Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Year: 2014

Adonal Foyle

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2014  –  Morocco
  • 2014  –  Spain

Adonal Foyle is a retired NBA player, who was the eighth overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. He played a total of 13 seasons, the first ten with the Golden State Warriors and last three with the Orlando Magic. Upon his retirement from playing professional basketball, Adonal served for 2 seasons with the Orlando Magic as their Director of Player Development. A published author, national speaker, and consultant, Adonal currently serves as the Community Ambassador for the World Champion Golden State Warriors.

Despite being recruited by several top basketball colleges, Adonal made the unorthodox decision to attend Colgate University, a small liberal arts college in upstate New York. A major factor in this decision was his desire to leave college with a strong academic grounding. At Colgate, he set an NCAA record with 492 career blocks which was only broken in 2002. Although he left Colgate early to join the NBA, he maintained his commitment to education and graduated in 1999.

During his NBA playing days, Adonal was a defensive specialist, collecting over 3,400 rebounds, and bringing toughness and tenacity to every game. He holds the Warriors franchise record for blocked shots at 1,140. He was a member of the 2009 Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic.

Adonal has received many honors, including induction into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, and the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame, NBA Players Association Community Contribution All-Star Award, Social Change Agent (Greenlining Institute), NBA Community Assist Awards (multiple years) and named Runner Up Central Floridian of the Year by the Orlando Sentinel in 2010. He has also been appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for St. Vincent & the Grenadines and has been honored with his own national postage stamp.

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.

Tiffany Roberts-Sahaydak

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2006  –  Uganda
  • 2007  –  Philippines
  • 2010  –  Thailand
  • 2011  –  Brazil
  • 2014  –  Brazil
  • 2015  –  Indonesia
  • 2017  –  Belarus
  • 2017  –  Albania
  • 2019  –  Egypt

An Olympic gold medalist, World Cup champion and two-time NCAA champion, Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak was named head women’s soccer coach at UCF in May 2013.

A three-time American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Roberts Sahaydak has wasted no time in putting her stamp on UCF’s successful program. Under her guidance, the Knights have earned four NCAA Tournament bids and four American Athletic Conference championships while boasting 11 conference Player of the Year awards and 38 all-league and tournament selections.

In her first season (2013), she led UCF to a school-record unbeaten streak (18 matches), an NSCAA national standing through much of the year and the program’s first undefeated conference season since 1999. In addition, UCF made history as the first program to win an American Athletic Conference Championship.

Roberts Sahaydak came to Orlando after serving six seasons at VCU alongside her co-head coach, husband and current UCF associate head coach Tim Sahaydak.

Roberts Sahaydak spent a decade with the U.S. National Team from 1994-2004, earning 112 caps (with 60 starts). Her career was highlighted by three women’s World Cups – among them, the unforgettable 1999 championship – and a gold medal with the 1996 Olympic team.

After retiring from the USWNT, she has served as an ambassador for U.S. Soccer with the U.S. Department of State Sports Envoy Program since 2007, promoting the power and benefit of sport internationally. With the program, she has visited Indonesia, Uganda, the Philippines, Thailand, Namibia, Brazil and France. In 2014, she was appointed to President Barack Obama’s Presidential Delegation to the Federative Republic of Brazil at the opening of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. She is a native of San Ramon, Calif., and was selected as the 1994 California High School Player of the Year.

She was a three-time Parade High School All-American, a three-time NSCAA All-American and was the two-time National Girl’s High School Player of the Year. She debuted for the Stars and Stripes in 1994 when she was only 16 as one of the youngest players ever to suit up for the National Team. She played in her first FIFA Women’s World Cup a month after her 18th birthday and won Olympic gold before she was out of her teens (USSoccer.com).

As a collegian, Roberts Sahaydak was a standout midfielder for North Carolina (1995-98) as a three-time All-ACC First Team selection. She led the Tar Heels to two NCAA titles (1996, 1997) during her tenure, was voted the 1998 ACC Tournament MVP and finished third in voting for collegiate soccer’s highest honor, the Hermann Trophy.

She still ranks among the top five for career starts in UNC’s record book.She was a two-time captain for the Carolina Courage in the first fully professional U.S. women’s league (Women’s United Soccer Association). She helped the Courage win the 2002 title after finishing last in the team’s inaugural campaign one year prior.

