A-G | Cal Soccer Alumni

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Dania cabello

2002-2005

BA in Development Studies with emphasis in political and social development of Latin America, 2003-2006

Masters in Education focusing on Sport as a Liberatory Practice

Professional soccer player at Santos in Brasil and Bay Area Breeze

Futbolistas 4 Life program winning 100k Grant
Mentored Street Children in Brazil

Literacy Intervention Teacher for ELL Students

Freestyle Soccer Player and Instructor

Freelance Writer and Artist – Exploring play as joy and resistance

Curriculum Consultant – Sport as a platform for violence prevention

Adjunct Faculty for Physical Education at St. Mary’s College

Entrepreneur - Ojo De La Sol, Medicinal herbal product line

Written By: Kim Yokers '04

Dania Cabello.

Futbolista. Professional Athlete. Freestyler. Intellectual. Activist. Educator. Writer. Artist. Healer. Entrepreneur. Change maker. Connector.

Critical Thinker. Truth Seeker. Eloquent Speaker.

And not to mention, Loyal Friend and Selfless Nurse when I tore my ACL.

To describe Dania Cabello is to cross so many categories, and touch on so many powerful qualities, as to end up in a place where it seems impossible to be describing only one person. An extraordinary soccer player with magic flare and ball handling skills unmatched, Dania has had a passion for soccer from a young age. Her accolades in the game are many, from academic all-star and team captain at Cal, to playing soccer professionally in Brazil and in the states — but what is most remarkable about Dania is how she has melded her love of futbol with her convictions outside the game to create a platform for social justice. Coming from a family of Chilean political refugees, Dania has a past that informs her passions and commitment to her work. In her process of learning to heal and understand her complicated history, she has developed the skills and tools to help liberate and heal others, with a commitment to her local Oakland-based community. She has done what is so challenging for many of us to do — seek truth and effect change outside existing boundaries and categories; creating a path for oneself and others that was obscured or didn’t exist before. Inspired by the work of civil rights activist Harry Edwards, and preceding that of Kaepernick, Dania has been working in the realm of social justice and sports for over a decade, weaving her work through many disciplines.

Dania’s creation of the program Futbolistas 4 Life perfectly exemplifies her ability to initiate, inspire, and ultimately effect change through the power of sport. Dania started Futbolistas as a free after school program at Oakland Life Academy to support immigrant students through connection and play— what emerged was a sacred space for these students to not only cope with the stresses of immigration policy, poverty and violence in their communities, but ultimately to achieve positive changes they wanted to see in their lives. With Dania’s guidance, the group of students won a large 100K grant from US Soccer to build a field for their school and community, a place for them to gather and play — no small feat in the underserved community. A documentary, “Futbolistas 4 Life”, was created to highlight this impactful story and continues to be screened to increase awareness of the ubiquitous stresses on immigrant youth and their families. Dania’s commitment to teach the liberating power of play has forever affected these individuals, and continues to impact many as her work evolves.

Another great example of Dania’s creativity and ability to cross boundaries with her holistic work, is an exhibition she created alongside Harry Edwards for SF SOMAArts — Game Recognize Game. Here she enters the artist’s space to perform an interactive piece which reflected on the current sport landscape with athletes like Kaepernick using their platform to effect social change, and involved interactive art for participants to explore the power of play and how it can transform public spaces and break down barriers that keep people separated.

Aside from what Dania has accomplished in her extraordinary list to the left, what is most remarkable is how she continues to forge her own unique path, combining areas of expertise based on her truths and passions. There isn’t a stark separation between work and real life for Dania like there are for many of us. She brings her whole self into everything she does - whether it’s being a badass freestyler who brings the joy of play into oppressive public spaces, to her healing practice as an entrepreneurial medicine maker, her work as an educator in the public school and university environment, or her speaking and writing engagements across numerous topics from gender equity to violence prevention. They all reflect her commitment to social justice. As an extremely powerful communicator, she can craft her words and thoughts in such a unique and artistic way that cuts to the heart of the matter, truth unmasked, leaving the listener who has dared to open their heart to her words, changed.

