OUR TEAM

Kassie gray, CEO and Founder

Kassie Doubrava Gray grew up in San Jose, CA, playing soccer from the young age of 5. She played club soccer for Los Gatos United and high school soccer at Leigh High School. She joined the Olympic Development program at age 12 where she climbed the ladder from District Team, State Team, Regional Team and eventually made the U18 National Team. Kassie’s passion was always the camaraderie with her teammates. Kassie also played Field Hockey and Softball in high school, where she was able to add to her tactical game. Kassie got a scholarship to UC Berkeley and played four years for their Division 1 program.

While at Cal, Kassie learned the value of having a strong mental game and was surrounded by amazing, independent women who inspired her to giveback to the game and the community. She coached at Cal ID camps and ran clinics for inner city youth in Oakland. Kassie graduated in 2004 with a BA in Interdisciplinary Field Studies with a focus in psychology and childhood development. She then went onto San Jose State to get her multi subject teaching credential.

Kassie has been in education as a teacher and a social emotional coach for 15 years at a K-12 School District. During the time her husband was playing professional soccer, she saw an opportunity to get back into the game of soccer. This came from the recognition of how different the youth soccer structure is and has changed in the last 15 years. Kassie found Female Footballers in 2014. Kassie has worked with female players from all over the country. She specializes in empowering young female athletes to have more confidence, communication skills and a growth mindset. Kassie uses her work experience at Girls Leadership, from education to develop unique curriculum around the mental side of the game.

Kassie is married and has three adorable children. Kassie hopes to help empower female soccer players by finding their voice, autonomy in their role and harness a strong mental edge.

Haley Lukas, Chief Operating Officer

Haley Lukas is a Bay Area native, spending most of her youth soccer career with Mustang Soccer Club. She played varsity soccer and track at Foothill High School.

Haley was a four-year starter and captain on the women's soccer team at UC Berkeley (Cal). Off the field, she served as Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President, tutored student-athletes, and organized philanthropic efforts for Bay Area organizations.

Post-collegiately, Haley played professionally in multiple top divisions in Europe. She is a Polish Cup winner, French Cup semi-finalist with En Avant Guingamp, and competed in UEFA Women's Champions League.

B.S., Business Administration, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley

JD/MBA Candidate, Cornell Law School | SC Johnson School of Business

Strong mentors and mindset training have been crucial in helping shape Haley as a professional, leader, and female athlete. She hopes to instill these values of leadership and growth into younger players.

Rachael Thomas, chief Content Officer

Rachael grew up outside of Sacramento playing many sports. The youngest with two older brothers, she never backed down from a challenge. Once in high school, Rachael focused on soccer, basketball and leadership. She finished her youth soccer career with a top level team the Davis Sidekicks, then went on to play at UC Berkeley. A “recruited walk-on,” Rachael knew it would be tough competition to even see time on the playing field. And while injuries hampered her college playing career, Rachael worked through the injuries and learned how much power there is to the mental side of the game and how important the mind set is for measuring and creating success . She continued her education at Cal, earning her M.A. in Education “Athletics and Academic Achievement.” Rachael went on to earn her teaching credential and taught in a K-2 multi-age program in Redwood City.

After becoming a mom to twins, Rachael took time to be home with her young children. She has three daughters, 13-year-old twins and a 10-year-old. She coaches all of them in their many sports endeavors. While most of Rachael’s coaching in the past 10 years has been coaching at the recreation level, she has noticed the immense need for female influences in the youth sports world at all levels.

Rachael has a passion for keeping girls involved in sports as long as possible as so many of her great memories and life lessons came through sports. She is thrilled to be a part of Female Footballers and their fantastic mission!

Kristi Lynden, Consultant

Kristi is a Bay Area native who grew up in Los Altos. She was a tomboy from the start and always tried to keep up with her older brothers. While soccer eventually became her love, Kristi played every sport she could while growing up, and even played volleyball and ran track in high school. Kristi played club soccer for MVLA and Sunnyvale. She played High School soccer at St. Francis and then went on to play at Santa Clara University. She was a member of the 2001 National Championship team and was a team captain in 2002.

After college, she worked as an office manager and she was briefly an assistant coach in the De Anza Force soccer club. She later returned to nursing school and spent seven years as a surgical nurse, with an emphasis in Orthopedics. Kristi was noticing more and more kids coming in for major surgeries that were commonly associated with early specialization and overtraining in single sports. Having dealt with both injuries and burnout at various points during her career, she has a vested interest in improving the overall physical and mental well-being of young athletes. She has stepped away from nursing temporarily to spend more time with her family. During this time, she began playing soccer again to boost her physical and mental health. It was here that she began playing with some of the founding members of Female Footballers.

Looking back, Kristi realized that she had very few female coaches and role models. Having three daughters at home has made her more aware of how important it is to have women to look up to. She also realized that her mental health, fortitude and drive to succeed improve greatly when she is surrounded by a community of strong, intelligent and talented women. She looks forward to applying the broad and transferable skills that she developed in business, sports and healthcare to help lead the Female Footballers team. She is grateful for the opportunity to take her passion for flexing mental muscles to help inspire young athletes and help them get a head start on becoming well-rounded, successful women.

Rachel Mercik, Web Design

Rachel grew up in the Silicon Valley, playing soccer under coaches Albertin and Erin Montoya at MVLA. In 2002, her family moved to El Dorado Hills, where she played for Boca (now Union Sacramento FC) under Melissa and Brandon Cavitt. Both of her childhood clubs were essential in her eventual commitment to UC Berkeley.

Rachel earned a full-ride scholarship to Cal, coached by Neil McGuire. In 4 seasons, she played over 75 games and captained the team her senior year. She scored the game-winner against Stanford, getting the Bears their first win over the Cardinal in 7 years.

After college, Rachel was offered her first professional contract with FFC Turbine Potsdam in the German Frauen-Bundesliga. After her rookie season, she went on to play another 4 years of professional ball with Vittsjö GIK in the Swedish Damallsvenskan, and Apollon Ladies in the Cypriot First Division. With Apollon Ladies, Rachel led the team to a league championship and qualification of the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Off the field, Rachel always had a passion for media and technology. Over the years, Rachel has produced and edited multiple marketing videos, social media shorts, company logos, sports graphics, and more, in Europe and the US.

Sadie Brown, Operations Intern

College: Claremont McKenna College

Soccer Career: CMC Athenas WSOC, Pleasanton RAGE USL-W, Pleasanton RAGE ECNL (Captain), NorCal ODP & PDP

Sadie is a rising sophomore at Claremont McKenna College where she is studying History with a sequence in Gender and Sexuality Studies. With a focus in Women’s Studies, Sadie hopes to delve into the roles, experiences, and achievements of women in different aspects of society.

As a collegiate goalkeeper, Sadie understands the importance of communication, mental toughness, and being a positive role model and mentor for her teammates in order to overcome adversity both on and off the field.