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PROJECT TEAM

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Dr. Ashlyn Hardie

Founder & Executive Director

  • Ashlyn is a tenure-track, Assistant Professor in the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management Department at Clemson University with an interdisciplinary educational background, including a:  Bachelor’s of Science in Sport Management, a Master's in Business Administration (M.B.A.) , Ph.D. in Kinesiology from Texas A&M University, and Certificate of Nonprofit Management from The Bush School, with an emphasis area on International Nongovernmental Organizational Development.

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  • While her career in sport began with collegiate athletics playing and coaching, she has spent the last 10 years learning from, and contributing to, the sport for development and peace (SDP) sector. Before pursing her PhD, she consulted with roughly 40 grassroots organizations/leaders across 13 countries. These experiences were transformative in developing her depth of understanding of the SDP sector, specifically the barriers nonprofit leaders face in their pursuit of positive social change through sport and the organizational sustainability required to serve their beneficiaries.

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  • Inspired by a network of global nonprofit leaders, Ashlyn was compelled to earn her PhD in order to pursue pathways for creating more successful, sustainable, and optimal SDP collaborations. Informed by her field experience and dissertation research, New Way Sport Fund (NWSF) was founded in her attempt to create an “ideal” funding mechanism for start-up SDP organizations. NWSF is designed to be accessible, equitable, collaborative, educational, and tailored to specific organizational needs.

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  • To date, Ashlyn has collaborated with SDP organizations in over 30 countries around the world, garnered over $150,000 for practically-integrated research and service in SDP, presented her research at 30+ domestic/international conferences, has published peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and technical reports of her research, and serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Sport for Development. Ashlyn was also named a Robert H. Brooks Sport Science Institute Faculty Research Fellow in 2023, was awarded the RHBSSI GRIT Award for Community Service and Outreach in 2024, and now serves as the Sport and Recreation Management Emphasis Lead at her institution. 
     

PRACTITIONER ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC)

Juliana Román Lozano

Sport for Development Leader

  • She is a Colombian immigrant, feminist activist. Football player since 1993. She played in Sweden, in Colombia – where she was a member of the Bogotá National Team – and in Argentina. She is a documentary filmmaker, a National Football Head Coach and an advanced student of Anthropological Sciences.

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  • She has been a co-founder member and secretary of the Management Committee in Asociación Civil La Nuestra Fútbol Feminista since 2010, where she is also in charge of training the teens and senior categories and also in charge of producing social media content and coordinating projects. She is co-author of the books Ley de Ventaja, Pelota de Papel 3, Feminismo para Jovenas, Female Coaching Zone and Abrir el Juego.

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  • Currently, she is a member within the Advisory Committee on Gender and Diversities of the Undersecretary of Sports of the Province of Buenos Aires and works at the National Directorate of Cultural Policies for Equality of the Ministry of Women, Gender Policies and Sexual Diversity of the Province of Buenos Aires.

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Pappu Lal Modak

Sport for Development Leader

  • Pappu is a passionate and dedicated sport‑for‑development professional from Bangladesh, leveraging sports as a catalyst for social change. He is the Co‑Founder and Head of Sport for Development at Sports for Hope and Independence (SHI), a role he has held since 2017—leading innovative programs focused on child and youth development, girls’ empowerment, and life skills for persons with disabilities.

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  • Beyond SHI, Pappu serves as the Vice‑President for South Asia at World Wheelchair Rugby. He is also actively involved with the National Paralympic Committee of Bangladesh, advocating for greater inclusivity in sports.

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  • As a recognized young leader, Pappu was selected for the Let’s Talk Leadership Coaching program in 2024 and has participated in several high-level training such as UNOSDP Youth Leadership Program, NIFISA Sport Management , NSSU Para Sports , Leadership on Sport for development, U.S Sports Diplomacy program, and more. 

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  • He describes himself succinctly: “I believe sports can change the world.” Through his work at SHI and global networks, he strives to empower youth and people with disabilities across Bangladesh and beyond.

