Advisory Board

A third-generation Tampa Bay native, Kourtney Sanchez has over a decade’s worth of experience in the non-profit sector, having occupied roles primarily in the development space. While working for non-profits, she witnessed the power individuals and organizations have in curating positive social change.

Inspired by this and philanthropic strategies that further impact, Sanchez decided that one day she would make the switch to the for-profit sector. She joins the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their Chief Impact Officer, overseeing all philanthropic strategy, growth, and implementation for the organization's local and national programs and partnerships, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation and Glazer Vision Foundation.

A graduate of the University of Florida, Sanchez would go on to obtain her Master’s of Management Studies from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. In 2022, she obtained her Certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy from the Harvard Business School.

Elizabeth Frazier is in her twelfth season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, serving as Executive Director of the Lightning Foundation and Executive Vice President of Philanthropy, Community Initiatives & Social Impact. Elizabeth has led a transformation of the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Relations departments under the ownership of Jeff Vinik, and is responsible for the strategic planning and leveraging of the Lightning’s philanthropic contributions, fundraising, overseeing community events and sponsorships, and facilitating relationships with community leaders and non-profits. Elizabeth also oversees the Lightning’s Hockey Development team and its ice and ball hockey programming out in the community.

Elizabeth led the development of the Lightning Community Heroes program which has distributed nearly $30M to more than 500 unique non-profits, an organization-wide employee volunteer program through which employees have donated over 50,000 hours, player community events and fundraising initiatives, and the creation and management of dozens of impactful community partnership programs through multiple community impact areas.

Elizabeth is a native of Tampa and prior to working with the Lightning, Elizabeth lived in the Washington D.C. area. Elizabeth has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature with a Certificate in European Cultural Studies from Princeton University and a Masters in Business Administration from Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. Elizabeth is a community volunteer and has traveled extensively in Southeast Asia, North and South America, Africa, and Europe.

Dr. Harrolle serves as Director of the Vinik Sport and Entertainment Management Program at the University of South Florida and teaches courses in marketing, sales, and fundraising in sport and entertainment. From 2018 - 2021, Harrolle served as president of WISE Tampa Bay. She has spent the past seven years at USF dedicated to 100% student residency/fellowship/job placement. She has presented over 60 peer reviewed conference presentations and has been published in 15 research journals including the Journal of Sport Management, Sport Marketing Quarterly and the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.  She’s also the co-author of the book Business of Esports: The Wild Wild West on Fire. Harrolle has conducted consumer behavior and economic impact studies research projects for numerous sport and entertainment organizations across the world including the Baltimore Ravens, 1Huddle, Tampa Bay Lightning, Valspar Championship, New York Yankees Spring Training, FELD Entertainment, Women’s Tennis Association, Arena Football League, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, just to name a few.  

Harrolle earned a PhD, master's and bachelor's degrees from the University of Florida where she was an All-American Honorable Mention collegiate swimmer. On a personal note, Harrolle is an avid rock climber and enjoys traveling with her husband, Ryan along with rock climbing with her son, Landon.  

Melanie Lenz was named chief development officer in January 2018. Lenz joined the Rays in November 2006 and was responsible for managing the design and construction of the Rays spring training facility in Charlotte County. In addition to the management of capital projects for the Rays, she oversees the organization’s key strategic initiatives including the Rays brand extension within the television market, management of key business relationships, business analytics activities and long-term facilities planning. Lenz attended the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and received her master’s degree in urban and regional planning in 1999. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Duquesne University in 1995. She serves on the board of directors for the Downtown Tampa Partnership, St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership and Zoo Tampa. Melanie and her husband, Kurt, reside in St. Petersburg with their two sons.

Claire Lessinger joined the Tampa Bay Sports Commission (TBSC) on July 30, 2012, and was promoted to Vice President of Events in 2019. In this role, she plays a pivotal part in generating both economic and social impact for the Tampa Bay region by identifying, bidding for, and hosting premier sporting and entertainment events.

Claire’s leadership was instrumental in delivering Tampa Bay’s first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship in 2017 and the highly acclaimed 2018 NHL All-Star Weekend. Claire served as Chief Operating Officer for the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee, helping deliver Tampa Bay’s fifth and most unique Super Bowl yet.

In 2019 and 2025, Lessinger served as Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Local Organizing Committee for the NCAA Women’s Final Four, which raised the bar and set a new all-time attendance record for a record four-time host city.

She was featured in the 2021-2022 Best of KNOW Women National and Tampa editions for her impact and leadership, and in 2022, was honored as a Tampa Bay Business Journal Business Woman of the Year.

Recognized by the Tampa Bay Times as one of the most influential women in Tampa Bay sports, Claire has championed numerous legacy and social impact initiatives. She is the visionary behind The Beyond Series, an empowerment platform that has gathered, inspired, and uplifted thousands of women over the years.

Claire is also a passionate community leader. She is a founding member, Advisory Board member and former President of WISE Tampa Bay (Women in Sports and Events), where under her leadership, the chapter became one of the fastest-growing chapters in the country, ranking 3rd in membership size. She currently serves on the advisory and executive boards for Super League Tampa Bay, USF’s Women in Leadership and Philanthropy, and USF’s Stampede for Women, and is an active member of the Athena Society, USF’s Women Leadership and Philanthropy, and WISE Tampa Bay.

