Board Of Directors Biographies
Board Chair *Effective 1/1/23
Gene Sykes was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and will begin serving as both an independent representative and chair of the USOPC board in January 2023.
Sykes was elected to the chair position in July 2022 by current members of the USOPC board.
Sykes is the co-chair of Global Mergers and Acquisitions and co-chair of the Global Technology, Media and Telecom Group at Goldman Sachs & Co. He joined Goldman in 1984 and became a partner in 1992.
He took a leave from the investment firm in 2015 to join the LA28 bid committee as CEO and oversee a lengthy and successful bid campaign that ended in 2017 with the International Olympic Committee awarding the 2028 Games to Los Angeles. He stepped down from the CEO role in December 2018.
In addition to a board position at LA28, Sykes serves as chair for the Alliance for Southern California Innovation, and on the board of the Pacific Council on International Policy and Common Sense Media. He previously chaired the California board of trustees of The Nature Conservancy and the National Parks Conservation Association. He also has served on the board of the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Sykes is a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees and a member of the Advisory Council of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
He earned an MBA from Stanford in 1984, and bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University in 1980.
Board Member
Anita L. DeFrantz was elected to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and served from 1976-1985. DeFrantz was elected a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1986, and her service on the USOPC board has continued since then. She was reelected to the IOC executive board in September 2013 after previously serving in the same capacity from 1992-2001, during which time she spent four years (1997-2001) as an IOC vice president.
She is a member of four IOC commissions – Finances, Legal Affairs, Olympic Channel and the Coordination for the Tokyo 2020 Games – and is an honorary member of the Women in Sport Commission after serving as chair from 1995-2014.
A 1976 Olympic rowing bronze medalist and 1980 U.S. Olympic Team member, DeFrantz served as vice president of the International Rowing Federation from 1993-2013.
Following her profession as an attorney at the Juvenile Law Centre of Philadelphia from 1977-79, she became vice president of Olympic Villages for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee from 1981-84. In 1985, DeFrantz joined the staff of the LA84 Foundation (formerly Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles), the organization established to manage the surplus from the 1984 Olympic Games. She then served as the LA84 Foundation’s president from 1987-2015.
DeFrantz started the Tubman Truth Corporation in 2015 – named after Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth – two brave women known for their work to abolish slavery and to gain the right for women to vote. In addition, she is a steward of the Women’s Sports Foundation, and serves on the board of directors for the Los Angeles Sports Council and the Jazz Bakery.
As a member of the U.S. National Rowing Team from 1975-80, DeFrantz won six national championships and a silver medal at the 1978 World Rowing Championships. She is a recipient of the IOC’s Olympic Order, the highest honor of the Olympic Movement.
Board Member
Allyson Felix, elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission through an athlete vote held during the Olympic Games Paris 2024, joins the USOPC board as an IOC member. In keeping with the Olympic Charter and the USOPC Bylaws, all American members of the IOC are automatically granted seats on the USOPC Board.
Felix has served as an appointed athlete representative on the IOC Athletes’ Commission since 2022, and in addition to her IOC and Team USA Athletes’ Commission roles, she is also member of the LA28 Organizing Committee Athletes’ Commission. She was elected by the Team USA AC to stand as the U.S. candidate for this position.
Felix is a five-time Olympian (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) and 11-time Olympic medalist (7 golds, 3 silvers, 1 bronze). She retired from track and field following the Tokyo 2020 Games as the most decorated female athlete in Olympic track and field history.
As she transitioned from competition, Allyson has established herself as a successful business owner of her brand, Saysh, and community voice, helping raise awareness for maternity health and work to establish pathways for women to thrive in family, business, sport and community.
For the Paris 2024 Games, Allyson championed a new initiative with the IOC to create the first nursery in the Olympic Village as a safe space where athlete mothers can bond with and care for their children.
Board Member
David Haggerty was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors in January 2020.
Haggerty currently serves as the president of the International Tennis Federation. He was elected president of the ITF in September 2015 and re-elected for a second term in September 2019. Additionally, he was elected to membership in the International Olympic Committee in January 2020.
Previously, Haggerty served as chair, CEO and president of the USTA board of directors, and chair of the US Open. He additionally served as chair, CEO and president of Head USA and president of Penn Racquet Sports for 14 years before retiring to focus on his volunteer roles with the USTA.
Prior to his tenure with the USTA and US Open, Haggerty was an owner of Prince Sports Group, a leading global manufacturer of tennis rackets in Atlanta, where he worked for over 13 years before becoming President of Dunlop Maxfli Slazenger Sports.
Haggerty is also a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame board of directors and the Women’s Tennis Association.
