MEMBERS OF THE USSF BOARD
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U.S. SOCCER PRESIDENT
CINDY PARLOW CONE
Term 2
Cindy Parlow Cone, a trailblazer in American soccer, lays claim to an illustrious athletic career that includes being part of the legendary 1999 Women's World Cup Championship team, two Olympic Gold medal teams, and being inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Consistently breaking barriers, Cindy made history as the first woman to be elected U.S. Soccer President, bringing with her over two decades of invaluable experience. Her executive track record includes revenue and profit growth, increased stakeholder engagement, large infrastructure build, union negotiations, and thought leadership.
U.S. SOCCER VICE PRESIDENT
NATHÁN GOLDBERG CRENIER
Non-Voting Member
Term 1
Nathán Goldberg Crenier is a lifelong soccer fan and player, an accomplished soccer executive, and a successful nonprofit leader who is passionate about using the power of soccer to make the world a better place. Most recently, he was Assistant General Manager and Chief Soccer Officer at Gotham FC, where within one year he transformed the worst team in the league into NWSL champions, earning a place on Sports Business Journal’s New Voices Under 30 list.
Nathán currently holds a research fellowship appointment at the Harvard Global Sports Initiative, where he develops evidence-based approaches to enhance player wellbeing. A soccer data expert, he also oversees a soccer analytics course at Harvard and was a panelist at the 2023 StatsBomb Conference in London for his innovative, data-driven work in women’s soccer. Additionally, he is a pro bono advisor to the US Youth Soccer board on their Athlete Council strategic initiative.
Before Gotham, Nathán served as Special Assistant to two US Soccer Presidents, Cindy Cone and Carlos Cordeiro. He has worked as a data analyst for an MLS team, managed operations for a Concacaf senior national team, and consulted for investors in professional clubs in Europe.
A proud first-generation American, Nathán speaks Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German. He holds a D level coaching license and earned a joint degree in Philosophy and Statistics at Harvard, where he captained the Division I varsity men’s soccer team.
Nathán was recently recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for his impact as a nonprofit founder and president.
U.S. SOCCER CEO/SECRETARY-GENERAL
JT BATSON
Non-Voting Member
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
JT Batson has been CEO / Secretary General of the U.S. Soccer Federation since September 2022.
A longtime member of the soccer community, Batson fell in love with soccer at a young age. He played club soccer for Augusta Arsenal growing up in Georgia and later helped run the club while serving as a referee and a referee assignor, mowing and lining fields and working in coaching recruitment. He has coached boys and girls at the grassroots level and has been active in supporting his childhood soccer club as a member of the Augusta Arsenal Soccer Club advisory board.
A strong believer in the power of teamwork, the first software Batson ever worked on was for the assigning of youth soccer referees for tournament organizers. His work with soccer camps would help put him through college. He has described his young self as being a kid that didn’t dream of playing in a World Cup, but instead of organizing one. Like for many, the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the USA had a profound impact on Batson and opened his eyes to the potential and global impact of soccer. It was a rallying cry to think big about soccer in the USA and a watershed event for his generation, showing how big investment can impact the future while setting the stage for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to impact many more soccer fans of all ages.
Batson moved to U.S. Soccer from a career as an executive and entrepreneur at the intersection of media, advertising, and technology, focused on solving challenging problems at scale through innovation and collaboration – a mindset he brings to growing the sport.
He is a former member of U.S. Soccer Finance Committee and spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Soccer Development Fund. The Fund raises money to support U.S. Soccer’s development of world-class players, coaches, and referees, all with the goal of continuing to inspire a nation.
Batson is currently on the Undergraduate Cabinet at Stanford, from which he graduated with a BA in Political Science and where he earned the JE Wallace Sterling Award. Batson is a member of the board of the LGBTQ+ entrepreneur focused non-profit StartOut. He also serves on the board of directors for the NYC Ballet and the Doris Duke Foundation. Batson has guest taught at Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design and the Graduate School of Business.
ADULT COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
JIM SADOWSKI
Term 1
Jim started playing soccer in New Jersey with the New Providence Soccer Club travel team, then with Union Catholic and New Providence High Schools. Jim was a walk-on player for the George Washington University varsity team, where he began playing on competitive men’s teams. Jim continued playing when he attended the Columbus School of Law (Catholic University), where he made the law review and graduated with honors (top 15%).
In 1994, Jim founded the Capital Coed Soccer League (CCSL), the first affiliated coed soccer league in Washington, D.C., and the first local coed league to use promotion and relegation. In its heyday, the CCSL had 36 teams in 4 divisions. Jim’s team (the Mall Rats) won two USASA open coed championships (1999, 2003) and one Over 30 championship (2008).
Jim volunteered as referee liaison for the Washington Freedom (2002-03) in what was then the first U.S. professional women’s soccer league (WUSA). Jim attended and worked as a volunteer for the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Jim has also attended the last seven men’s FIFA World Cups and more than 60 USNT matches. Jim is also a former USSF national referee (2009-14) and a current USSF and NCAA referee.
Jim got involved in soccer administration when he was elected Vice President (2001), then President (2002), of the Metropolitan D.C.-Virginia Soccer Association. In September 2024, Jim was elected President of the US Adult Soccer Association.
Jim is a commercial litigation attorney and partner with Greenstein DeLorme & Luchs, PC. Jim lives in McLean, Virginia with his wife, Maria
JOHN MOTTA
AT LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
STEVE EVERETT
Term 1
Steve brings over 40 years of sports experience to the Federation as an athlete, coach and one of the elite minds in adaptive sports. Steve is the President of the United States Power Soccer Association (USPSA) since 2020. Prior to that he served on the USPSA Board as the Western Regional Director from 2013-2020.
