Jonny joined WorldStrides Sports team in the summer of 2017 after completing a two-year Graduate Assistant coaching position at Southwest Baptist University, a NCAA Division II school in Bolivar, Missouri. Prior to this, he was Director of Operations for the Tony Glavin Soccer Club in St Charles, Missouri, and an assistant coach for the Men’s and Women’s Varsity soccer teams at Truman State University, located in Kirksville, Missouri.

A native of Perth, Scotland, Jonny came to the United States in the summer of 2008 to attend Truman State University on a soccer scholarship. As a four-year varsity starter, he helped his team to an NCAA National Tournament Appearance in 2010 and a top 10 ranking in the national polls at the conclusion of the regular season. While being part of a Truman team ranked nationally for two and a half years, he also twice earned Daktronics South Central All-Region First Team honors while finishing in the top ten list for career assists as a Bulldog. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Communication from Truman.

Jonny currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife, Sally, also a former Truman State soccer player.

Ashley joined WorldStrides Sports as an Account Manager in May 2015, having previously worked for Adidas. Sports have always played a role in Ashley’s life and she strongly believes in the opportunities that a game can create for a passionate and determined individual.

Ashley graduated from the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s degree in Sport Administration and a minor in Communication. She also was a member of the women’s lacrosse team for four years. In her senior year, she helped lead the Cardinals to their first ever Big East Championship and NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Ashley was born and raised in Upstate New York. In 2014, she made the move down South and settled in the Baltimore, Maryland area where she now lives with her husband.  Ashley is still actively involved in the lacrosse community and coaches a local youth club.

Morgan joined WorldStrides Sports in June 2015 as a Marketing Coordinator and later transitioned into an Account Manager in 2016. She previously worked in the professional sports industry where she was a Community Relations intern for the Baltimore Orioles during the 2014 season.

Morgan graduated from Towson University in 2015, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management and minor is Business Administration.

Morgan experienced international travel first hand when she toured with her soccer team to England in 2007.

Sam joined WorldStrides Sports as an Account Manager in January 2022. He previously served as the Missouri ODP Coordinator and coached for local Club and High School soccer teams in St. Louis. These experiences reinforced his commitment to using youth sports as a vehicle for developing young people.

Sam is from Minnesota, but now lives with his wife and dog outside of Washington, D.C. They are avid rock climbers, so you’ll likely find them hanging off a cliff in their free time!

Matt joined the WorldStrides Sports team in August 2021. He has spent 16 years working in the youth soccer camps and coaching market throughout the Midwest, California and Texas where he’s developed extensive relationships. After starting to play at an early age, Matt played 1st team soccer while completing a Sport Science & Management degree at Nottingham Trent University. He has always played soccer, but competed in rugby, cricket and badminton as a youth athlete. A lifelong Arsenal supporter, Matt is also passionate about Formula 1, golf and is a big Dallas Mavericks basketball fan. Matt called a small village in central England home until he moved to the USA in 2005. He currently lives near Dallas, TX with his wife and 2 children. He was lucky to travel Europe extensively as a child, and has visited a huge number of states through his university years, which has lead him to want to provide those same experiences for others through his position at WorldStrides.

My Name is Alethea, but I go by Alicia to make it easier for non-English speaking people to pronounce. I am originally from Cape Town, South Africa. I studied Hospitality Management in Munich, Germany and then moved to France where I currently reside.

I at first did not work in the tourism industry. I worked in Customer Support in the aeronautical industry — different circumstances but with the same result of ensuring the customer is satisfied with the services they purchased.

I started working freelance and was a tour director for various sport academies. Many of them came from South Africa, Argentina, Australia, the UK, and US. I was fortunate to be appointed Team Liaison Officer with FIFA for the Germany U20 National Team and accompanied them to the 2018 U20 World Cup.

This experience is what led me to work with WorldStrides in 2019 when the Women’s World Cup came to Paris, France. I was excited to work with the team in assisting with the logistics of moving 40+ groups and over 1,500 travelers throughout the country. I am even more excited now to join the team full-time and see what our next adventure brings!

Working in a multicultural environment makes me feel as if I am travelling all the time. Sports and travel hold no barriers when the passion of them both come into play.