Before her tenure with TBSC, Claire was a prominent collegiate volleyball coach at the University of South Florida (USF)—spending eight years as head coach and seven as assistant coach. A standout student-athlete herself, she played volleyball at the University of Florida, winning five SEC Championships, reaching five NCAA Tournaments, and appearing in three Final Fours. The Gator program continues to honor her legacy annually with the Claire Roach Defensive Award, named in recognition of her tireless work and dedication.

Tracy West is the tournament director for the PGA TOUR’s Valspar Championship. In her role she leads the strategic and overall management efforts for this official PGA TOUR professional golf tournament, played at Innisbrook Golf Resort. The event is the largest signature sporting event in Pinellas County, annually attracting over 130,000 patrons, 350 corporate partners and 2,000 volunteers and raising over $2 million annually for 80 regional charities. 

She is co-founder, executive vice president and partner of Pro Links Sports since 1993 and is responsible for the company’s PGA TOUR division with the general oversight of the PGA TOUR’s Wells Fargo Championship and 3M Open as Assistant Executive Director and various other company projects. She has been involved in management of 65+ pro tournaments throughout her career including tournament management nationwide for PGA TOUR Champions Tour events and U.S. Senior Opens.

West serves on the governance board for The First Tee of Tampa Bay, AMPLIFY Clearwater (regional Chamber of Commerce), Tampa Bay Sports Commission, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Truist Local Advisory Board (Pinellas County); advisory boards for WISE Tampa (Women In Sports & Events), Lake Superior State University Lukenda School of Business, and the National Leadership Council for Women of Color Golf; and executive committee of the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. Additionally, she served on the board for PGA TOUR Tournament Advisory Council, Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties, the 2019 NCAA Women’s Final Four Local Organizing Committee and as an honorary commander of Hanscom Air Force Base. West has an MBA in Marketing from Michigan State University and a B.S. Finance & Economics from Lake Superior State University.

Amanda Vandervort is a soccer coach, player, and sports business executive with a 20+ year track record of soccer leadership stretching across the youth, high school, college, and professional game. She is the President of the USL Super League, a new professional women’s soccer league in the U.S., and she leads all aspects of the organization’s distinct youth-to-professional women’s soccer pathway including the Super League, W League, USL Academy, and Super Y League for girls. The USL is headquartered in Tampa, FL, and includes both men’s and women’s professional soccer.

From 2019-2021, Amanda worked as the Chief Women's Football Officer at FIFPRO, the global football players' union located in the Netherlands. For nearly a decade prior, she was the Vice President of Fan Engagement at Major League Soccer (MLS) where she oversaw the league’s social media, consumer data, email, and mobile marketing. She worked directly with MLS Club leadership to drive fan growth and revenue. 

Amanda was a member of the United Soccer Coaches (previously NSCAA) Board of Directors for 10 years and in 2016 became the fifth female President in the Association’s 75-year history. She was the Head Women's Soccer Coach at New York University for four years, and before that, the Graduate Assistant at The College of New Jersey. Amanda holds her United Soccer Coaches Premier Diploma and a B Coaching License from U.S. Soccer.

She was a goalkeeper at NCAA Division I University of Wyoming.

Amanda spent four years as an instructor in FIFA Women’s Football Development, leading marketing and communications workshops in South Asia, the Caribbean and Africa. She was a FIFA Women’s Leadership Development Program mentor, and currently serves on the boards of several global non-profit organizations dedicated to transforming communities through soccer.

Christina Unkel, J.D, M.B.A is an entrepreneur, legal attorney, multi-business owner, and sports tv analyst/journalist. As a past NCAA collegiate soccer athlete and former FIFA referee, Christina has spent the past 15 years working and performing at the highest professional, international, and collegiate levels of the soccer game among the elite players of the world.

Unkel’s television broadcasting work includes covering the 2019 Women’s World Cup at Fox Sports and European Football (UEFA Champions League and Europa League) for CBS HQ and Paramount +. Christina has been announced as the new State Referee Administrator (SRA) for the Florida State Referee Committee (FLSRC). Christina is also a journalist for The Athletic and CBS Sports covering referees, the laws of the game, and legal issues in sports. 

Unkel’s dedication to professional soccer and equitable opportunity through sports extends beyond the field through a variety of endeavors that have been established under her leadership include:

• Founder of SPARQ Advocacy
• Co-owner of Scorch Fitness
• Co-owner, Scorch on Demand and The Deadlift Effect (mobile apps)
• Founder of Scorch Community, a 501c3 providing athletic, education, and wellness initiatives to underserved teens in Sarasota.

Unkel is a graduate of Palm Beach Atlantic, Stetson MBA Program, and Stetson Law and is the recipient of numerous awards including, Sarasota’s Women of Influence, Best of SRQ Magazine Business Leader and Lawyer, Best of Lawyers in Tampa Bay, Sarasota County Bar’s Presidents Award, and PBA’s Top 50 Alumni. She has held several chair and committee positions in her legal and sports capacities and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Women’s Forum (Suncoast Chapter).