top of page
scheme 5.png
  • White Facebook Icon
  • White Instagram Icon
  • White LinkedIn Icon
Soccer

WHO WE ARE

Founded to address the inequitable access to school-based sports programs between Boston students and their suburban counterparts, the Play Ball Foundation was founded in 2007 by Mike Harney.

The Play Ball Foundation began by raising funds to create school-based sports leagues for youth in the Boston Public Middle Schools. Since then, we have expanded beyond Boston to Holyoke, Lawrence and New Bedford. In its history, Play Ball has granted more than $4,000,000 and has engaged over 10,000 middle schoolers.

2EA56DA1-5682-4BFA-A0E7-FFAB08C9F4A8.jpeg

THE PLAY BALL TEAM

Katie Bio.jpg

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Katie Small

  • LinkedIn

Katie graduated from the University of Richmond in 2003 and during her time there played soccer and was the co-captain her senior year.  She began her career in commercial real estate in 2003, where she worked at Spaulding & Slye/Jones Lang Lasalle as a commercial real estate broker until 2016.  She left the corporate world in 2016 and then began volunteering with the operations and fundraising efforts at Play Ball, an organization that had always been near and dear to her heart.  In 2021, Katie was hired as the Director of Development and and feels deeply committed to bridging the gap between those middle schoolers who have access and opportunity to play sports and those that do not.  “I know the impact sports have had on my life and on my kids’ lives each day, so it is a privilege to work within an organization that is doing such necessary and meaningful work for the middle schoolers that need it the most.”

Chris Bio.jpg

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Chris Lynch

  • LinkedIn

Chris is the Executive Director of the Play Ball Foundation.  He has worked to increase opportunities for under-served youth through sports for more than 20 years. For the past eight years, Chris was the COO of SquashBusters, a sports-based youth development program, where he helped oversee the expansion from Boston to Lawrence and Providence. Prior to that, Chris ran the Boston Youth Sports Initiative, a funding and network building effort to support the range of youth sports programs in Boston. Chris has a Masters of Education from Lesley University and a Bachelor of Arts from Bates College, where he played squash and lacrosse.

PB Round Icon.png

THE BOARD

  • LinkedIn

Jon Bordeau

Managing Director

Morgan Stanley

FAVORITE SPORT

Golf

  • LinkedIn

FAVORITE SPORT

Premier League & La Liga

Chris Davis

Vice President, Global Market

New Balance

  • LinkedIn

Kelly Downing

Vice President, Marketing

Uwill

FAVORITE SPORT

College Basketball

  • LinkedIn

Magali Feruzi

Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University

FAVORITE SPORT

Volleyball

  • LinkedIn

Andrew Frank

Partner

Whale Rock Capital

FAVORITE SPORT

Golf

  • LinkedIn

Robert Gibbs

Global Dir., Brand + Media Partnership

Google Cloud

FAVORITE SPORT

Rugby

  • LinkedIn

Eric Greenberg

Partner

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

FAVORITE SPORT

Soccer

Mike Harney

Managing Director
BTIG
Chairman of the Board

FAVORITE SPORT
Lacrosse

  • LinkedIn

Patrick Harney

Senior Director

TwinFocus Capital Partners, LLC

FAVORITE SPORT

Whatever my kids are playing

  • LinkedIn

Kristy Kennedy

Chief Operating Officer 

Whale Rock Capital

FAVORITE SPORT
Golf

George Kelley

  • LinkedIn

Family Liaison at Eliot Innovation School

FAVORITE SPORT
Football

  • LinkedIn

Sam Lawrence
Senior Associate at PSG

FAVORITE SPORT

Lacrosse 

  • LinkedIn

Matt MacDonald

Partner

Ernst & Young

FAVORITE SPORT

Hockey

FAVORITE SPORT

Golf

John McGoldrick
 

Development Analyst
Cohasset Hospitality Partners

  • LinkedIn

A. Peter Monaco

Managing Director

Raptor Capital Management

FAVORITE SPORT

Hockey

Stu Porter

Founder, Managing Partner

Denham Capital

FAVORITE SPORT

Football

  • LinkedIn

Benjamin Small

Chief Operating Officer

Birchview Capital

FAVORITE SPORT

Lacrosse

FAVORITE SPORT

College Football

Pete Thamel
College Football Senior Writer
ESPN

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Scott Baughman
Vice President, GW&K Investment Management

Mackenson Charles
Director of Inclusive City Initiatives, Special Olympics Massachusetts

Ian Franke
Managing Director, Institutional Insurance Group

Mike Frisorra
Vice President, Charles Contracting

Chris Herrmann
 Investment Professional, Private Family Office

Brendan Sandel
Account Executive - Financial Services, Pegasystems 

Rob Broggi

Portfolio Manager - Monashee Investment Management

Interested in joining our Advisory Council?
 

E M A I L

info@playballfoundation.org

scheme 5.png

Make an Impact, Make a Donation

We believe in the power of sports. We believe in the power of our Play Ball students. We believe in the power of Play Ball communities. Help us strengthen our support by making a donation today. 

bottom of page