Principals

Tommy Clark, MD
Founder and CEO

Tommy Clark is a pediatrician and former professional soccer player. Tommy conceived the idea for Grassroot Soccer after living and playing soccer in Zimbabwe. Tommy was born in Scotland and moved to Zimbabwe at age fourteen where his father Bobby Clark was coach of the Highlanders Football Club. He attended Dartmouth College where he was captain of the soccer team. Following graduation, Tommy returned to Zimbabwe to teach English and play professional soccer. Tommy attended Dartmouth Medical School and completed residency in pediatrics at the University of New Mexico where he was twice named the Resident Teacher of the Year.  Following residency, Tommy was a research fellow at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California at San Francisco. Tommy has been awarded the American Academy of Pediatrics Annie Dyson Child Advocacy Award, the Dartmouth College Martin Luther King Junior award, the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care Nkosi Johnson Award and the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award.

Methembe Ndlovu
Co-Founder and Zimbabwe Director

Methembe Ndlovu was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in the township of Luveve. A gifted student he went on to be the first student from his area to attend Dartmouth College in the United States of America. After Dartmouth he returned to Zimbabwe where he played for both Highlanders FC and the Zimbabwean National Team. Known more commonly as “Mayor”, Methembe is one of the best known and most popular faces in Zimbabwe. His combination of intelligence, charisma and abilities as an educator make him an invaluable asset to the GRS team. In addition to serving as GRS Zimbabwe Executive Director Methembe is also the President and Technical Director of Bantu Rovers Football Club and a Zimbabwe Football Association Board Member for Development.

Ethan Zohn
Co-Founder

Ethan Zohn is a co-founder of Grassroot Soccer and is responsible for oversight of our US project, including corporate sponsor cultivation and technical program management. In 2002, Ethan was the winner of CBS’s television program ‘Survivor Africa’, and he works to harness his celebrity for the benefit of Grassroot Soccer. Ethan is a graduate of Vassar College, and he has played and coached soccer professionally in Zimbabwe, the United States, and as a member of the US National team for the 1997 and 2001 Maccabiah Games In Israel and 2004 Pan-American Maccabiah Games in Chile. In recognition for his work Ethan was awarded the 2004 Nkosi Johnson Community Spirit Award by the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, the Heroes Among Us Award from the Boston Celtics and the Massachusetts State Health Department, and the Auxilia Chimusoro Award from the US State Department in Zimbabwe. In August 2008, Ethan embarked on a record-breaking 550-mile journey on foot, from Boston, MA to Washington, D.C., dribbling a soccer ball the entire route, to raise money and build awareness for GRS.

Kirk Friedrich
Co-Founder and Africa Executive Director

Kirk Friedrich was born in the United States and lived in Argentina before attending and playing soccer at American University in Washington DC. After graduating from the University of New Mexico in 1997, he began a professional soccer career that brought him to several countries, including two seasons in the Zimbabwean Premier League playing for Highlanders FC. In 2002 Kirk became one of the original founding members of GRS and played an important role in launching the first GRS programs in Zimbabwe and South Africa, designing the GRS curriculum and educational model, and developing key partnerships. Kirk is currently responsible for the oversight of Africa programs and informing the general strategy and expansion of the organization.