Haggerty earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from George Washington University in Washington D.C., where he was a top player on the GWU tennis team for four years and continued playing on the satellite tour in Europe after graduation. He is a member of the GWU Athletic Hall of Fame where he still holds the school record for the most wins in singles and doubles.
Board Member
Rich Bender was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and began serving as a National Governing Bodies Council representative in January 2019.
Bender currently serves as executive director of USA Wrestling, a position he has held since 2001. Under his direction, USA Wrestling’s membership reached an all-time high, and his leadership was instrumental in preserving wrestling’s spot on the program for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Bender also led the addition of women’s wrestling to the Olympic program in 2004, and USA Wrestling’s women’s program continues to flourish under his leadership. He led the creation of a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident wrestling program for women, as well as the hiring of a national women’s coach and staff.
Prior to his tenure as executive director, Bender served as the associate executive director of programs at USA Wrestling, where he oversaw the organization’s events, its national teams and developmental programs. He directly supervised major events, including the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, world cups and numerous world dual meets. He also served as the competition manager for wrestling at the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996, where he was a recipient of the International Wrestling Federation’s Gold Star award.
Bender previously chaired the NGBC for six years (2010-2016) and has served in several board positions for the U.S. Olympic Endowment, U.S. Wrestling Foundation and National Wrestling Coaches Association, among others. He is also a member of the Technical Commission of United World Wrestling, helping shape the integrity, evolution and sustainability of the sport worldwide.
Bender received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 1988 and was elected to the Wisconsin Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015.
Board Member
Beth Brooke was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and began serving as an independent director in January 2019.
Brooke served as global vice chair of public policy at EY prior to her retirement in 2019, overseeing public policy for the organization’s operations in more than 150 countries. She was a global sponsor for EY’s diversity and inclusion efforts and founded the EY Women Athletes Business Network. She previously served in various capacities at the firm from 1981-1993 and returned to the organization in 1995 following a two-year term with the U.S. Department of the Treasury in which she was responsible for tax policy matters related to insurance and managed care.
Brooke co-chairs the International Council on Women’s Business Leadership and serves on the boards for Vital Voices and The Conference Board, as well as the board of trustees of the Aspen Institute and the Women’s Advisory Board of the World Economic Forum. She is a devoted advocate for women’s advancement, mentoring, LGBTQ+ inclusion and flexibility programs, and has been named 10 times to Forbes’ World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list.
Brooke received her bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in industrial management and computer science. She was a member of the Boilermakers’ women’s basketball team and has since been inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. She has also received honorary doctorates from Indiana University, Babson College and Purdue University.
Board Member *Effective 1/1/23
Lawrence R. (Bubba) Cunningham was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and will begin serving as an independent representative in January 2023.
Cunningham has served as the director of athletics for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since November 2011, and during his tenure has overseen numerous academic achievements and the opening of multiple new facilities as North Carolina teams have won a total of 19 national titles.
Cunningham’s mission — and Carolina’s mission statement — during his tenure: “We educate and inspire through athletics.”
During Cunningham’s time in Chapel Hill, more than 3,000 UNC student-athletes have been named to the Atlantic Coast Conference honor roll and more than 40 have been invited into Phi Beta Kappa Societies. Twelve students have been named Elite 90 recipients by the NCAA, and UNC’s overall student-athlete GPA reached its highest marks in three straight semesters.
UNC teams have won NCAA Championships in men’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s lacrosse and field hockey since 2011. During that time, UNC has also won eight Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championships in men’s and women’s tennis.
In his 20th year as a Division I director of athletics, Cunningham also currently serves on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and is in his 10th year on the ACC Television Committee, which led the launch of the ACC Network in 2019.
In 2020, he earned the AD of the Year Award from The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
Cunningham earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Notre Dame in 1984 and 1988.
Board Member
Muffy Davis was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and will begin serving as an International Paralympic Committee ex-officio member in January 2021.
A seven-time Paralympic medalist, Davis has been a part of the Paralympic Movement for 20 years as an athlete, ambassador, volunteer, and active member of several committees. A top U.S. skiing prospect in the late 1980s, Davis was involved in a near-fatal downhill training accident in 1989 that caused her to be paralyzed from the mid-chest down. After graduating from Stanford University in 1995, the Sun Valley, Idaho, native returned to skiing, medaling at the Paralympic Winter Games in 1998 in Nagano and 2002 in Salt Lake City. She later added cycling to her resume and successfully won three gold medals at the Paralympic Games London 2012.
As a long-time advocate for disability rights and champion for the Paralympic Movement, Davis currently serves on the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Paralympic Advisory Council, IOC Legacy and Sustainability Commission, LA2028 Executive Committee, UCI Para-cycling Commission, and the Sun Valley Adaptive Sports/Higher Ground SV Board of Directors as an honorary member. She was also inducted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame.
