The Grassroot Soccer Partnerships Staff has members based in Cape Town and throughout Africa who oversee curriculum development, research, and partnerships.
Alice Bauman
Global Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator
Alice Bauman, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is working as the Global Monitoring and Evaluation Fellow in Cape Town, South Africa. Her primary work is to support the Monitoring and Evaluation teams of the Global Sites (Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, India, Central African Republic, etc.) and to innovate new ways to link lessons learned from evaluations to the curriculum and programme management of those sites. Last year Alice interned for the Grassroot Soccer programme in Lusaka, Zambia where her primary work was supporting the dissemination of the Grassroot Soccer curriculum to urban and rural refugees within Lusaka, Zambia, and the surrounding settlements of Maheba and Mayukwayukwa. After graduating from the College of Wooster in 2009, where she majored in Spanish, Alice returned home to work as a medical technician for a Neuro-opthamologist. She had been exploring possible options in public health and teaching for the upcoming year and once she looked into GRS knew that it was a program she could get behind. Alice’s interests and activities outside of work and school have been varied. She has been a camp counselor, a soccer player, a soccer coach and even found some time to get her phlebotomy license. This outdoorsy chica, who loves eating at wonderful restaurants and carries with her a water bottle plastered with NOLS stickers from all of her trips, has no set plans for post-GRS, but is learning to love the uncertainty of it all.
Elise Braunschweig
Project Manager
Blending her passions for international public health and education, Elise joined Grassroot Soccer in 2006, serving as Outreach Coordinator for the Lose the Shoes fundraising and awareness campaign and volunteering in the Dominican Republic with GRS’ partner program, Fútbol Para la Vida. In 2008, Elise moved to Lusaka, Zambia, where she served as a GRS Programs Fellow. Working alongside local staff and peer educators, she gained an in depth understanding of the curriculum, program delivery and management. She brought this perspective and experience to GRS Headquarters in Cape Town in January 2009, where her responsibilities ranged from reporting and grant writing to grant management and communications. In late 2010, Elise returned to the programs team, to manage the development, implementation and evaluation of GRS’ new gender-focused initiatives in South Africa, Generation Skillz and Skillz Street. Elise graduated from Dartmouth College in June 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography–focused on International Development–and a minor in Global Health Policy.
Lizzy Karoly
Malawi Program Manager
Lizzy Karoly, a San Diego native, began working with GRS as an operations intern in 2010 at the Port Elizabeth site. She loved her time in PE and had an opportunity to get involved with many different aspects of the programme. After her year in South Africa Lizzy took the valuable skills she learned from her previous work with GRS into her new role as Program Manager of GRS Malawi.
Jeff Decelles
Director of Curriculum and Innovation
Jeff DeCelles has worked with GRS since May 2003 and has helped launch GRS programs in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Africa, Liberia, Sudan, Namibia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, and India. In 2008, Jeff earned a Masters in Education (Ed.M) from Harvard Graduate School of Education as a Catherine Reynolds Fellow for social entrepreneurship and is a former Education Specialist for Harvard University’s Centre for the Support of Peer Education (CSPE). Jeff is in charge of developing GRS’ innovative HIV curriculum, based on the latest public health research. Jeff also consults with other organizations to design sport-based curriculum for topics such as malaria, psychosocial health, diabetes and obesity, peace building, and financial literacy. Jeff is the Co-Founder of Batey Libertad Coalition, which uses soccer as a peace-building medium for Haitians and Dominicans living in the Dominican Republic and launched Ragball International, a soccer-based youth entrepreneurship programme in South Africa.
Leah Dozier
Managing Director, Africa
Leah began her career with GRS in 2005 as an Intern in Zambia, where she was instrumental in launching GRS operations and programs across Zambia. Directly after volunteering for 9 months, Leah stepped into the role of Country Director for GRS Zambia. During her tenure as Country Director, she was responsible for day-to-day oversight and management of all Zambia programs and staff. This included 150 Zambian volunteers, 6 staff and 4 Interns. Under her leadership, the program graduated more than 20,000 participants and established the GRS program as a stable and powerful fixture in the HIV prevention community in Zambia. In August of 2007, after a successful year as Country Director for GRS in Zambia, Leah took on the role of Director of Programs for the entire organization overseeing programs across the continent, including South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya.
In April 2009 Leah transitioned to Managing GRS’s Global Programs, where she is responsible for partnership development, designing and managing programs, and writing proposals and budgets to access funding and support for GRS across Africa. Leah brings to her current position of GRS Managing Director a well honed and distinct on the ground understanding of the issues of proposal and budget writing, project and account management and program capacity building. She has both in depth knowledge and first-hand experience with the GRS curriculum, as well as understanding of the intricacies and organizational skills needed to launch, grow and sustain a GRS program. Ms Dozier holds a Bachelor of Science in Policy, Analysis and Management from Cornell University.
Peter “Hooter” Glidden
Curriculum & Training Development Coordinator
Peter “Hooter” Glidden returned to Grassroot Soccer after his Programs Internship in Kimberley, Bloemfontein and Bulawayo in 2010. He now works with the Global Curriculum & Training team and is really excited about being back on board in this new role.
Kristin Kennedy
Global Operations Manager
Kristin became involved with Grassroot Soccer as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Zambia, implementing the first collaborative program between GRS and Peace Corps in 2007. In 2011, Kristin joined GRS full-time in Cape Town, South Africa, where she supports and streamlines financial and operational procedures for GRS programs worldwide. She is also working to build a larger partnership between the Peace Corps and Grassroot Soccer. Prior to joining GRS, Kristin was a Senior Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, DC, and was an independent consultant for non-profits and foundations in the USA, Italy, and Zambia. She holds a Master of Public Administration and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and is motivated to help non- profits improve their business practices so they can better achieve their missions. Kristin is certified in Public Participation and believes that communities should be supported in shaping their own destinies.
Jamison Merrill
Curriculum & Training Development Coordinator
Jamison ”Big Jamison” Merrill hails from the great Pacific Northwest — Portland, Oregon to be exact. Jamison remained in Oregon for college, attending the University of Oregon. It was at the UO where he honed his skills as a writer, majoring in Journalism. In 2010, Jamison began working for Grassroot Soccer as a Programs Intern at the Football for Hope Center in Khayelitsha, a township outside of Cape Town. Grassroot Soccer and Khayelitsha quickly became Jamison’s first post-college love affair. He is ecstatic to continue with Grassroot Soccer developing curricula and running trainings and feels so fortunate to stay close to the wonderful people and programs in Khayelitsha.
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