Staff

Mariana Niekamp

Sport for Good Chicago Grant Manager

Chicago Grant Manager, Mariana Niekamp, comes to Laureus USA as an alumni of the Laureus USA Emerging Leaders Program, having experience working with Girls Rugby, Inc and Women Win. Her past work for these organizations truly spans the global context of sport for good – having facilitated successful International Sports Programming with Women Win and the US Department of State. Additionally, Mariana has presented research at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport in Montreal, on aligning parent and participant perspectives in youth sports. She holds two degrees from Miami University of Ohio in Diplomacy & Global Politics (BA) and Sport Management (MS). She is a firm believer in the power of play and radical inclusivity.

OurTeam

Maurya Couvares

Maurya is the Co-Founder and former Chief Executive of Code Nation which she grew from an idea to a national…

Fatima Alabdullah

Fatima Alabdullah has five years of experience in supporting underserved populations through accounting and financial management.

Rachelle Patel (Boyer)

Rachelle Boyer has extensive experience building successful partnerships between corporates, government organizations, and community organizations.

Peter Feldman

Peter Feldman has more than a decade of experience as an educator and sports-based youth development professional. As a former…

Julia M. Lankford

Julia M. Lankford has over 19 years of nonprofit management experience, and has been the recipient of numerous community service awards. Her work is centered on the core belief that the best way to improve quality of life for those who need it most is to empower them, passing on a sense of shared responsibility and individual self-efficacy.

Ben Schornack

Ben is an experienced coalition-builder, fundraiser, and facilitator in the field of Sports-Based Youth Development.

Rob Saltares

Rob believes that sport programming has the ability to reach those furthest from opportunity in ways nothing else can when designed intentionally.

Tiffany Aidoo

Tiffany has dedicated her years of experience to sport as a catalyst for youth development.

Sara McLaughlin

As a lifelong sports fan and soccer player, Sara recognizes the unique power and ability that sports have, to educate young people and impact communities.

Kip O’Rourke-Brown

Kip is a leading professional in the emerging field of sports-based youth development, possessing extensive experience in program design, delivery and evaluation, with a special emphasis on school communities.

Maggie Munoff

Maggie’s ultimate goal is to tell the collective stories of Laureus USA’s partners and unite us under a common mission – to increase equal access to competitive, recreational, and therapeutic sports programs for all.

Grace Curtin

At the root of it, Grace believes that coalitions are the best way to create innovative, inclusive and sustainable programs for all young people.

Nneka Arinze

Nneka Arinze is from the Metro-Atlanta community and has always had a desire to learn more around the impact of sports programming, having grown up as an avid soccer player.

Amy Mummery

Amy believes in the transformative power of teamwork, sport, and the spoken word.