Dr. Ashleigh Huffman, VP of Global Engagement Institute for Sport & Social Justice
Dr. Ashleigh Huffman is the newly appointed Vice President of Global Engagement at the Institute for Sport and Social Justice and the former Chief of Sports Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State based in Washington, DC. In both roles, Ashleigh works with governments, sports leagues, nonprofits, educational institutions, and businesses to tackle global issues in sport and advance foreign policy priorities such as gender equity, diversity and inclusion, disability rights, climate change, mental health, and racial justice. As the Chief of Sports Diplomacy, Ashleigh served as a leading advisor on international sport policy and oversaw international exchange opportunities, including world championships, the Olympics and Paralympics, and the World Cup. Before joining the State Department, Ashleigh was a professor at the University of Tennessee and co-founder of the Center for Sport, Peace, and Society. In that role, Ashleigh worked closely with the State Department and espnW to launch the Global Sports Mentoring Program, which was awarded in 2018 with the ESPN Stuart Scott Humanitarian Award and the Peace and Sport “Diplomatic Action of the Year” Award. Ashleigh has worked with professional, university, and amateur athletes and coaches from more than 120 countries, including the United States, on leadership development, cultural understanding, and social change. She frequently leads workshops and keynotes on women’s empowerment, sports diplomacy, public-private partnerships, and social change. Ashleigh earned her PhD at the University of Tennessee in Sociocultural Studies and was a two-time captain of her basketball team at Eastern Kentucky University.