Cassidy Lichtman wins 2022 Civic Leadership Award presented by EY

Lichtman was selected by a voting committee comprised of: Co-Founder and CEO of Sports Innovation Lab and four-time ice hockey Olympian Angela Ruggiero, who is also a member of the Athletes Unlimited Advisory Board; EY Americas Financial Services Strategic Relationships Leader Sarah Francis; CEO of vote.org Andrea Hailey; ; Creator of Vote by Design and #AllVoteNoPlay, and Designer in Residence at Stanford Lisa Kay Solomon; and, Founder of Natasha Watley Foundation and two-time softball Olympian, Natasha Watley. 

Lichtman was a founding member of Athletes Unlimited’s professional volleyball league, competing in its first two seasons and serving as Chairperson of the Player Executive Committee. She now serves in a professional capacity with Athletes Unlimited as Director of Volleyball, and was the first active athlete to be named to a governing board of a pro sports league when she joined the Athletes Unlimited Board of Directors. She is also the founder of P/ATH, an organization that harnesses the power of professional athletes to teach the next generation skills around empathy, equity and empowerment. Cassidy is a former member of the USA Volleyball Women’s National Team and was a two-time All-American and an Academic All-American at Stanford. She previously worked at shift7 with former Chief Technology Officer of the United States, Megan Smith, on projects focusing on inclusion and economic inequality. Cassidy also sits on the Board of Directors for USA Volleyball and was named one of AdWeek’s Most Powerful Women in Sports in 2022.

Lichtman said: “I’m honored to receive this award and grateful to both EY for their partnership and to Athletes Unlimited for their commitment to not only providing us the opportunity to play but to elevating our athletes beyond our sport, giving us a platform and encouraging our development as civic leaders.” 

The other finalists for the 2022 Civic Leadership Award presented by EY included  Molly McCage (Volleyball), Haylie McCleney (Softball), Mira Shane (Lacrosse), and Gwen Svekis (Softball).

The Civic Leadership Award is presented by EY, which joined Athletes Unlimited as a sponsor in 2022. As part of the award, EY will be providing a contribution to Cassidy’s charity of choice. Additionally, EY will be providing resources to help athletes achieve success off the field of play through the Athletes+ program.

“It is incredibly important for us to create and champion an inclusive culture that enables every woman’s full potential – including current and former athletes who bring key leadership skills to the workplace – dedication, resilience, teamwork and civic involvement – critical traits for building strong teams and solving clients increasingly complex issues,” said Kate Barton, EY Global Vice Chair. “This is why we’re proud to have the opportunity to recognize Cassidy for demonstrating outstanding civic leadership contributions and being an example for other women athletes.”

Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org and a member of the voting committee said: “Cassidy embodies the ideals of civic leadership and is an active and engaged citizen — on and off the court. She is dedicated to building community and using her platform to create change. Her dedication has been especially apparent in her work to help create the Power In My Voice campaign in Texas. She continues to use her voice to fight policies and rhetoric that limit participation in our democracy. I’m so proud to honor her for her important work and commitment to nurturing the leaders of tomorrow.”