The Team
Board of Directors
Lisa Izzi, Founder and President
Lisa is a successful athlete, coach, and business professional. She’s garnered many awards and as an NCAA All-American and National Champion gymnast, a Hall of Fame inductee at the University of Utah, and a former gymnastics coach at Stanford University, Lisa applies her sports skills to everything in life. After graduating from Utah, Lisa explored the entertainment business in Los Angeles, she choreographed and danced professionally in the U.S. and abroad, and as an actor became a member of Screen Actors Guild. When hearing that Stanford needed a coach, she won the job and took the team to its first and second National Championship appearances in the history of the program. When the writing bug bit, Lisa pursued a Master of Fine Arts in writing from Spalding University and recently graduated in November 2006. Currently, as Founder and President of Athletic Girl Productions, Lisa is developing manuscripts and projects for the company, and very excited about empowering girls to achieve their dreams. A mother of two sons and a daughter, Lisa hopes to teach her children the value of sports, the benefits of a challenge, and the miracles that come when you believe in yourself.
Jim Mitzel, Secretary and Treasurer
Jim graduated with a Masters in Engineering from USC and went on to have an incredible career in aerospace engineering. He spent 45 years with The Boeing Company. As an analyst, systems engineer and manager, Jim oversaw budgets and schedules, and led many successful projects. After two years of consulting with Boeing as an independent contractor, Jim retired from engineering in 2006 and is excited to serve on the Board for AGP as Secretary and Treasurer. Jim’s also been active in his community, serving in different capacities such as president, secretary, and treasurer for school and church organizations. While raising seven children with his amazing wife, Lorie, Jim volunteered and coached many of his children’s athletic teams. Occasionally, he plays the piano, sings, and taps his toes to snappy jazz music.
Alison Thordsen
Alison is an award-winning television producer and owner of a communications company catering to startups in Silicon Valley. With seven years in children’s and youth programming at KRON-TV in San Francisco, her work gained a national (Ollie) and three local (Emmy) awards. She also created the television script department for Interactive Network and produced middle-school online products for Simon & Schuster Education. For the past ten years, Alison has run a corporate editorial outsourcing business. The sports connection for Alison is being a mother to a teenage daughter and a pre-teen son. She is seeing first-hand the positive influence sports has on the physical and emotional well-being of her children and young people today.
Kirsten Keith
Kirsten is a leader in her community. Currently a Commissioner on the Menlo Park Planning Commission, she is the Chair for 2007. She also served on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for San Mateo County, and for two years held the position of President. Past local involvement included appointment as a Menlo Park Housing Commissioner, as well as, acting President of the National Women’s Political Caucus for San Mateo. Passionately involved in government interests, Kirsten is the representative to the local Democratic Central Committee for California Senator, Joseph Simitian. She has also moderated forums with the League of Women Voters and served on the League-a-Thon Committee. An attorney in San Mateo County for over ten years, Kirsten is a member of the Private Defender Program and the San Mateo County Bar Association. Kirsten is a long-time volunteer at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo. Born in San Jose, she received a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of the Law. On a personal note, Kirsten is mother to a daughter and son and wife to husband, John. She loves to run, hike, go out for a girls’ night, and looks dashing in a feather boa.
Bob Heinen
Bob is a successful business entrepreneur and loves sports as a way of life. He is most proud of his three-year reign as co-ed flag football champs at UC Santa Barbara. He is a great father, currently “Mr. Mom” to two girls and a son who are very active in sports, and husband to his wonderful wife Cyndi, a successful organization consultant. Bob has coached public and private school girls’ basketball teams and YMCA girls’ teams. Sports and competition helped Bob learn how to be successful in life, building his first Victorian home when he was only twenty-four. He is co-founder of the Palo Alto Weekly newspaper and is currently a director and stakeholder in Embarcadero Publishing Company. Bob brings his entrepreneurial spirit, operational skills and leadership style to Athletic Girl Productions in hopes to inspire the winner in every girl.
Board of Advisors
Rainer M. Dahl
Rainer is a graduate in banking and finance from the University of Utah. Has sat on the boards of banks and publicly traded companies. Currently serves as president of Highland of Montana, Inc, Lake Hills Golf Club, Inc and Preferred Lie, Inc. He’s also served as a member of the US Olympic Committee, the Salt Lake City Olympic Organizing Committee and founded the Utah Sports Foundation. Rainer’s life ambition is to become a wild life photographer, but so far, the only wild-life he’s taken pictures of are his cats, dogs, and six kids.
Lorie Mitzel
Lorie is Vice President for Academic Affairs at Trinity College of Graduate Studies, as well as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has been an advocate for people becoming all they can be while raising 7 children, volunteering and directing several organizations from church to sports to non-profits. She is a sports nut, reads the sports page first, and wishes she had become a sports psychologist.
Sheila King
Sheila is an educator by profession, having served 23 years in the classroom as a mathematics instructor at both the high school and college levels. Always looking for new challenges, she is currently working in the web hosting industry, where she interfaces with customers in addition to providing backend development services. She works from her home, allowing extra contact time with her three children and husband. Her most recent passions include cooking, natural foods, and running. She recently finished her first marathon: The Los Angeles Marathon in March 2007.
Raymond Aldridge
Raymond is a Systems Engineer for ComGlobal Systems. With a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Hawaii, and having attended Law School, as well as, Electronic Maintenance School, Raymond is highly skilled at troubleshooting on Software and Hardware Systems and designing software user controls (GUI / HCI) for Navy Real Time Systems ” Trainers. A member of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), Raymond’s career is flagged with honors from the U.S. Navy and Hughes / Raytheon for his outstanding work. He is inventor and owner of three patents in the area of Detection Systems and has additional patents pending. Husband to Mari and father to two girls and a boy, Raymond is an outdoor enthusiast. He loves to hike and snowboard with his family, enjoys exercise classes, and to boot, he is the proud Den Leader of his son’s Cub Scout Troop.
Interns
Jacquelyn Gauthier
Jacquelyn is a junior at Stanford University and will complete her American Studies major in 2008. She plans on attending law school following her undergraduate work to pursue dreams of becoming a human rights lawyer. Currently a competitive athlete, she plays for Stanford Women’s Water Polo who places in the top three in the nation each year. Jacquelyn also volunteers her time tutoring 3rd graders in East Palo Alto, and in the summer, coaches water polo and swim lessons. Recently joining the AGP team, Jacquelyn brings organizational, planning, and marketing skills to all media projects. She’s excited and honored to share AGP’s mission to make a difference in the lives of girls.
Caitlin Brown
Caitlin is a rising high school senior in Menlo Park, CA. She is a two sport varsity athlete—lacrosse and water polo—and previously played CYSA soccer for 5 years. With plans for college, Caitlin intends to graduate and pursue a career in sports management. In her free time, she enjoys baking cookies for Treat The Troops, watching movies, and being outdoors. She is also a certified soccer referee and works as a lifeguard in the summer. Because Caitlin loves sports and likes to help others, she believes AGP is a great fit for her. Girls Are Championshas a real purpose and she looks forward to inspiring girls everywhere.