Colorado Springs, Colo. (September 22, 2023)—USA Ultimate announced today the appointment of five individuals to its BIPOC Advisory Council.
The council, which will serve as a sounding board for ideas on how to best support BIPOC members of the ultimate community, will provide input to USA Ultimate on a variety of issues, including diversity and inclusion, increasing BIPOC participation in ultimate, highlighting and promoting BIPOC athletes, Spirit of the Game and more.
The appointed members of the council include Vivek Doshi, James Kim, Dani Lopez, Sydney Mannion, and Alexia McCaskill.
Doshi has been playing ultimate for more than half his life, and despite many amazing experiences on the field, he brings to the council an understanding that often times people feel unwelcome in the ultimate community, leading to persevering in, or abandoning, a sport they love. As part of the BIPOC Advisory Council, Doshi intends on using his energy and passion for racial equity work to help the community live up to its values. Currently, Doshi serves as the Senior Librarian and Inventory Manager for the Chicago Tool Library, a nonprofit lending institution whose mission is to provide equitable access to tools, equipment, and information to allow all Chicagoans to learn, share, and create.
Kim was born and raised in New York and has been playing ultimate for 20 years in New York City, Atlanta, New Hampshire and abroad. He prides himself of being a prolific community and ultimate organizer with a passion for uniting people. His greatest passions for ultimate include expanding inclusivity and accessibility for all and supporting youth.
Born and raised in Mexico City, Lopez moved to the San Francisco Bay Area after receiving a scholarship to study sports management at the University of San Francisco. Since then, she has worked for several sports organizations, including the Golden State Warriors and Ultimate Mexico. Lopez enjoys working with youth and is a strong believer that sports help create better human beings. She currently works as the events director for the Bay Area Disc Association, plays club ultimate and coaches the Alameda High School Monarchs.
Mannion first learned to play ultimate in the sport’s birthplace of Maplewood, N.J. After competing throughout high school, she competed for Team USA at the 2022 WFDF World U-20 Championships where she won a gold medal. Mannion currently competes for the University of Virginia and is excited to give back to the ultimate community by helping to further USA Ultimate’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
McCaskill has been involved in the sport for more than 25 years as a member of the ultimate community in Washington, D.C. and Boulder, Colo. She has coached mixed and girls’ ultimate teams at Boulder High School for 10 years and is currently in her second year as a coach for Denver Molly Brown. In addition to playing in local leagues, McCaskill has competed in the mixed and women’s divisions at the club level and in the women’s masters and grand masters divisions. She has previously served as USA Ultimate’s girls outreach coordinator.
