Lisa Finegan: Academic and Athletic Leadership I Director

Finegan was recently named on the USA High-Performance Women’s Squad for the 2024 World Cup in England and is a certified World Rugby Educator who received the World Rugby Sevens Series Coaching Award in 2020. She was also nominated as a WISE LA Woman to Watch and was granted ‘Athletes in Excellence Award’ by the Foundation for Global Sports Development in 2021.

Finegan grew up in Ireland and graduated from St Mary's University, London, completing a Bachelor of Sport & Exercise Science and went on to pursue a Postgraduate Degree in Teaching and Masters in Education at Brunel University, London. As a Director with Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF), she is passionate about unlocking potential, transforming lives through quality education and is committed to driving excellence in education, using a blended learning approach and a college-ready model, focusing on ICEF's 3 A's; Academics, Arts and Athletics. Key areas of educational interest include the development of social emotional learning, project-based learning and inquiry-based teaching.

In her role as a women’s rugby coach for ICEF Rugby, she supports their mission of developing character and building leaders through the sport. She has led teams internationally on cultural educational rugby trips to Africa, Fiji, Hong Kong, The Philippines and Brazil. She features on the rugby documentary ‘An American Rugby Odyssey’ which aired on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Fox Sports 2.

Finally, Finegan represents on the Advisory Board for Courage First Athletes Helpline; a helpline for athletes and communities involved in youth sports. The initiative builds on the expertise of the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline and the commitment of the Foundation for Global Sports Development to empower athletes of all ages through fair play and safe participation in athletics.