Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Year: 2019

Stefanie Golan

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2019  –  Kenya

The 2019 season will mark Stefanie Golan’s eighth year at the helm of the Golden Gopher women’s soccer team. During her time as head coach, there has been consistent growth including an incredible 2018 season.

Golan led the Gophers to the 2018 Big Ten Tournament Title by running through the tournament without allowing a single goal after entering as the seventh-seed. With qualification secured for the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota upset Auburn 2-0 in the first round before falling to the UCLA Bruins in the second round of play.

In 2017, Golan reached 100 career victories in her young coaching career that has spanned just nine seasons. The Gophers finished in at least second place in the Big Ten for the second straight season with an 11-5-3 record. Golan helped Minnesota finish with three All-Big Ten players, which included Sydney Squires on the First Team. Golan led the Gophers to a second straight season of at least seven conference victories.

Prior to Minnesota, Coach Golan spent five and a half years at the United States Military Academy. She led the program to a 33-18-10 record in her three years as a head coach and second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in her final season in 2011. Two student-athletes were named to the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic All-Region Team while sophomore Molly McGuigan was named Patriot League Defender of the Year for the second season. Six student-athletes received All Patriot League honors and seven student-athletes received Patriot League Academic Honors.

In 2010, Golan received Patriot League Coach of the Year honors after going undefeated in the Patriot League and sharing the regular season title. The team led the nation in three defensive categories, two student-athletes were named to the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic All Region Team, eight student-athletes received Patriot League Academic honors, freshman Molly McGuigan was named Patriot League Defender of the Year and freshman Kim An was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

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.

Kim Kammerdeiner

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2019  –  Ethiopia

Born Aug. 12, 1964. Kim is an American retired Goalkeeper for the United States Women’s National Team. Considered a pioneer of women’s soccer in the US, she was a member of the 1991 USWNT that won the first Women’s World Cup in China. From 1988-1991, she played 843 minutes without allowing a goal- a record at the time. In 1990, she was named to the Soccer America All- Decade team. Maslin-Kammerdeiner attended George Mason University and played for the Patriots, who won the NCAA Davison 1 Championship Tar Heels in 1985.

Maslin-Kammerdeiner is Married to her husband of 28 years and has 4 children and one granddaughter and a new grandchild on the way. She is a Teacher of Health and Physical Education and has taught for 26 years, 12 years in High School and 14 years in Middle School. Maslin-Kammerdeiner has been a Coach for more than 30 years in multiple sports. Goal Keeping is a passion for Kammerdeiner and she has coached at all levels both males and females in goal.

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.

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.

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.

KHADEVIS ROBINSON

Khadevis Robinson

Track & Field

Served as envoy

  • 2019  –  Zimbabwe

Khadevis Robinson is a 2X Olympian, 7X USA National Champion, NCAA Champion in the 800 meters. Khadevis is currently the Director of Track and Field and Cross Country at TCU (Texas Christian University), his Alma Mater. He joined TCU after 5 amazing years as Head Cross Country Coach at The Ohio State University. Before coaching at Ohio State, he served in the same capacity at LSU and UNLV. Khadevis has also served as a coach for Team USA at the Pan American Junior Games in Edmonton, The NACAC Championships in El Salvador and The World Championships in London. On top of this, he coached professionals and High School athletes while living in California.

Khadevis holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from TCU and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from California State University in Los Angeles. Khadevis Robinson has also obtained his Chaplain Certification. Khadevis Co-Founded the Youth Track and Running Club, a 501 C3 Non-Profit, with locations in Santa Monica, Malibu, Beverly Hills and Venice, California. The YTRC mission was to bring fitness and running to youth in the community that may not have had a team or place to partake in running activities.

Khadevis has a passion for leadership and community service. In 2019 Khadevis was selected as a USA Sports Envoy Ambassador with the US State Department. In this position he traveled internationally to Zimbabwe, speaking and presenting on Gender Based Violence. Along with being a speaker, trainer, and nonprofit administrator, Khadevis was also a Philanthropic Advisor for the EACH Foundation and was responsible for identifying, researching and ultimately granting money to Non-Profits in the Nation. He is also the former University Coordinator with Athletes For Hope, which is an organization that exists to inspire, educate and connect hundreds of professional, Olympic, Paralympic, and college athletes to charities around the world. He is the Founder and President of “The Reading and Running Initiative”, whose mission is to provide educational and physical health opportunities and improve awareness of these opportunities in the community.

Khadevis Robinson is a published author (When Seconds Count), and he has produced a training CD (Explore Your Core). Khadevis was awarded the Doherty Fellowship to and he is the past President of the TFAA (Track and Field Athletes Association). Khadevis is an accomplished speaker, trainer, consultant and coach. He believes Success leaves Clues, and from his Olympic experiences, he has recognized some common traits among all high performers. These traits, strategies, tactics and skills, he shares with businesses and Organizations in an interactive seminar/speech/clinic. This he calls “The Champions/Winners Mindset”.

Khadevis is originally from Fort Worth, Texas and is married with 3 Kids. Zion, Ishmael and Kioni. Khadevis is an active Member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.