Jessica comes to WorldStrides after ten years of coaching collegiate women’s soccer. She was most recently the associate head women’s soccer coach at NCAA division 1 Charleston Southern University after serving as the head coach at Florida Tech. She earned her master’s in Sport’s Administration from Belhaven University after her collegiate playing days were spent at Faulkner University where she was an NAIA All-American, two-time NAIA scholar athlete, and an SSAC Defensive player of the year. She is passionate about sport and education and loves seeing it play a significant role in the personal development of student-athletes. Her passion for the world’s game was ignited while traveling to the Men’s World Cup in South Africa during college and while playing in Belfast, Northern Ireland after graduation . She is excited to use that passion at Worldstrides in helping create irreplaceable educational experiences. Jessica resides in Austin, Texas where she loves watching sports and being active outdoors.

Dan joined the WorldStrides team in 2024, after a 20+ year career in youth soccer at the team, club, league, and state and national levels.

Most recently, Dan served as Director of Operations for the LA Breakers FC, and previously was Director of Player Development for Loudoun Soccer (Virginia), overseeing a 7000-player recreation program and helping to grow the club into one of the largest in the country. He started his soccer career in Michigan, where he was heavily involved with the state soccer association as an ODP coach, Coaching Education instructor, and board member. He has extensive experience in all aspects of youth soccer – coaching, club leadership, league management, and officiating.

Dan graduated with honors from Michigan State University with a degree in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy, with a secondary major in Journalism.

He believes in the transformative power of youth sports, and the value and bonds sport in general creates across countries and cultures.

Dan currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Sarah and their son KJ.

Alec joins WorldStrides following five years of coaching at various levels from camps all the way up to the collegiate level as well as working in the media industry. His passion for soccer began at a young age and has carried through both his personal and professional lives. Alec found his love for travel when he went to France during his freshman year of college with the Lehigh University soccer team and has been hooked ever since. His favorite places he’s visited are England, Colombia, Uganda, as well as any place with a vibrant soccer culture. Some of Alec’s passions include Arsenal Football Club, music, volunteering, and spending time with friends and family. He also has a 4-year-old Irish Doodle named Leo who loves long walks and barking at squirrels. A native of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Alec currently lives in New York City after previously living in Peoria, Illinois during his stint at Bradley University. Alec is incredibly excited to share his passions and provide athletes with life changing travel experiences.

Jordan joined WorldStrides as an Account Manager in May 2024. His previous experience includes working within professional sports at Kroenke Sports and Entertainment and TeamSnap as a part of the brand solutions team. Jordan graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Sports Marketing and Management with minors in Business, Marketing, and Creative Advertising. He was also a team captain of the Hoosiers’ Cross Country and Track and Field teams helping win 2 Big Ten Team Championships. Being an athlete has shaped Jordan’s life and he is excited to connect people from across the world and help them experience the transformative power of sports and travel. Jordan lives with his wife and dog in Colorado where they enjoy spending time together outdoors. During the winter Jordan can be found skiing and during the summer playing ultimate frisbee.

Gary Crooks joined the team as our Fixtures Manager who is responsible for all our UK direct book sporting content and club partnerships .  Gary grew up playing football in Falkirk, Scotland.  After a promising youth career Gary signed pro terms with for Hibernian Football Club.  After his time at Hibs, he secured a soccer scholarship at the University of Rhode Island, where he completed his BA in Communications while winning awards on the pitch as an NSCAA All-American.

This experience of college life in the US sparked a passion about the power of sport and how it can go hand in hand with education to enhance an individual’s learning experience, while also developing them as a person too.

He is a UEFA A Licensed coach, with extensive experience developing young players. Gary joins us having worked at Rangers FC in Scotland, where he directed the club’s international growth strategy to drive business and commercial activities and more recently positions in Canada as a technical director at Calgary & Vancouver Rangers.

Michelle Cook has joined us as our Manager of Sports Operations. Michelle has always been a huge sports fan and had a fine college soccer career, first at Birmingham University in the UK and then gaining a soccer scholarship to Loughborough University. Professionally Michelle spent 6 years at Travelopia working in the sports events and education divisions, operating sports tours for all ages and all over the world and more recently Michelle has managed matchday operations on soccer curated tours and events. Michelle has also just finished her MBA at Warwick Business School with a final thesis investigating the overall business case for women’s soccer in Europe.