Dania

Courtney (Carroll) LEvINSOHN

Written By: Tracy Hamm '06

When I think of what being inducted into the Lair of Legends means – the first words that come to mind are greatness, passionate and altruistic – Courtney Carroll is all of those things. She leaves things better than she found it. Courtney is charismatic. She has this unique energy about her that is magnetic. To use one of Courtney’s favorite words, she is BEYOND.

As an athlete at Cal, Courtney was the glue and the heart of the team. As a freshman, she was named the Rookie of the Year, having started every game that season. She was a 1st team All-Pac 10 selection in 1997, earning her a spot on the National Umbro Senior All-Star team.

What I think is my favorite part about Courtney’s story at Cal, is that she was a FOUR-time Golden Bear award recipient. That speaks volumes about how much she impacted her teammates, even as a freshman. She is a competitor, a leader, and she truly bleeds blue and gold.

A captain and Most Valuable Player, Courtney created Growth Through Sport to help athletes of all ages develop the competitive and emotional skills to both excel in sports and have fun doing so. Based in New York City, her organization partners with local clubs to support sport as a vehicle for positive social change. Within the soccer community, GTS focuses on increasing access to the game by helping coaches, educating parents, and empowering players.

Despite all of her personal success, is committed to helping others. Legends leave their mark. They make an impact. Courtney is stalwart. Deeply devoted to the game of soccer, Courtney has used her passion and influence to make a difference in athletes lives. As executive producer of the 2019 documentary ‘Coach,’ Courtney is dedicated to changing the narrative around women in coaching, enhancing access and visibility and making all things seem possible – she knows the value of women seeing each other creating pathways and building new foundations for success. She is committed to instilling change and focusing on the holistic development of young athletes to love the beautiful game of soccer. ‘Coach,’ was featured in over 10 film festivals worldwide, sparking an international awareness of the adversity women face in pursuing their goals and networking within the soccer industry.

Producing the film, ‘Coach’ was just the beginning. Using the nuanced gender disparity highlighted in the film as a call to action, Courtney founded Women in Soccer (WIS). WIS is a growing community of women and allies united by the inclusive spirit of soccer. Together, WIS hopes to connect, inspire, and empower women on and off the field to combat feelings of isolation and under-representation in male-dominated spaces. Much like Courtney and the Golden Bears, the values of WIS consist of inclusion, passion, action and grit.

You have never really lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you – Courtney impacted my life in a way that a million “thank yous” wouldn’t suffice. Courtney is a Legend because she didn’t wait for a seat at the table – she just built her own.

2002-2005

Advanced Certification, 2008 at Ackerman Institute for the Family

MA in Sports Psychology, 2003 at John F. Kennedy - Orinda, CA

B.A. Sociology, 1998 at the University of California, Berkeley

Head Coach, New York Athletic Club 2009-2012

Founder & Sports Psychologist at Growth Through Sport, 2004

Executive Producer of Coach the movie, released 2019

Founder of Women In Soccer, 2020

Member of the U.S. Soccer National Member’s Circle, 2019

Ambassador for Goal Five, 2019

Host and Workshop Leader at Beyond Sport, 2019 & 2020

Cal Soccer Team Captain, 1996, 1997

Cal Soccer MVP, 1995, 1996, 1997

Courtney

Janet Coffey

Janet

1982

Women for Women International Director of Country Support - Nairobi, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda, DR Congo, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Practical Action Regional Director - East Africa, Kenya

Save the Children UK – Kenya, Occupied Palestinian Territories

UK Government, Department for International Development Consultant – Burundi

International Rescue Committee Country Director – Burundi

International Rescue Committee Country Director – Uganda

Catholic Relief Services Education Program Manager – Haiti

Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance - Africa Region – Angola

USAID Mission Program Officer – Somalia

United Nations Children’s Fund Consultant – Sudan

US AID/OFDA Information Specialist – WA, D.C.

