Currently pursuing a PhD in Sports Management @ United States Sports Academy
• B.A. in Sociology & Women Studies @ University of Virginia 03’
• M.A. Kinesiology & Physical Education @ Long Beach State 05’

• Coaching Experience
• Head Softball Coach at Mt. SAC 2012-Present
• Assistant Softball Coach at Mt. SAC 2010- 2011
• Previous Head Softball Coach at Orange Coast College 2007-2010
• Assistant Softball Coach at Orange Coast College 2006-2007

International Playing Experience
• 2008 Beijing Olympics- 5th in the World
• Participated in ISF Women’s World Championships 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012 – 5th in the 2010 World Championships
• Participated in ISF Pan American Games 2003, 2007- Silver Medalist
• Participated in ISF Central American Games 2002, 2006, 2010- Gold Medalist
• Participated in ISF Women’s World Cup-2007
• ISF Canada Cup-2002, 2003, 2008, 2009- All Tournament Team, 2012
• Member of the PFX (Professional Fastpitch Xtreme Tour) 2011

Collegiate Experience (University of Virginia 99-03’)
• Easton All-American 2001
• 1st Team All Southeast Region- 2001
• 1st Team All-ACC- 2001-2003
• 1st Team All ACC Tournament Team- 2000 & 2003
• 50th Anniversary All ACC Team- 2003
• ACC Rookie of the Year- 2000
• UVA MVP Award- 2003
• Highest batting average in ACC, .401- 2001
• Top 25 Highest Div. 1 Batting Average in the Nation- 2001

Personal Life
• Originally from Maracay, Venezuela
• Lives in Santa Ana
• Hobbies include salsa dancing, reading, writing and traveling

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.

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.

Siri Mullinix

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2012  –  Venezuela
  • 2013  –  Costa Rica

Currently an assistant coach at Clemson University, Siri Mullinix is the third-most capped goalkeeper for the U.S. Women’s National Team. Mullinix earned 45 caps for the U.S. Women between 1999 and 2004. Mullinix was the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. at the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia.
Mullinix was the USA’s back-up goalkeeper at the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She earned her first full national team cap against Japan in Atlanta on May 2, 1999. As a member of the U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team, Mullinix played in the 1996 Nordic Cup in Sweden and the 1997 Nordic Cup in Denmark.
Mullinix helped lead the Washington Freedom to the WUSA Founders Cup title in 2003. She was an original allocated player in the WUSA for the Washington Freedom in 2001. A three-year starter at the University of North Carolina, Mullinix was a member of three ACC and two NCAA championship teams during her college career. As a freshman, she backed up All American and former national team goalkeeper Tracy Ducar.

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.