Sarah Pickens

Sarah serves as the Vice President of Programs for the U.S. Soccer Foundation, where she is responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of soccer-based youth development programs that address themes such as healthy lifestyles, mentorship, community engagement, and leadership. Sarah joined the Foundation in April 2006 and has been integral to the build out of the Foundation’s programs. Sarah was a previous faculty member of Georgetown University’s Sports Industry Management (SIM) program, where she taught Social Responsibility in Sports, and Ethics in Sports. Prior to joining the Foundation, Sarah worked in the field of teacher education, at both the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Sarah is a certified foster care provider, experienced coach (with experience coaching boys and girls ages 3-21), licensed soccer coach (National Youth License and D License), certified SPARK instructor, and previous PCA trainer.

Sarah earned a Master of Arts in International Education from George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with minors in Sociology and Markets and Management, from Duke University. While at Duke, Sarah started all four years for the women’s varsity soccer team, receiving All-America, All-South, All-ACC, and ACC Honor Roll accolades. Sarah also played professional soccer for Breidablik (Iceland) and Carolina Courage’s pre-season team (North Carolina, USA). Sarah enjoys travel and cultural exchanges, including a U.S.-Nepal exchange focused on developing girl empowerment projects, researching microfinance in Bangladesh, and guest training for Kids Play International’s gender equity and sports curriculum in Cambodia and Burma. Outside of work, you will likely find Sarah hanging out in nature with her wife, daughter, family, friends, and/or two dogs – hiking, kayaking, camping, or simply observing.