Voluntary Workcamps Association Rural

Development Volunteer – Ghana

US Peace Corps – Honduras

Languages: French, Spanish, basic Kiswahili and Arabic

MA in International Development

Administration, School for International Training in Vermont, 1990

BA in Developmental Studies with Honors, 1984

All-Conference, 1982

Written By: Jodi Fechner ‘84

Janet and I were good friends in high school. We played soccer and softball together for four years, in addition to hanging out socially. She came from a very kind, smart and caring family. We both ended up attending UC Berkeley and playing soccer.

Janet Coffey played midfield for the Cal Bears in the early 1980’s and earned her college tuition by serving as one of very few female referees of club soccer and men’s leagues in the Bay Area. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 1984 with a Bachelor’s Degree, with honors, in Development Studies. She made the All Conference team in 1982, and helped to run tryouts that year (as I remember it).

Following graduation, Janet joined the Peace Corps in Honduras, which launched an almost 30-year career overseas managing emergency humanitarian response programs in the world’s hot spots. She returned to the USA for a short spell to earn a Master’s Degree in International Development Administration in 1990 from the School for International Training in Vermont.

Janet has lived and worked in Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Angola, Madagascar, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, DR Congo, Haiti, Kosovo, Palestinian Territories of West Bank & Gaza, Afghanistan and Iraq. Highlights include managing large scale famine relief programs in Somalia and Sudan and humanitarian response in the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda. She speaks fluent French and Spanish and can get by in conversational Kiswahili and Arabic.

Janet’s home base is Nairobi, Kenya. She currently works as the Director of Global Operations for Women for Women International, deploying to country offices to coach and mentor local management teams to deliver training programs in women’s economic and social empowerment.

Janet’s active soccer career ended in her early 40’s, as the only female in a men’s only league in Burundi; the highlight being her scoring the winning goal in an international competition in Rwanda, to the great chagrin of the opposing patriarchs!

Looking forward to retirement in a few years, Janet hopes to pursue her dream of creating a women’s soccer league across East Africa. The fledgling women’s soccer movement in Africa needs a huge amount of assistance: money, supplies & equipment, organization, marketing, training for coaches and referees, etc. Janet appeals to all Cal Bears Alumni who are interested in making this dream a reality to volunteer their services and/or financial assistance; if interested please contact Janet at: coffeyjan@hotmail.com

In her down time she enjoys competing in national mountain bike events, a dedicated regime of Yoga, hiking and camping, beach holidays with good friends, and chocolate.

“She was always saving the world, even in college.” Jeanne Buick ‘84

“I feel a world away from my youthful passion of soccer - but somehow like to think it formed my core and continues to be a foundational factor in everything I have done in my life and continue to do. I still value (and work hard at!) staying fit and healthy, in body, mind and soul.”

- Janet Coffey 2021

joy (Biefeld) fawcett

Joy

Written By: Lesle Gallimore '86

Joy (Biefeld) Fawcett, California Hall of Fame and Lair of Legends inductee. There was a time when I could recite from memory all of Joy’s accolades and there are many. That day has passed. I think that day has passed not because with a concerted effort, eyes closed and some really deep thought I couldn’t recall them all, it’s more because of who Joy has become in my life and how much more she is to me, her family, and her friends than a world famous, uber-accomplished soccer great. She is simply a wonderful person who is there for those who need her. She is Momma Joy.

