The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) is delighted to announce the appointment of the new Advisory Board of SIGA AMERICA, marking the start of a renewed mandate (2025/2027) focused on tackling the most pressing and complex integrity challenges facing sport across North America.
Composed of a distinguished group of leaders from across the legal, sports, business, media, and social impact sectors, the new Advisory Board brings together exceptional experience and senior expertise, with all members affiliated with leading organizations in their respective fields. Their strategic insight, cross-sectoral knowledge, and commitment to ethical leadership will significantly enhance SIGA AMERICA’s capacity to drive positive reform and deliver lasting impact.
The Advisory Board will support SIGA AMERICA’s mission in three core areas:
- Good Governance in Sport;
- Sport Betting Integrity; and
- Youth Development and Protection in Sport.
The new Advisory Board is co-chaired by:
- James Parker – Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Boston Celtics
- Sandra Lopez – CEO & Founder, AMBI Ventures
In full alignment with SIGA’s constitution and values, the Advisory Board is gender-balanced, reinforcing the organization’s unwavering commitment to equity, inclusion, and leadership diversity.
Members (in alphabetical order):
- Carla Giovanettti Dodds – Chief Marketing Officer, Aarons Co
- Dan Mannix – Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Underdog
- Doug Burns – Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs, Major League Soccer
- Keith Jones – President & CEO, Soult Touchin Experiences
- Kellen Benjamin – EVP, Talent Partnerships and Marketing, Wasserman
- Lynn Casey – Founder, Shine Shout, Inc.
- Mark Hicks – Managing Director of Enforcement, NCAA
- Michelle Lenihan – Deputy Commissioner – Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management, State of Maine
- Richard Weber – Co-Chair, Financial Crimes Compliance, Winston & Strawn LLP; Former Chief, IRS – Criminal Investigation
- Sally Nnamani – Chief Partnerships & External Officer, PeacePlayers International
- Vanessa Taveras – Chief Partnerships Officer, Athletes Unlimited
- Yvette Casares Willis – Senior Director of Partnerships, Bay FC
Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, Chairman & CEO of SIGA AMERICA and Global CEO of SIGA, underscored the strategic significance of this new cycle, describing the renewed Advisory Board as a defining milestone in SIGA’s journey to deepen its presence and influence across the Americas and accelerate its reform agenda through concrete, cross-sector collaboration:
“This new Advisory Board is not a mere formality. It is a catalyst. A force that will help us to drive SIGA AMERICA into a new era of purpose, progress, and impact.
With such a dynamic, diverse, and deeply experienced group of leaders, united by a shared mission, we are laying the foundation for something bigger than any one organization: a culture of integrity that safeguards the future of Sport.
The challenges facing Sport in North America are real. The stakes are high. The world’s eyes are on North America. As this region prepares to host two of the most significant events in global Sport — the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles — we must ensure that the spotlight doesn’t just shine on the field, but also on the values that underpin the game.
We have a choice. We can stand by and watch. Or we can step up, lead with conviction, and ensure that Sport’s extraordinary growth and popularity are matched by an unwavering commitment to integrity, transparency and accountability. That is what SIGA AMERICA stands for. That is what this Advisory Board represents.
We are not here to spectate. We are here to act, to lead the way forward and to ensure that, governed and operated under the highest integrity standards, Sport lives up to its promise, not just for today, but for generations to come.”
Sandra Lopez, Co-Chair, added:
“I joined Sport Integrity Global Alliance because every child who dreams of greatness — regardless of whether they’re a girl from an underserved community, or a boy without financial advantages, or child with a disability — deserves the chance to see that dream become reality and be valued for their extraordinary efforts. Everything we do must be anchored in uncompromising ethics, because when we protect the integrity of sports, we protect the hopes and futures of dreamers everywhere. And SIGA embodies this belief.”
For more information about SIGA and SIGA AMERICA, and how to get involved, please visit www.siga-sport.com or contact: info@siga-sport.com
Download the official SIGA AMERICA Advisory Board launch brochure, including members’ bios and statements.
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ABOUT SIGA
SIGA is the world’s leading organisation for Sport Integrity. We are creating a whole new landscape for the sports industry by delivering independent global rating and certification for world Sport to ensure it is governed and operates under the highest integrity standards: The SIGA Universal Standards.
Funded by our Members, SIGA is a non for profit global independent organisation with one aim: To ensure the sport industry is governed under the highest integrity standards so that the values of sport are protected.
SIGA is the only organisation to bring together sport, governments, academia, international organisations, sponsors, business, rights holders, NGOs and professional services companies, from every region in the world, around a common cause of fostering greater integrity throughout sport.
SIGA is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, as a non for-profit association, and comprises of the following continental subsidiaries: SIGA AMERICA, SIGA EUROPE and SIGA LATIN AMERICA.
For more information on SIGA, including its vision, mission and reform agenda, please refer to the website: www.siga-sport.com and FAQs.
To contact SIGA, please email: comms@siga-sport.com.
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