Lorrie Fair Allen was the youngest member of the 1999 World Cup Champion U.S. women’s national soccer team. Over the span of her career, she was a World Cup champion, Olympic Gold and Silver medalist, and three-time national champion at the University of North Carolina. Professionally, Lorrie played for the Philadelphia Charge in the WUSA, Olympique Lyonnais in France, and Chelsea FC in the U.K.

She retired from international play in 2009, focusing her energy on social justice, equity, and inclusion. Lorrie has worked and volunteered in the sport for development field since the age of 16. She has been an athlete ambassador for Right To Play and Show Racism the Red Card, and has worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In 2010, as part of her co-founded and self-funded organization Kickabout, she led a six-month overland expedition starting in London and traveling through Europe, the Middle East and East Africa, arriving in Johannesburg, South Africa for the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

She has also been a Sport Envoy for the U.S. State Department since 2008, running sports diplomacy programs globally to support the U.S. mission abroad in conflict resolution, the empowerment of women and girls, and access to education. She has been to 13 countries as an Envoy, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Venezuela, Kyrgyzstan, Algeria, and most recently Brunei.

Currently, Lorrie is the Chief Program Director of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), a foundation that invests in and advances the health and safety of youth in Southern Africa. Joining CTAOP in 2011, she lived in rural South Africa before moving to Los Angeles to lead the foundation’s grantmaking efforts. Over the past 13 years, she has established trusting relationships with community-based organizations working directly with young people. Lorrie now oversees CTAOP’s strategic learning and impact, and has been instrumental in supporting those closest to the challenges and creating opportunities to bring community voices into broader arenas. She is also a founding investor in Angel City Football Club in the NWSL.

Lorrie received her Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government. She currently lives in Southern California with her partner and two children. She is a self-professed foodie, avid cruciverbalist, Star Wars junkie, and loyal AC Milan supporter.