My biggest claim to fame is that I was the “constant” coach at Cal during Joy’s tenure. As an assistant coach through three head coaches in Joy’s four years as a Golden Bear, I was able to keep an eye on Joy. Keeping an eye on Joy meant making sure that she and Jill Scarcia got where they needed to go when they needed to be some place. It meant making sure that Joy ate enough and wasn’t giving the bulk of her bounty to her dog. It meant making sure that she got the training in she needed to when she got invited to National Team camps and really didn’t let anyone know. It meant road-tripping her home to Huntington Beach and back during school breaks. It meant making sure that this Walter character she was hanging out with was on the up-and-up and good enough for our Joy. He has turned out to be quite good enough. I was also fortunate to be Joy’s teammate on the California Tremors, Ajax of Southern California, and the U.S. Olympic Sports Festival teams. I have been so privileged to be a part of Joy’s soccer journey.

Joy’s career at Cal had her speeding up and down the wing tallying assists and goals regularly throughout her career. Her defending was underrated but served her well as her long career on the U.S. Women’s National Team saw her play as a wide-midfielder, an outside back and at the end of her career as a central defender. Her tenure and her accomplishments at Cal, on the U.S. Women’s National Team and in the professional ranks are as impressive as she is humble.

At California from 1987 to 1989 Joy was a three-time, first team All-American. She holds the school record for single-season scoring with 23 goals in 1987. Fawcett graduated from Cal in 1992 with a BA degree in Physical Education. Cal inducted her into the school's Hall of Fame in October 1997.

In 1991, Fawcett helped the U.S. national team win the first women’s World Cup in China. She was the only women’s national team member to play all minutes of the 1995, 1999, and 2003 Women’s World Cups, as well as the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. She retired from the WNT in 2004 as the highest scoring defender for the U.S. WNT. Joy was inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2009.

The thing about Joy that made her a pioneer, a trailblazer, and a woman who opened a door for so many women since to walk through is that she became a mom and continued to play and achieve at the highest levels in sport. I was fortunate to coach Joy’s eldest daughter Katelyn Rose at the University of Washington. Joy not only had one child and returned to the National Team, she had three! We also know roughly how old Katey, Carli and Madi are based on World Cups and Olympics. They are each 4 years apart. Joy made it look easy when there is no way it could have been. She single-handedly made other women see that they too could be a high-level athlete, a mother, and a wife. She is quite simply remarkable.

Joy, like many during her era, coached to support their playing habit. She worked camps, coached at Long Beach City College and eventually became the first Head Coach of the women’s team at UCLA where she stayed at the helm for five years. She has teamed up with her 1991 World Cup teammate Amy Allmann Griffin and serves as Amy’s assistant coach to the U.S. Deaf Women’s National Team. Both Amy and Joy do this on a voluntary basis. The US Deaf Women’s National Team has never lost an international match or tournament. Joy is passionate about her work with Pure Game: a sports character education program empowering youth to reach their full potential. When I think of Joy and soccer, it’s exactly how I picture it: pure joy.

1986-1989

Edison High School Hall of Fame

Cal Women’s Soccer 85-89
- California Hall of Fame 1997
- Player of the Year 1987 & 1988
- Cal Record for Goals in a Season (23 in 1987)

Club and Professional Soccer
- California Tremors
- Ajax of Southern California
- San Diego Spirit in WUSA

U.S. Women’s National Team 1987-2004

241 “caps’ or international appearances

4 x World Cup Player and 3 x Olympic Games

World Cup Champion in 1991 and 1995

Olympic Champion 1996 and 2004

Only player to play all minutes in ‘94, ‘99, ’03 World Cups

Highest scoring defender in U.S. History

National Soccer Hall of Fame Inductee 2009

Head Coach at UCLA from 1993-97
- 65-24-7 Record
- Pac-10 Champion in 1997

Youth Soccer Club Coach and Owner, Saddleback Soccer Club

Pure Game: Field Champion
- Youth empowerment through sport

Assistant Coach U.S.A. Deaf Women’s National Team (2015-Present)

Part-Owner, Angel City FC, NWSL

Married to Cal classmate Walter Fawcett, they have 3 daughters: Katelyn, Carli, and Madi.

