THE TEAM

 

OMRI GAL

Founder / Executive Director

Omri Gal is a designer and educator who works at the intersection of youth education, sport, and design. He founded Design FC as a Eugene Lang Opportunity Scholar at Swarthmore College, where he studied Peace + Conflict Studies and Psychology.

Omri is also a lecturer and facilitator at the stanford d.school, where he has utilized the curriculum he developed for Design FC in a variety of different settings. He has taught a course on using design as a tool to visually express issues pertaining to lived experiences and identities, and has facilitated workshops on the intersection of design and storytelling.

Beyond the classroom, Omri has worked for Adidas as a brand communications intern, and currently owns and manages Bricolage, a Vietnamese-French restaurant with his family in the heart of Brooklyn.

 

OLIVER STEINGLASS

Program Director + Operations Lead

Originally from Washington DC, Oliver graduated from Swarthmore College in 2020 where he studied Studio Art and Psychology as well as working at the College’s Makerspace for 3 years. At Design FC Oliver is involved in operations at every level of the program, from classroom sessions and jersey creation to fundraising and strategic planning. He also provides design support to our older students.

Fascinated by the many intersections of soccer, art, and design, Oliver has spent the last two years working in the nonprofit world and helping bring students’ designs and stories to life through Design FC.

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AYO GEORGE

Director of Program Development

Ayodeji George has been with DFC since its inception in 2018. Originally from Cranston, Rhode Island, he graduated from Swarthmore College in 2022 with a major in Political Science and minors in French & Linguistics. He credits his undergraduate coursework for fostering his deep interest in the intersections between sports and development. This is evidenced by his continued emphasis on “Classroom Clout”, a term born out of a policy analysis exercise completed for an urban policy seminar taught by Professor Keith Reeves. Currently, he is based in New Haven, CT working as a Research Associate with the Yale Program on Financial Stability.

DFC ADVISORY COUNCIL

  • NARIMAN GATHERS

    Design Operations @ Verily (Alphabet). Lecturer at Stanford d.school, Parsons, Fordham.

  • Liz Connely

    Co-founder of School for Experimental Education in Design (S.E.E.D) Former Design Education and Growth for adidas.

  • Bruce "Bo" Fields

    Integrated Marketing Manager for Hennessy V.S. overseeing NBA partnership. Former Wieden+Kennedy, Complex.

Program Coaches and Advisors

  • Program Advisor

    Prior to joining DFC, Hanan’s only experience with soccer was when she failed to make her Chicago middle school team. She's become an avid student of the game, spending her free time learning how to juggle a soccer ball. Luckily, her role in DFC draws more from her experience in creating curriculums that train educators to be trauma informed, anti-racist, and equity centered in their work. Hanan was a previous restorative justice specialist at UPenn , a former lecturer at the Stanford d.school, and has worked in AI ethics for Google and Meta. Her general philosophy is deeply rooted in centering agency, relentless joy, and community-based education.

  • Coach

    Freddie Lin is native to Columbus, Ohio. He is currently a sophomore at Swarthmore College and a member of the men’s soccer team. Planning to major in Sociology and Anthropology, Freddie has no idea what he wants to do after college. However, he has always been interested in photography and design and loves sharing his passion with others. Prior to Design FC, he created a project called Frost FC where he designed, printed, and sold t-shirts supporting various organizations and non-profits throughout the country.

  • Coach

    Luca Marcelli is from San Diego, California, and grew up on burritos, kombucha, and pick-up soccer. As a former member of the Swarthmore Men’s Soccer team, he joined the DFC family in 2019. At Swarthmore, he is a super sophomore studying political sociology and educational studies.

    Luca has worked with Youth Programs at the International Rescue Committee in San Diego to empower local refugee and newly-arrived immigrant youth in his community through after school programming, family events, and financial/educational workshops. He also volunteers with the Barrio Ed Project, a Philly-based collective aiming to support Latinx youth in taking action in their own lives and the life of their communities.