Nora Dooley

Sport for Development Leader

  • Nora has worked in the sport-for-development sector since graduating from Columbia University in 2012 after 4 years on the soccer pitch. She began her career with Grassroot Soccer in South Africa before spending the next decade at Coaches Across Continents supporting community-based organizations through coach education, curriculum innovation, and organizational development.
    She later joined Soccer Without Borders as Director of SWB Assist, leading global capacity-building partnerships with professional clubs and local organizations.

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  • In June 2025, Nora began working with the U.S. Soccer Federation and the Soccer Forward Foundation, contributing to national efforts to expand access to equity-centered soccer programming in the lead-up to the 2026 Men’s World Cup and beyond.

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  • Passionate about shifting inequitable systems in and through sport, she brings deep experience using play to foster safer, healthier, and more inclusive communities, speaks Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish, and remains an active player and supporter of the game.

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RESEARCH AFFILIATES

Dr. Per Svensson

Sport for Development Researcher

  • Dr. Per G. Svensson is an associate professor in sport management within the School of Kinesiology at Louisiana State University. His research is primarily focused on organizations operating sport-based programs aimed at addressing social issues. Specifically, his work examines organizational capacity and innovation in Sport for Development and Peace.

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  • Dr. Svensson’s research has been published in numerous academic journals including Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit Management and Leadership, VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, International Journal of Sport Communication, Sport in Society, Sport, Education, and Society among many others.

Dr. Katherine Raw

Sport for Development Researcher

  • Dr Katherine Raw is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Management within Deakin Business School. From 2025 to 2028, she is primarily working as a Senior Research Fellow within the Play Well Research Unit, co-funded through a partnership with the Australian Sports Commission. Katherine’s research lies at the intersection of the development of sport and sport for development, drawing from both domains to drive innovation and leverage sport as a transformative tool for broader societal change.

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  • Her work explores how sport can deliver meaningful social impact through the management, design, and evaluation of initiatives that foster inclusion, diversity, and social cohesion. She also examines how sport organizations can balance performance and social objectives while meeting growing expectations for professionalization in governance, operations, and management.

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  • Katherine has extensive experience leading and collaborating on projects with national and international partners; including the Australian Sports Commission, Tennis Australia, the National Rugby League, Netball Australia, North Melbourne Football Club, and the Commonwealth Secretariat; with fieldwork spanning Australia, the Pacific, and Southeast Asia. Her contributions have been recognised through multiple awards, including the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand’s Best Paper and Industry Engagement awards.

Dr. Olga Khokhryakova

Sport for Development Researcher

  • Olga has a PhD in Sport Management from Louisiana State University. She is dedicated to developing more effective and purposeful ways for supporting social entrepreneurs who utilize sport for community development.

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  • Building on her own experiences as a founder of an SDP organization, she studies the startup process and the early stages of organizational development through an entrepreneurship-as-practice lens. Her work is also informed by 10+ years of professional experience in journalism, public relations, and project management. Olga also brings an extensive international perspective as a Fulbright Alumna and a participant of several other prestigious programs, including the Clinton Foundation Global Initiative University (USA), the Eurasia Foundation – Social Expertise Exchange (USA), the International Center for Journalists (USA), and Kölner Journalistenschule (Germany). Currently, she is teaching and working on her dissertation at Louisiana State University in the United States.

Dr. Marlene A. Dixon

CSMRE Representative & Researcher

  • Marlene is the Department Head of Kinesiology and Sport Management at Texas A&M University, home to the Center of Sport Management Research and Education (Funder of NWSF), and the Thomas and Joan Read Endowed Chair for Disadvantaged Youth.

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  • Marlene’s research has focused largely on work-life balance, women in sport, and hybrid sport for development partnerships. She works directly with Highway for Hope in Kenya, with published work on collaborations in SDP. Marlene won the Earle F. Zeigler Lecture Award in 2020, a prestigious career achievement award for those who have made notable contributions to the sport management field through their teaching, research, service, and leadership. 

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