LESLE GALLIMORE

1982-1986

Girl’s Academy Commissioner

University of Washington Head Coach

USSF Coach & Educator

USWNT Assistant Coach

US Youth National Team Assistant Coach

United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) President, Board Member & Staff Instructor

CONCACAF Coach Educator

SDSU Coach

Cal Coach

USSF A License

Seattle Reign Color Commentator & Consultant

US State Department Sport Envoy & Coaching Educator

Sounders Women FC Technical Director & Advisor

ODP Region IV Coach

US Olympic Sports Festival Player & Coach

Cal Women’s Soccer
- 4x All-American
- Athlete of the Decade
- Hall of Fame
- Lair of Legends
- Pac-12 All Century Team

Written By: Trudi Sharpsteen ‘86

Cal is so very fortunate to have had Lesle Gallimore in its women’s soccer program on so many levels. All-American center back, coach, and now active alumni and all-round supporter. It’s only deserving that she is an original “Legend” as she was key to putting the program – and women’s soccer – on the map. Before scholarships. Before funding. Before bright lights. When literally all we had to play for was the love of the sport, our teammates and the camaraderie that went along with it. Lesle defined not only what a four time All-American player looked like, but what it meant to be a team player and to have true passion for the sport. She would share this with future generations of talented players and teammates – changing programs and lives in meaningful ways.

Lesle’s accolades and contributions are enormous including multi-year All-American honors, Cal Hall of Fame, Cal Female Athlete of the Decade, Cal Lair of the Legends, Pac-12 All Century Team and of course many times a Team Captain – leading her team to a Final Four appearance against the then totally dominant UNC and putting Cal on the map as an eminent soccer program. The landscape of collegiate women’s soccer was changed forever with Cal being significant competition – a prelude of many great programs and competitions to come. She then paid it forward by coaching at Cal, San Diego State University and then became the winningest coach at the University of Washington. Lesle also contributed to the development of our youth and the sport by being on the ODP Regional Coaching staff, National Team and Youth National Team staff and the Empowering Women and Girls through Soccer Sports Initiative. After retiring from coaching at the University of Washington, Lesle became the Commissioner of the Girl’s Academy, an elite girls’ only national playing platform. She is also a Coach Educator for U.S. Soccer and CONCACAF, and a former President of United Soccer Coaches - the largest sports association for coaches in the world.

On all fronts Lesle has taught young women and girls how to flourish as themselves and as soccer players. She would tell incoming Baby Bears to “invest in your own development, be self-aware and a student of the game. Most importantly, be YOU, there's no substitution for authenticity. Lastly, use the awesome network that is Cal Women's Soccer Alumni to your advantage.” Kind of fun that we have had the benefits of Lesle’s talents and passions because her mom, June (rock star and bonus mom to so many of us), wouldn’t let her be a Girl Scout and “soccer was less expensive” (back then – haha – not now). Talk about fate. June encouraged Lesle to be herself, showed her what hard work looked like and that you earn what comes your way by committing to not just WHAT you're doing but the people you are doing it with and for. For Les, that is her coaches, her teammates, her colleagues. She is grateful to have had so many great influencers in her life – she’s been committed to paying that forward, focused on giving back what the sport has given her.

Lesle has dedicated herself to being a quality and impactful coach, mentor, educator and builder of the game. Her beacon has always been giving back to the game that's given her so much. Lesle’s character is also embodied in the fact that she adopted her nephew Zach when he was 8 years old - a now retired Marine living in Seattle - where she also gets to spend time with her darling granddaughter, Leila – yet another young girl who will get to benefit from Lesle’s love, kindness and the example she sets. Lesle managed to have an awful lot of memorable and fun times along the way – and did we tell you that she is crazy funny? The Brits can hardly follow her dry wit… Most importantly, she has incredible support and an ecosystem of life-long friends that she cultivated at Cal. She has a cadre of steadfast friends who have made so many memories together. Lesle’s legacy is one of excellence in playing and coaching, touching people’s lives, developing young women, leadership, supporting family and… friendship.

Lesle