Esther represents Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for the All Africa Flying Disc Federation (AAFDF), the continental federation for the Disc community in Africa. Esther is captain of Kisumu Frisbee Club in Kenya. She has been playing Ultimate since 2015 taking part in local, national, regional and international tournaments. Esther represented Kenya at the WFDF World Championships in Ohio Cincinnati in 2018. Esther has initiated local Disc Sport development activities with international support such as: Frisbee clinics for local teams, outreach activities for university students, and sessions for children including at an orphanage. Esther is passionate about Ultimate Frisbee and strongly believes in the potential of women in sport, especially when they are given the opportunity to prove themselves. Esther works in medical research and has a degree in biomedical science.

Catherine Alungwa is a strategic sustainability leader and project management specialist with over eight years of experience. She has driven the development of environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies, corporate sustainability reporting, and stakeholder engagement in Kenya's agricultural financial technology and social impact sectors. She is adept at managing cross-functional teams and is proficient in international standards, including GRI and ISO standards. Her experience includes leading the development and implementation of a sustainability and ESG strategy for KALRO, Adept Technologies Limited and currently serving as the Sustainability and Impact Lead at agriBORA Kenya Limited.

Benedicte is a member of the WFDF Freestyle Committee. She started playing Freestyle with the New York Jammers in Manhattan in 2015 and has since moved to Berlin, Germany, where she is part of the Berlin Jammers crew. Through Freestyle she has had the opportunity to travel around the world and participate in numerous competitions and outreach programs. She has won two world championships in the Mixed and Women’s pairs divisions, and participated in the World Urban Games sponsored by the Olympic committee in September 2019, representing her home country of Canada. Benedicte also participates in the Gorilla Freestyle Tour, a German program that tours once a year through southern Germany, visiting schools to teach children about different freestyle sports and healthy lifestyles. Currently, Benedicte is finishing her Masters Degree in Economic Policy and Quantitative Methods, and helps organize local tournaments in Berlin in addition to "spreading the jam" to any curious, new and interested potential Freestylers.

Board member: 2014-present
Current term ends: 2030

Kate rejoined the Board as WFDF Treasurer in 2014, having held this position previously from 2008 through the end of 2012. She has served as a WFDF board member since 2007 and held numerous functions at the Ultimate Players Association (now USA Ultimate) including serving as its President from 2002 to 2004. Kate has worked as a coach for several Women’s Ultimate teams. Most recently she has participated in the Grand Masters women’s division of Ultimate in the USA with Boston Ultimate/Nor’easter. In 2014 Kate was a member of the US Master’s team (Godiva) that won the Silver medal at 2014 World Ultimate Club Championships. Kate is Vice President, Hardware Engineering at Apple, Inc. where she oversees Mac, iPad, Watch, and Audio products. She has an Executive MBA and BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado.

Camila (she/her/ella/ela) has been an Ultimate player since 2017. She has a background as a Physical Education teacher in diverse contexts and has coached mixed and women’s Ultimate teams in Brazil. Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Sports Ethics and Integrity, with a special interest in research and discussion around ethical issues in sport related to gender equity, inclusion, and safeguarding in sports for all. Camila has been volunteering with WFDF since 2020. In 2024, she conducted both in-person and remote clinics in Brazil for the Girls Positive and Safe Coaching Pathway, a training program led by TAFISA in partnership with WFDF. More recently, she has been focusing her studies on issues within the mixed division of Ultimate (which is the category she has more experience in), such as gender (in)equity and safeguarding. Camila believes that flying disc sports still have significant progress to make in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion worldwide. She is deeply committed to contributing to positive change, particularly in Latin American countries. If you would like to discuss any topic related to the GEDI Commission in Ultimate, especially in the LATAM context, feel free to contact her at: [email protected]

Yoonee first caught the Ultimate fever in 2004 and served as the first female president of Korea Ultimate Players Association (KUPA) from 2008 to 2010. She continued to play ultimate through marriage, work and three kids, and most recently was part of Singapore Women’s Team at the WBCU 2017 and Women’s Masters Team at the WMUCC 2018. She also was a Game Advisor for the U24 2018 and WUCC 2018. For her day job, Yoonee works at Telenor Group as a Director of Public and Regulatory Affairs. Previously, she has worked for international organizations such as the UN and World Bank as a technology public policy professional. She received her masters degree in International Development Policy from Duke University and her bachelor's degree from Ateneo de Manila University.

