WHO WE ARE
Founded to address the inequities of accessible school-based sports programs between Boston students and their suburban counterparts, the Play Ball Foundation was started in 2005 by Mike Harney.
Play Ball began by raising funds to create school-based sports leagues for youth in under-resourced Boston Public Middle Schools. Since then, Play Ball has expanded beyond Boston to Lawrence and Holyoke. In its history, Play Ball has raised more than $2,000,000 and has engaged over 10,000 urban middle schoolers.
THE PLAY BALL TEAM
Mike Harney
FOUNDER + BOARD CHAIR
Mike is a Managing Director at BTIG in Boston and is a graduate of Georgetown University where he played Division I lacrosse, and went on to play professionally. Mike founded the Play Ball Foundation in 2005 with the idea to provide Boston’s youth the chance to receive the same opportunity and benefit that athletics provided him as a child.
"Play Ball began with the simple goal of getting more feet on the field year-in and year-out, and with that focus, we now have over 1,300 middle school students engaged in athletics.”
Chris Lynch
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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.
THE BOARD
Jon Bordeau
Managing Director
Morgan Stanley
FAVORITE SPORT
Golf
Rob Broggi
Portfolio Manager
Monashee Investment Management
FAVORITE SPORT
Football
Chris Davis
Vice President, Global Market
New Balance
FAVORITE SPORT
Premier League & La Liga
John Dolan
Director of Investor Relations
Summit Partners
FAVORITE SPORT
Football
Andrew Frank
Partner
Whale Rock Capital
FAVORITE SPORT
Golf
Robert Gibbs
Global Dir., Brand + Media Partnership
Google Cloud
FAVORITE SPORT
Rugby
Eric Greenberg
Partner
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
FAVORITE SPORT
Soccer
Patrick Harney
Senior Director
TwinFocus Capital Partners, LLC
FAVORITE SPORT
Whatever my kids are playing
Matt MacDonald
Partner
Ernst & Young
FAVORITE SPORT
Hockey
George McGoldrick
President
Black Rock Country Club
FAVORITE SPORT
Golf
A. Peter Monaco
Managing Director
Raptor Capital Management
FAVORITE SPORT
Hockey
Stu Porter
Founder, Managing Partner
Denham Capital
FAVORITE SPORT
Football
Benjamin Small
Chief Operating Officer
Birchview Capital
FAVORITE SPORT
Soccer
Katie Small
Development Associate
Play Ball Foundation
FAVORITE SPORT
Soccer
Pete Thamel
Writer
Yahoo! Sports
FAVORITE SPORT
College Football
Interested in joining our Advisory Council or Young Professionals Board?
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.
