I started playing ultimate in the late 80s at a N.Y.C. church camp where many of my older friends played ultimate at their local high schools (Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech). I started a team at Livingston HS my junior year and played for Rutgers Machine for three more. Ultimate was my first attempt at leadership as I founded, captained, and coached the first-ever team at my high school, and it left an indelible mark on me. I believe I have the qualifications necessary due to my experiences coaching youth and adults, organizing official USAU tournaments, working in non-profits, serving on non-profit boards, and working in local government. I am running on a platform of helping USA Ultimate's discussion on equity with a framework that leads with race. To be specific, this would be an intersectional framework. I would use my experience with the City of Seattle's Race and Social Justice toolkit to review USA Ultimate's policies. You can read more about this initiative here. For many years, I've watched the young people I coached and worked with in South Seattle struggle when it came to macro and micro-aggressions in the form of name-calling, questionable spirit-calls/cheers, and parent comments (amongst other things). I would like to use this experience to help address what is becoming a more common experience in our community and to build bridges that connect rather than divide. Here are my qualifications: Ultimate-related experiences: 11+ years of coaching experience at the HS, MS, and club levels. Former Skyd Magazine Youth Coach of the Year and multiple WA State Open CoTY awards during my seven years coaching the Franklin High School Boys team. Coached Seattle Underground for the past five years and worked as DiscNW's second-ever Youth Coordinator for three years. For 10 years, I was either the General Manager or U-19 mixed coach for DiscNW's YCC program and am one of the co-founders of Southend Ultimate Program (which runs the well-known All Girl Everything Ultimate Program). I was also a founding board member and officer for SUP. Non-profit experiences: I have served on three different boards/committees with local non-profits (Seattle Works, 826 Seattle, Leadership Tomorrow) and have worked directly for non-profits for 10 years. Government experience: I have local government experience as a Supervisor with the City of Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods. My role was working with a team of community engagement coordinators. During that time, I interfaced with multiple government departments, non-profits, business organizations, local community groups, and elected officials. I sat on the Special Events Committee which heard from and gave feedback to hundreds of organizations that wanted to utilize city parks/streets for fairs, events, marches, and run/walks. I am well-versed in multi-prong community engagement with a race/equity lens. Currently, I work at The Seattle Foundation where I am working on a two-year grant to study the impact of "Othering and Belonging" on the Puget Sound region. Professor John Powell at UC Berkeley believes that most people come together (or "bond") through shared interests. That is true of ultimate. We all love this sport, and it draws us together. However, when bonding communities become too insular, they tend to "break" – meaning that we start differentiating ourselves from those unlike us, or we make assumptions about everyone in the group. I see this today as ultimate has worked hard on gender equity but seems to miss the boat on racial equity. In order for organizations, teams, players, to move forward, we need what Dr. Powell calls "bridging" relationships. To be a bridge is difficult as bridges get walked on. It relies on dialogue, honesty, open-mindedness, and most of all, vulnerability. I would appreciate the opportunity to serve on USA Ultimate's Board of Directors in order to help build the bridges so necessary not only in our sport but in our communities. Thank you.