Sports Diplomacy: A Cafecito on Cuba and Venezuela

This event is open to the public and free for AS, COA, and YPA; and $15 for non-members. Prior registration is required. 
For COA members, please email mfontana@as-coa.org to register. (View a list of COA corporate members.)

How can sports transcend politics to foster transnational links between the United States and Latin American countries like Cuba and Venezuela? Young Professionals of the Americas hosts two leading figures in the sports diplomacy arena for an evening cafecito and a timely discussion on how Cuban baseball and Venezuelan soccer can provide an avenue for dialogue when other forms of engagement prove difficult.

Speakers:

• Thomas Goodman, Executive Director, Caribbean Educational & Baseball Foundation
• Eglantina Zingg, Founder and President, Goleadoras
• Alana Tummino, Cuba Working Group Head and YPA Executive Director, AS/COA

Event information: Elizabeth Gonzalez | egonzalez@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8330
YPA Membership: Mila Fontana | mfontana@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8331

Eglantina Zingg is a social entrepreneur, activist, media and fashion industry professional with over 20 years experience in international communications. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, raised in the Amazon, and currently living in New York City, Zingg’s unique multicultural background has inspired her to pursue a life in public advocacy, fighting for social, economic, and political change in Latin America and beyond. Presently, Zingg is the founder and president of Goleadoras, a U.S.-based not-for-profit social enterprise leveraging the power of fútbol to transform the self-confidence, sense of solidarity, ambition, perseverance and well-being of girls in the United States. The organization runs a campaign #GirlswithBalls, which kicked off last year in Queens, NY with a 13-week unparalleled training method targeted at 10-15 year-old girls and their female coaches, 18-25 year-olds. Goleadoras' first founding team became the winners of the United Nations Global Goals World Cup in 2018. Prior to Goleadoras, Zingg founded Proyecto Paz, an organization dedicated to bringing soccer programs to underprivileged communities throughout Latin America. Zingg began her professional career at MTV Latin America where she was the host of the channel’s daily show, L'Gueveo. She received a BA in mass communication and art history from Florida International University in Miami, FL. She participated in the academic program of theater and performance at Yale University and graduated from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (Lamda), one of the most prestigious theater schools in the UK.

Alana Tummino is the chief of staff of the President's Office at AS/COA. Among her roles, she heads the AS/COA Cuba Working Group and is executive director of the organization’s Young Professionals of the Americas network. With over a decade of experience working with Latin America, Tummino collaborates with public- and private-sector leaders, NGO’s, foundations, and academics throughout the Western Hemisphere on a range of business and policy issues. She leads work on Cuba’s changing economic and political landscape and relations with the United States, and helps businesses navigate investment opportunities and the changing regulatory framework. Tummino also focuses on issues of social inclusion, entrepreneurship, and women. She has published policy and opinion pieces in numerous outlets, and has appeared as an expert on CNN, CNN en Español, NPR, BBC, and PBS, among others. Tummino has been quoted as an expert in publications including The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Agencia EFE, Politico, NBC News, The Miami Herald, and Foreign Policy. Prior to joining AS/COA, Tummino worked with various international development organizations on microfinance and women’s economic empowerment. She was a foreign language and area studies fellow for Portuguese and Latin America from the U.S. Education and State departments, and the Financial Women’s Association graduate scholar for microfinance. She received an MA in economic and political development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and received her BA in political science and Spanish from the George Washington University.