Roberts Sahaydak took over VCU’s program in 2007 and led the Rams to three conference championship game appearances. She was voted as the 2011 Colonial Athletic Association Co-Head Coach of the Year, along with her husband Tim. The duo mentored two CAA Defenders of the Year, one CAA Rookie of the Year and 20 all-conference players, including six first-team honorees.The Sahaydaks reside in Orlando with their two daughters, Layla and Evie.

“It’s been a life changing experience being involved in the Sports Diplomacy Envoys. I have had the good fortune of participating in programs all over the globe, and I’ve worked together with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. I am constantly reminded that sport can bring us closer together. We can celebrate our differences and our common interests. Every time we start to play a game we start to connect and the world seems to get a bit smaller.”

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.

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.

Staci Wilson

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2014  –  Peru
  • 2016  –  Senegal
  • 2018  –  Niger
  • 2019  –  Nigeria
  • 2019  –  Ethiopia
  • 2022  –  Cameroon
  • 2023  –  Mexico

Staci Wilson – former professional soccer player with extensive experience training athletes, teams and coaches. An NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach, she holds a US Soccer B Coaching License, and has teaching certifications in yoga and Pilates. She played professional soccer for the Carolina Courage and on the 1996 USWNT that won the first ever Olympic Gold Medal for Women’s Football. Currently Wilson coaches youth, high school in south Florida and has a soccer consulting business. She devotes free time to giving back to the sport through charitable organizations that target females and underserved communities.

Kate Sobrero Markgraf

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2012  –  Ethiopia
  • 2013  –  Chile
  • 2014  –  Peru

Defender Kate Markgraf (née Sobrero) debuted with the U.S. Women’s National Team in 1998 and earned 201 caps before retiring in 2010. Markgraf was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Teams in the 2008, 2004 and 2000 Olympic Games, playing every minute of all three tournaments. Markgraf also helped to lead the team from the backline at the 2007, 2003 and 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cups.

After becoming the only player to play every minute of every U.S. Women’s National Team game in 2005, she had her first child, Keegan, in 2006. In 2009, she once again took time off from soccer, giving birth to twins, a boy and a girl, Xavier and Carson.

Markgraf was a four-year starter at Notre Dame, where she was a three time NSCAA All American, earning First Team honors twice and winning the 1995 NCAA championship.

Allocated to the Chicago Red Stars for the inaugural WPS season in 2009, Markgraf sat out the year as she was pregnant with twins. She was a founding player in the WUSA for the Boston Breakers and in 2003 she started all 19 games in which she played, helping the Breakers to the playoffs for the first time.

Tony Sanneh

Tony Sanneh

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2010  –  Cyprus
  • 2012  –  Ethiopia
  • 2012  –  Malaysia
  • 2014  –  Bangladesh
  • 2014  –  Bolivia
  • 2018  –  Pakistan
  • 2019  –  Kenya
  • 2019  –  Bahrain
  • 2020  –  Virtual
  • 2022  –  Cote d'Ivoire

Among the most successful American soccer players of his generation, Tony Sanneh enjoyed an impressive 17-year professional soccer career. Major career highlights include starring in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, two Major League Soccer championships with D.C. United, and participation in the UEFA Champions League with Hertha Berlin during his six years in the German Bundesliga. Sanneh’s impact on American soccer was recognized by his selection to the Soccer America U.S. Men’s National Team “All-Decade Team,” and he was a finalist for the United States Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2018.

At the height of his playing career, he created The Sanneh Foundation (TSF) to leverage sport’s unique potential to create positive social change for under-served youth through relationships. Since retiring from professional soccer in 2010 and becoming the organization’s full-time CEO, TSF has evolved into one of Minnesota’s leading youth development organizations by serving the holistic youth development needs of increasingly diverse Twin Cities Metro, Central and Southeastern Minnesota.

The Robert Woods Johnson Foundation recently recognized the organization’s work by awarding TSF their annual Sports Award, among the highest honors any organization in the field of health equity and community well-being can receive. The 2018 RWJF Sports award validates The Sanneh Foundation’s approach to creating a culture of community health by leveraging the universal appeal of sports to provide a range of holistic youth programs that address the social determinants that help diverse youth develop the skills to become productive adults

In addition to his executive leadership role with The Sanneh Foundation, Sanneh continues to serve the United States as a Sports Envoy on behalf of the SportsUnited Division of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.