A mixed race Filipino-British athlete who grew up in Hong Kong and currently the Head Coach for the Malaysia Mixed Masters ultimate division, Chrissy has played and coached for over 20 years across the world at elite level. Chrissy is one of the co-founders of Black Widows, a competitive Asian Women's team showcasing Strength in Diversity and advocacy for Asian athletes. At many international tournaments representing Black Widows and countries including Malaysia and Great Britain, Chrissy mentors spirit captains as has one over 15 SOTG awards. She is especially interested in cultural mapping and communication to support deep appreciation and connection between players that foster true belonging by and joy of the game. Chrissy was the founder and lead for the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee under the Womens Development Chair for the Asia-Oceanic Flying Disc Federation in 2018 and ran a taskforce under the WFDF Women’s Commission for oppressed female athletes from 2022. Chrissy is an education consultant with a Masters in Education Leadership from the University of Warwick and is passionate about sustainability and regenerative development using systems thinking as a lens for engaging with complex change. She still lives in Penang, Malaysia.

Smithi Manickam is an ultimate frisbee player and coach who has represented India on the world stage, most recently as the Assistant Coach of the India Mixed National Team at the 2024 World Ultimate Championships in Australia. She currently plays with Flywild, a Chennai-based club, and is the current Head Coach of the India Masters Women’s team preparing for the 2025 World Beach Ultimate Championships. Known for her ability to connect people and foster team culture, Smithi brings a unique balance of strategy, energy, and empathy to every team/campaign she’s part of. Off the field, Smithi has worked with multiple NGOs over the years, driving impact in the sport, education and social development sectors. She now serves as a Senior Manager for Corporate Volunteering, where she designs and leads meaningful programs that empower both communities and employees. Her professional expertise in facilitation, people development, and large-scale program management deeply complements her approach to sport, allowing her to bridge leadership, resilience, and collaboration across both domains.

Mariem started disc sports at a young age and started playing Ultimate four years ago with the Casablanca Club. Travelling all over Morocco to play in tournaments, she initially faced challenges playing a mixed-gender sport but took on leadership roles, including the head of communication for her club. In this position, she works to reach out and recruit more women to Ultimate.

Davide Morri (he/him) is currently a Physical Education Teacher and University Lecturer of Flying Disc at the University of Bologna, where he graduated in Sport Science. He was elected in 2018 as a Member of the WFDF Athletes Committee and had a long collaboration with both the European Ultimate Federation and the Italian Flying Disc Federation. One of his main tasks was to organize workshops aimed at training physical education teachers and Ultimate coaches and to develop projects to teach Ultimate Frisbee in schools. Davide has a long-standing involvement in the sport, playing a key role in several clubs of Bologna as Technical Director of the Ultimate and especially as a coach for both clubs and National Teams, combining his technical expertise with a deep passion for the sport. He has also played an active role in organizing national and international Ultimate tournaments. In recent years, Davide has been dedicated to the development of inclusive Ultimate projects for neurodivergent athletes, for which he also trains coaches with a focus on inclusion topics. Indeed, his projects aim to support neurodivergent youth in becoming more independent and ultimately integrated into the teams.

Catherine Nakasi is a sports leader and gender equity advocate from Uganda. She serves as a member of the WFDF Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Commission and as Secretary on the WFDF Board of Directors. Nakasi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Project Management and serves as the Secretary General as well as the GEDI Commission Chairperson for Uganda Flying Disc Association. Professionally, she works as a Senior Program Officer at AVSI Foundation. She is also a Global Mentor with the Girls for Girls initiative and leads a Women in Sports cohort that mentors young women to take on leadership roles. Nakasi is dedicated to advancing equity, inclusion, diversity, and equal participation across the global flying disc community.

Donia Nasr (she/her) is a pioneering force in sports, Donia is sports consultant, uniquely blending a Master's degree in Arts with over 10 years of elite industry expertise. She is also the co-founder of FAME, channeling a relentless spirit into breaking barriers for women in sports. Donia has built a distinguished multi-sport career recognized by FIFA, FINA, WFDF, and the IOC, with an extensive background that encompasses elite coaching, where she has led national and elite swimming teams, operations and management of sports academies, major sporting events and curriculum development to build robust sports ecosystems and academia where she serves as a Professor of Practice teaching sports management modules in business schools. A multi-sport athlete herself, she represented Egypt nationally in swimming, football, diving, handball, and currently Ultimate Frisbee. She now leverages this deep industry knowledge and her personal journey at FAME to ensure female athletes gain the critical resources, mentorship and visibility they need to succeed.