Davis is also an accomplished adventurer and world traveler. In 2002, she became the first female paraplegic mountaineer to summit a peak over 14,000 feet when she successfully climbed California’s Mt. Shasta. Since then, she has successfully climbed Colorado’s Pikes Peak twice.
She currently lives in Hailey, Idaho with her husband Jeff and daughter Elle.
Board Member
Donna de Varona was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and will begin serving as an athlete at-large representative in January 2021.
A two-time Olympic champion, de Varona began her career as a swimmer, and at age 13 she became the youngest world record holder to compete at the 1960 Olympic Games. She returned to the Olympic stage four years later in Tokyo, where she set an Olympic record in the women’s 400-meter individual medley and aided Team USA’s world-record-setting performance in the women’s 4x100-meter freestyle. For her historic achievement, she was named the most outstanding female athlete in the world by both the Associated Press and United Press International in 1964.
After setting a combination of 18 world records and fastest times, she retired from competitive swimming at the age of 17 in 1965. That same year, she became one of the first female and the youngest sportscaster to appear on a national network with her debut on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, paving the way for women in sports journalism and broadcast television. She went on to cover 18 Olympic Games, serving as an on-air analyst, commentator, host, writer and producer.
Her impact extended beyond the broadcast booth as she dedicated her time to five terms on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and served as a consultant to the U.S. Senate. There, she was a driving force behind the promotion and protection of critical legislation, including Title IX and the Amateur Sports Act of 1978. These two pieces of legislation – one prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded educational program or activity, and the other restructuring how Olympic sports are governed in the United States – deeply impacted generations of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and women in particular. Her work also notably included assisting in the establishment and funding for both the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
In the mid-1970s, de Varona joined Billie Jean King in establishing the Women’s Sports Foundation and served as the organization’s first president and chair from 1979–1986. She remains a leading advocate of women and athletes worldwide, having served on the International Olympic Committee’s Women and Sport Commission. In 2020, she was appointed to the IOC ‘s Communications Commission. She is the founder and advisor for the Women Athletes Business Network mentoring program and has served as a member of Special Olympics International since its inception.
In 2000, the IOC recognized her with its highest honor, the silver Olympic Order, and she was also named a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition in 2019. A member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame, she was inducted into the Seneca Falls Women’s Hall of Fame and International Swimming Hall of Fame, and in 2003, was named the Theodore Roosevelt Award winner by the NCAA Honors Committee. She has been the recipient of six honorary doctorates. In 2019 she was recognized by the USOPC as the Olympic Torch award recipient for outstanding service to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movements.
Board Member
James Higa was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and began serving as an independent director in June 2021.
Higa currently serves as the executive director of Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to advancing new ideas in philanthropy, a position he has held since 2012. He is also the managing partner of Offline Ventures. He has advised and mentored numerous companies including Airbnb, Siemens and UNIQLO, to help think creatively and address leadership challenges.
Higa previously spent over two decades working along side Steve Jobs at Apple and NeXT, most recently holding the role of senior director in the office of the CEO.
He has volunteered his time and expertise on many boards, including the board of directors for the Recording Academy MusiCares Foundation, and the Haas Center for Public Service.
Higa received his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in political science.
Board Member
Elana Meyers Taylor was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors as an elected representative of the USOPC Athletes’ Advisory Council and will begin serving in January 2023.
Meyers Taylor has competed in four Olympic Winter Games, most recently competing in the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, where she earned the silver medal in the Olympic debut of monobob and a bronze medal in the women’s bobsled event. She is the most decorated Black athlete in Olympic Winter Games history with five medals.
Meyers Taylor was elected as the Opening Ceremony flag bearer for Team USA in Beijing, but was unable to participate due to a positive COVID-19 test upon arrival in China. Her fellow athletes then elected her to carry the flag in the Closing Ceremony.
In addition to incredible on-track Olympic and world cup success in bobsled, Meyers Taylor has been an advocate for gender and racial parity in sport, as well as working for access and support for moms in elite competition. She served as the Women’s Sport Foundation president, as an athlete director on the USA Bobsled & Skeleton board of directors and was appointed to the Georgia Council for Developmental Disabilities.
Meyers Taylor holds a bachelor's and master's degree from George Washington University.
Board Member
Dexter Paine was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and will begin serving as a National Governing Bodies Council representative in January 2021.
