Buffalo, NY - She may not be on the basketball court or in the cycling competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but Elizabeth Ramsey MS '12 will cover a lot of ground.
As executive director of Team USA Athletes’ Commission, Ramsey will be with the nation’s athletes in Paris, leading the one organization charged with advocating for the U.S. Olympians and Paralympians. From runners, boxers, and para swimmers to basketball players, gymnasts, and archers, Ramsey and her organization help to ensure athlete safety and well-being at the games, as well as keeping lines of communication open for all Team USA members.
Acting as a voice for the athletes doesn’t start and stop with the games, however. That’s just part of Ramsey’s job.
In 2020, she was named the first executive director of what was then known as the United States Olympic & Paralympic Athletes’ Advisory Council (USOPC AAC). The new position was created to support Team USA’s Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls in their efforts to go for the gold. Since then, Ramsey added staff and has taken a lead role in shaping what is now the Team USA Athletes’ Commission to keep pace with continual changes in the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics arena.
“Basically, our role is to give USA athletes more leverage in having a say about their Olympic or Paralympic experience and careers,” Ramsey explains. “As a recent example, our office responded to a congressional study on the current state of USA Olympics aimed at improving sports governance across the board.”
Ramsey goes to Washington
In fall 2023, Ramsey testified before the United States Congressional Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics on the issues facing athletes and the need for more support.
Speaking on behalf of Team USA Athletes’ Commission, Ramsey explained the role the Commission plays for more than 5,000 athletes, such as broadening communication between the active athletes and the USOPC. As an organization within the USOPC, she noted several barriers her office faces to effective athlete representation, including funding sources and independences from the USPOC. She noted the Team USA Athletes’ Commission receives all its funding from the USOPC, which, in theory, could pull that funding at any time. Ramsey closed her presentation by requesting an amendment that would make her office independent from the USOPC for funding and other operational initiatives.
“It’s not that we have an issue with the USOPC – it’s just that independence would open up more funding sources and give us greater flexibility in serving the best interests of the athletes,” she says. “In addition, it is hard to build relationships and trust with athletes who may see us as part of a huge organization where they are just a number.”
In March 2024, the group seated by Congress released their report on the study. Among the results was a recommendation that the Team USA Athletes’ Commission become a separate legal entity from USOPC. While it is only a recommendation at this point, Ramsey sees it as win for her office and is looking forward to next steps.
Global reach
Ramsey’s role as executive director has certainly put her in the spotlight among the Team USA community. She has also acted as the voice of the athletes on the international stage as well.
In May, Ramsey sent a signatory letter to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) expressing concerns that athletes have lost trust in the agency after its handling of failed drug tests involving members of China’s swim team.
Media reports said that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) before the 2020 Tokyo Games, held in 2021 due to the pandemic. China’s own anti-doping agency cleared the swimmers of any wrongdoing, citing food contamination as a cause of the positive test results. WADA deemed the explanation plausible, and no further action was taken. Reuters Television picked up on Ramsey’s letter and soon her message was being heard online around the globe.
“I expressed that trust was a little broken because policies and procedures appeared not to have been followed as in the past,” Ramsey says. “I wanted to make a statement going into the Paris Games in hopes of fostering more transparency from WADA and other agencies moving forward.”
An athlete’s understanding
As Ramsey fields a volley of tasks as executive director, she says having been an amateur athlete herself, and the work she did after college, have equipped her well to represent the Olympians and Paralympians of Team USA.
After playing as a walk-on freshman year at the University of Indianapolis, Ramsey earned a full athletic scholarship and graduated with a dual major in psychology and political science. She went on to earn a law degree from Indiana University McKinney School of Law and soon after landed a position as law clerk with the NCAA. That job turned into a 10-year career in the world of amateur athletics. She later served as director of basketball operations for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.
While she was with the NCAA program, Ramsey earned her master’s in sports administration from Canisius University’s online program. She said the flexibility of the coursework and the solid reputation of the school is what attracted her to the program. “I’m probably using what I learned in the Canisius program now more than in any other position I’ve held,” she says.
As she heads to Paris, Ramsey says the most rewarding part of her advocacy work is when an athlete reaches out and thanks her office for their support. “That really tells me our work is impactful and making a difference,” she concludes. “Sometimes they are small wins along the way, but it is all in service and support of the Team USA athletes.”
