Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Year: 2016

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.

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.

Joanna Lohman

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2015  –  Argentina
  • 2015  –  Thailand
  • 2016  –  Botswana
  • 2017  –  Ivory Coast
  • 2018  –  Niger
  • 2019  –  Nigeria
  • 2021  –  Virtual
  • 2022  –  Virtual
  • 2024  –  Cambodia

Joanna Lohman is a keynote speaker and performance coach. She is a former professional soccer player and member of the United States Women’s National Team. She is the first player in Washington Spirit history to have her jersey retired, honoring her 16-year playing career where she built a platform for social impact. She is the author of, Raising Tomorrow’s Champions, and an authenticity activator. She continues her influence as a Sport Diplomat and global leader who has shared her message with organizations all over the world, including: The Minnesota Vikings, The Human Rights Campaign, Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Qualcomm, Lifetime Television, Sanofi, American Staffing Association, McDonalds, CNN and universities all over the country.

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.

Zola Solamente

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2014  –  Bolivia
  • 2016  –  Jordan
  • 2016  –  Netherlands
  • 2016  –  Senegal
  • 2017  –  Belarus
  • 2017  –  Albania
  • 2018  –  Tajikistan
  • 2019  –  Bahrain
  • 2023  –  Eswatini

Zola Solamente began playing soccer at the age of 5, with her older brother and his friends. She continued to play with boys until middle school, when she switched to a female club/travel team. From ages 12 – 17, Zola was a captain of her club team, as well as with the Olympic Development Program, and was a member of the East Regional team, which competed internationally.

Zola played at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 1990-1993. She was a starter at UNC for all four years of her career. She won 4 National Championships, 4 ACC Championships, and was named All-American her senior year. She was invited to play on the US Women’s National team in 1993. She traveled with the team for 2.5 years participating in international tournaments.

In 1995 Zola retired from international soccer to become a mother and pursue a career in fine arts. She now owns Arden Gallery Ltd. in Boston, MA, which she has been directing for 23 years. She continues to share her passion for soccer by providing individual and small-group soccer clinics to female players ages 12 – 18 in the greater Boston area. The focus of these training sessions is to improve technical skills, increase tactical awareness, and deepen strength/fitness levels. She also is a member of a USTA tennis league and rows competitively as single sculler. Since the fall of 2014 she has been traveling with the US State Department as a Sports Envoy coaching and mentoring children in under-served and at-risk environments in the Middle East, Africa, and South America. Zola is passionate about empowering girls and women through sports, especially the beautiful game of soccer.