Paine is a lifelong athlete, an accomplished businessman and a global sport leader. A business executive with over three decades of private equity experience, Paine is chairman of Paine Schwartz Partners, a leading global private equity firm focused on investing in sustainable food & agribusiness. He co-founded the firm in 1997 and has been at the forefront of his industry, investing in the global food and agricultural industry and serving as a respected speaker on the business sector. During his career, Paine has chaired many private and public companies and is involved in numerous not-for-profit organizations and is the chairman emeritus of Holderness School.
A lifelong sports enthusiast and NCAA ski racer while on the Williams College ski team, he served as chairman of the Olympic governing body U.S. Ski & Snowboard for 13 years. During his tenure, the organization saw its greatest success in history, earning 56 Olympic medals, establishing a strong business model and providing athletes with a platform for Olympic success. For four years prior to his term as chairman of the Olympic governing body he also served as president of the organization’s foundation. Paine also serves on the board of US Biathlon and chairs its governance committee. He also serves as the chairman of the USOPC NGBC Governance Task Force.
He extended his sport leadership to a global platform, serving since 2014 as an elected member of the International Ski Federation Council. In his role with FIS, he serves on the finance committee and also led the first-ever strategic planning effort for FIS and serves as a member of the working groups for gender equality and governance reform.
Paine has also served as member of the executive committee for both the 2015 FIS World Alpine Ski Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek and the 2019 World Freeski, Freestyle and Snowboard Championships in Utah. He was the 2020 recipient of the Julius Blegen Award, the highest honor bestowed for service by U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
Board Member
Daria Schneider was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and will begin serving as an Athletes’ Advisory Council representative in January 2021.
A five-time national team member and two-time world championships medalist (2011, 2012), Schneider was the USA Fencing national champion in 2011. During her athletic career, she was ranked as high as 13th in the world and second in the country. She captained the Team USA team that won a record-breaking six medals, including first-ever team golds in women’s epee and women’s foil, at the 2018 Senior World Championships. She also had a strong NCAA career, earning the sabre championship in 2007 and bronze in 2009 at Columbia University. Schneider is a member of the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame, Class of 2014.
Schneider currently serves as head coach for Harvard University’s men’s and women’s fencing programs. In 2020, the men's team was ranked first in the country going into the NCAA tournament, which was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19. Additionally, in Schneider’s first year at the helm, the team achieved a program-record 20 victories in the 2019-20 season. Prior to beginning her role at Harvard in 2019, Schneider served as head coach at Cornell University for three years. Under her leadership, the team earned 19 victories in the 2016-17 season, the most single-season wins in program history. The youngest head coach in the Ivy League, Schneider has made a positive impact and is a two-time Ivy League Coach of the Year (Cornell, 2018; Harvard, 2020).
Schneider is in her ninth year of service on the USA Fencing board of directors, where she serves as an athlete director, and has served as a USOPC AAC sport representative.
Board Member
Brad Snyder was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and began serving as an Athletes’ Advisory Council representative in January 2019.
A two-time Paralympian and seven-time medalist in Para swimming, Snyder has also served as a member of the Paralympic Advisory Committee since September 2018. A retired U.S. naval officer, he began his professional career as an ensign before earning the assignment of an explosive ordnance disposal officer. While on his second deployment in Afghanistan, he stepped on an improvised explosive device that left him permanently blind.
Snyder returned to swimming during his rehabilitation and, a year to the date after his accident, won a gold medal at the Paralympic Games London 2012. He competed in seven events, earning two gold medals and one silver. Snyder earned four more medals – three golds and one silver – four years later at the Paralympic Games Rio 2016.
Since transitioning to a career in Para swimming, he has also served as a trusted advisor and advocate for diversity and inclusion and enhancing accessibility standards in workplaces. He is actively involved in the Naval Academy’s Women’s Network and serves on the advisory board for the Navy Special Operations Foundation to assist service members and their families.
Snyder received a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture from the United States Naval Academy, where he serves as a part-time instructor in ethics and leadership.
Board Member *Effective 1/1/23
Virginia Sung was appointed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors and begins serving as a National Governing Bodies Council representative in January 2023.
Virginia Sung joined USA Table Tennis as the CEO in May 2019, bringing lifelong experience in table tennis, national and international contacts and friendships, business acumen, and passion for the sport of table tennis to the organization.
Under her leadership, the U.S. hosted its first International Table Tennis Federation World Championships, and won its first world championships medal since 1959, when it welcomed the world to Houston in 2021.
At the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, USA Table Tennis athletes also won their first gold medal since 1996.
Sung combines 15 years of business and marketing experience with a strong table tennis background in the United States. The sport has played a central role in her life and reflects her lifelong passion to help the sport and players.
As an elite table tennis athlete, Sung was a member of the U.S. national team from 1993-2001, and represented Team USA in four world championships.
Away from elite competition, Sung founded and served as CEO of a number of businesses in China.
She holds a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.