Sara has been an avid disc golfer since 2007 and started playing competitively in 2008. In 2010, she began running charity disc golf events for her local nonprofits and clinics to help get more women playing. Sara worked for the Professional Disc Golf Association from 2011-2017 as the Memberships Manager then Women's initiatives consultant. During her time with the PDGA, she helped revamp the PDGA Women's Committee and start the PDGA Women's Global Event in 2012 - the largest PDGA event for a single demographic within the sport of disc golf. In 2016, Sara assisted in landing disc golf on the National Day Calendar. There is now an official National Disc Golf Day every year (International Calendar coming soon). Sara co-founded the nonprofit Throw Pink (2013) to get more women and girls playing disc golf while raising funds for women's health initiatives. She has assisted in running 10 PDGA World Championship events and numerous other disc golf events. Sara has competed in 119 PDGA Sanctioned events with 43 wins on her resume, including an Amateur United States Women's Championship title. She is passionate about the impact sports play on women's health both physically and mentally and has made it her life's mission to use her love for disc golf to make a difference in communities worldwide. When she's not working on her nonprofit or at her full-time job with Innova Disc Golf as their East Coast Donations and Event Coordinator, she enjoys playing disc golf, ultimate, hiking, and playing with her cats and dog.

Heidi Pekkola is a former Finnish Ultimate player, who has played on the Finnish national teams, most recently in the masters divisions. Currently living in Brussels, Heidi works for the EU Office of the European Olympic Committees. As part of her work, she follows European sport policy developments and is a project manager of an EU-financed project on the strategic management of sport organisations. Heidi has a strong interest in promoting gender equality not only at the player level but also at the coaching and decision-making level.

Corey (they/he) is a transmasculine ultimate player from Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia. Corey has played ultimate for the last 13 years predominantly in Australia and began playing not long before commencing their gender affirmation journey. A lack of visibility of TGDNB players in the early stages of Corey's participation motivated Corey to be visible and open about his journey finding himself on and off the field. Corey has served on multiple committees aiming to embed LGBTIQA+ visibility and support throughout the sport, particularly for other TGDNB athletes. This includes being a founding member of the Asia Oceanic EDI Committee and the Australian based Proud 2 Play Committee. Academically Corey has completed higher degree research exploring the experiences of LGBTQA+ paramedics in the ambulance service and is passionate about the use of cultural safety to create inclusive and safe environments for all peoples- this work has translated to professional practice opportunities. Corey is looking forward to continuing to advocate for the LGBTIQA+ community through his involvement in the WFDF GEDI Committee whilst also acting as an ally and advocate for all underrepresented communities and playing groups.

As a founding partner of VC Ultimate Inc., Adriana has worked tirelessly with players, teams, leagues and governing bodies from around the world to grow and create partnerships in Ultimate since 1998. Through her work on non-profit boards, as an advisor to women-in-ultimate focused organizations and as the leader of two international businesses, Adriana strives to be a strong advocate for the development of ultimate and for the promotion of equity in sport.

Karina has served as the Managing Director, Events and Operations for WFDF since 2014, managing 6-12 events a year of upwards of 3,500 athletes per event. She has been involved with professional sporting teams and major events management over 25 years, getting her start in both Australia and New Zealand. Before taking time to start her family, she served as the senior event services director for the FISA World Rowing Championships from 2008 to 2010 in Karapiro, New Zealand. From 2006 to 2008 she was Director of Operations of Elephant Management Co. Ltd. V8 Supercars, an event with over 182,000 spectators over three days. From 1999 to 2006, she was involved in a variety of events, including the Subaru Rally Team of Australia (Motorsport), Canberra Cannons (Basketball) and Canberra Raiders (Rugby League). Karina has significant experience on all aspects of event issues like accommodation and transportation, registration, and all other organizational aspects of World class events. A natural born English speaker, Karina is also fluent in German and lives in northern Germany.

Yukie Yamaguchi (she/her) is a passionate Ultimate player and coach active in both Japan and Australia. She began playing Ultimate in 2008 and represented the Japan Women’s National Team in 2012. Since then, she has remained deeply engaged in the international Ultimate community for over a decade. After relocating to Australia in 2023, Yukie continued her dual role as player and coach—competing with the Australian Masters Women’s Team in 2024, coaching the Australian Masters Mixed Beach Team for 2025, and coaching the local open team ‘Krank’. Beyond her athletic career, Yukie is committed to creating inclusive environments where all athletes can thrive—regardless of gender, language, or background. She holds a Master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), with a focus on fostering empowering communication in multilingual sporting contexts. Her passion lies in breaking down language barriers that hinder access, understanding, and belonging—especially for non-native English speakers in global Ultimate spaces. Through her academic training and lived experience, Yukie focuses on fostering an equitable and inclusive sports environment across cultures. Her work bridges linguistic and cultural divides, promoting gender equity and inclusive practices within the sport.