Steve is an active member of U.S. Soccer's Disability Service Organizations (DSO) and is the current Chair of the Disability Soccer Committee (DSC). He also served the Federation on the Governance Task Force as well as the MAC committee.
He has been elected as the Chair of the At-Large Council and the U.S. Soccer Federation Board of Directors.
Steve is currently a Coach on the U.S. Power Soccer National Team (USPNT). He is both humbled and honored for the opportunity to be a part of a Federation whose priority is to touch and impact the lives of so many through a sport that has given us so much.
ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVES
CHRIS AHRENS
Term 2
A member of the U.S. Para 7-a-side National Team from 2006-2016, Chris Ahrens was a member of the U.S. team that qualified for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ahrens is an Adapted Physical Education Teacher for the San Diego Unified School District and head coach at Crusaders Soccer Club.
DR. NELSON AKWARI
Term 1
Dr. Nelson Akwari joined the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors and U.S. Soccer Athletes Council in December 2021. He represented U.S. Soccer as a captain of the U-17, U-20, and U-23 national teams, and he played soccer professionally for 10 years (Major League Soccer, United Soccer League). Dr. Akwari played collegiately at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering.
Dr. Akwari works at Boeing as the Senior Director of Fabrication South Carolina. He serves on various Executive Boards focused on STEM-based educational initiatives, health and wellness, and economic community development. Dr. Akwari has experience as a youth soccer coach, mentor, and consultant.
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS
JUAN URO
Term 1
Juan Uro, a Partner at Ernst & Young with deep expertise in corporate strategy, growth strategy, capital allocation, operating model, operational improvement, governance and organizational design was elected as an Independent Director to the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors during the 2020 National Council Meeting. He specializes in advising CEOs, Boards, CFOs and other C-suite executives on strategy, corporate finance, operations issues. He has over 20 years of management consulting experience with companies across many sectors (media, financial services, consumer products and healthcare) and geographies (North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America).
Mark Johnson
Term 1
Financial executive Mark Johnson was appointed as an Independent Director on the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors.
Johnson is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Astra Capital Management, a Washington D.C.-based private equity firm focused on transformational growth investments in the communication and technology services sectors. Prior to Astra, Mr. Johnson was a Managing Director and Global Partner at the Carlyle Group where he served in the US buyout fund from 2004-2014. He was also an investment professional at several leading finance and investment firms including the Blackstone Group, JH Whitney & Co., and Merrill Lynch.
Throughout his career, Johnson has provided effective leadership and prudent governance to businesses and non-profit organizations with high growth, business transformation and the continued pursuit of excellence as their aims. These efforts have included service on the Boards of several public, private, education and government entities, including SAIC Corporation, Syniverse Technologies, the Board of Directors of the Princeton University Endowment, and the Obama-Biden 2008 Presidential transition team.
PRO COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE
JESSICA BERMAN
Term 1
Jessica Berman is the Commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League where she oversees all operations of the league with a focus on supporting players on and off the pitch, working with NWSL clubs to continue to build on the positive momentum of the league’s growing audience, and collaborating with NWSL partners to create the most engaging and entertaining fan experience.
Berman joined the NWSL after two and a half years serving as deputy commissioner and executive vice president of business affairs at the National Lacrosse League. During her time with the NLL, Berman’s responsibilities included overseeing team services, operations, marketing and communications, broadcast and content, community engagement, human resources, and league governance.
Prior to her time with the NLL, Berman spent 13 years with the National Hockey League, first serving as vice president and deputy general counsel for the organization before becoming vice president of community development, culture and growth and executive director of the NHL Foundation.
A graduate of the Fordham University School of Law, Berman also worked as an associate at Proskauer Rose LLP in the labor and employment sector where she represented several employers in collective bargaining negotiations, arbitrations, mediations and litigations, and worked on pro bono cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault and military matters.
Berman completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, graduating with a degree in Sports Management and Communications. A Brooklyn, New York native, Berman resides in Larchmont, New York, with her two sons and two rescue dogs.
YOUTH COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
MIKE CULLINA
Term 1
Mike Cullina joined the US Club Soccer staff on July 1, 2021 and assumed the CEO/Executive Director position on January 1, 2022. Cullina recently concluded a two-year term as the At-Large Representative on U.S. Soccer’s Board of Directors and initially joined US Club Soccer’s Board of Directors in 2015 prior to being appointed as Chairperson in 2018.
Cullina has wide-ranging business and technical experience as a board member, league director, club executive director, club technical director, club director of coaching, A-licensed coach, grassroots coaching education instructor and referee.
Most recently, Cullina served as Executive Director of Prince William Soccer Club (PWSI) and Virginia Development Academy, and President of the Virginia Premier Soccer League.
Rick Buiteweg
Term 1
Rick Buiteweg was elected to the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors in 2024 as a representative from the Youth Council and is the current member of AYSO Board of Directors. He has served in AYSO in several functions including leveraging his technical background to assist in various initiatives. During the 20+ years of involvement with AYSO he has held many roles and leadership positions including being the Section Director for AYSO Section 8 before joining the National Board.
Professionally, Rick is an IT professional designing, developing, and implementing large scale and complex systems. This work has been across a variety of business processes and needs and included both technical and project management leadership roles. He has over 39 years of IT experience with the past 31 years being at Ford. Currently he is working in an architectural role supporting the development and delivery of connectivity services for Ford Vehicles. He received bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Business Administration from Central Michigan University and a Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University.
