2020 Team

Click on a picture to learn more about that player and their ultimate career.

 

Name: Genny De Jesus

Location: New Milford, NJ

Genny teaches Math and Special Education in New Jersey. Genny is thankful for all of her club coaches to this point - Dan Naylor, Tim Naumovitz, and Judy Jarvis - but is so excited to learn even more under her NYGL coaches!

Fun fact(s): "I run a blog through a google doc"

Name: Lindsay McKenna

Location: West Chester, PA

Lindsay began her ultimate career at West Chester University just 5 years ago. After years of hard work, her team qualified to compete at the D1 College Nationals in 2018 for the first time in program history. The following year, Lindsay was selected to play in the Inaugural season for the Premier Ultimate League with New York Gridlock. Most recently, Lindsay was selected for the USA U24 National Mixed team in Heidelberg, Germany where she went on to win gold! Lindsay is lucky enough to share these incredible experiences with her family, friends and dog.

Fun fact(s): “I have a 10 month old Jack Russell Terrier named Crew. We travel a lot to compete in dog shows! I have been showing dogs for 16 years. I am the shortest member of my family (@5’11)”

Name: Kelly Hyland

Location: Woodcliff Lake, NJ

Kelly was first introduced to ultimate while studying abroad in 2007 at University College Cork, Ireland. Last summer she had the opportunity to compete with the Irish Women’s National Team at the European Championships and they took home the gold. Kelly has played with DC Space Heater, DC Scandal and New York Bent. She spends most of her non-frisbee time with her dogs, Rascal and Beans, who are hopeless throwing buddies.

Fun fact(s): She spends most of her non-frisbee time with her dogs, Rascal and Beans, who are hopeless throwing buddies.

Name: Danielle Walsh

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Danielle Walsh is a first year player for Gridlock who also plays and captains for Philadelphia Amp. She began her athletic career in basketball, playing for Florida Southern College. In graduate school she picked up ultimate frisbee, playing for Wake Forest University and then Temple University.

Fun fact(s): Her favorite person in the entire world is her cat Arnold. Every year for Halloween she dresses up as a cow. Speed-walking is her favorite event to watch in the Summer Olympics. Ball is life.

Name: Tulsa Douglas

Location: Somerville, MA

Tulsa started playing ultimate in Amherst, MA and continued at St. Olaf college where she captained her team to a DIII national title. Tulsa played on the 2018 U24 USA women's national team and currently plays for Brute Squad winning a national championship in 2019. Tulsa currently coaches the Northeastern Valkyries, works as a health coach and enjoys dogs, reading, and being outside.

Fun fact(s): “I eat my pizza sideways. I was on a jump rope team in elementary school. I play pickleball competitively.”

Name: Wei Gao

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Wei has played frisbee for 7 years on club teams in the DC and NYC regions - most recently with NY Bent. In 2016, she played at WUGC in London, England with team China mixed, who finished the tournament in last place (but they had fun!). She is excited to return this year to play with NY Gridlock for the second season.

Fun fact(s): “I once held hands with James Franco. I have lived in 9 different cities”

Name: Lauren Woods

Location: Astoria, NY

Coming in at the impressive height of 5"3 1/4, Lauren's motto is that it's not how big you are, it's how big you play. This is Lauren's second season with NY Gridlock and she is honored to take the field again to represent NY ultimate for a larger national audience. Outside of Gridlock Lauren plays for the club team NY BENT. Lauren is grateful to have recently participated in the Color Of Ultimate showcase game at the beach tournament Throwback. She is proud to be a player of color and hopes to inspire other players who often don’t see themselves reflected in the sport's demographics.

Fun fact(s): Lauren practices flow art performance including hula hoop dance and silk fans. She enjoys rock climbing and aerial art classes in the off season. If frisbee doesn't work out she plans on joining the circus.

Name: Lauren Pointek

Location: Jersey City, NJ

LP is a software engineer from St. Louis, MO. She got her start with the St. Louis Summer League, and has been playing wherever she's lived since. In 2018, she co-founded now-PUL team Indianapolis Red and a year later migrated north to New York where she played Gridlock's first season.

Fun fact(s): LP has been SCUBA certified since she was 10. Her last name means "Friday" in Polish. Until kindergarten, she thought the first letter of her name was "elemenoh". LP's original number (22) was taken by the amazing Lauren Woods, but 33 is both her partner's number and her dad's football number; She wouldn't be where she is without them, and she's honored to rep it.

Name: Cassandra Wong

Location: New York, NY

Cassie first played ultimate in Rhode Island's summer league while attending Brown University. She soon ditched her pole vaulting career and joined the Brown ultimate team but continued to wear only short spandex which confused everyone. Since then, Cassie has learned to wear long spandex and has played 4 years on NY Bent and 5 years on Boston Brute Squad, winning 3 national championships and 2 silver medals. Cassie currently coaches the NYU Violet Femmes and works as an Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant. She loves going to musicals, baking cakes and complaining during her workouts.

Fun fact(s): “I am in fact, not fun.”

Name: Abbey Stolowski

Location: West Belmar, NJ

Abbey has played and coached frisbee for many different teams since she started playing at TCNJ in 2007, eventually joining New York Gridlock for their inaugural year in 2019. Of all the different teams she’s played for, she’s felt most empowered when playing for or coaching womxn’s. Abbey teaches middle school math and is working on starting a camp business in 2020.

Fun fact(s): “One of my biggest fears is passing Bruce Springsteen on the boardwalk and not recognizing him.”

Name: Tricia Smit

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Tricia started playing ultimate in 2006, and this is her second year with New York Gridlock. She studied at Denison University, where she also discovered Ultimate and founded the women's program in addition to playing on and captaining the open team. She enjoys traveling, baking, rock climbing, and working at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Fun fact(s): Tricia chooses pets that have red hair like her.

Name: Brittany “Bkap” Kaplan

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Brittany has been playing ultimate since 2000. She learned how to play at Amherst High School, continued at Vassar College, and has been playing on NYC's women's club team, BENT, since 2012. Professionally, Brittany is a documentary video editor. She is also Gridlock's Director of Video this season.

Fun fact(s): Outside of frisbee, Brittany enjoys reading tarot and has been known to cast a spell or two.

Name: Janine Hlavaty

Location: Branchville, NJ

Janine has been playing frisbee for 6 years and currently coaches Rutgers Nightshade. She is also active in the NJ youth community and coaches local high schools. Janine is a geologist and really loves any puns related to rocks/geology words.

Fun fact(s): “I can name all 195 countries, I'm terrified of frogs, I can juggle”

Name: Sarah Johnson

Location: Philadelphia, PA

After years in the metro-Detroit bowling scene, Sarah decided to take her athletic prowess in a new direction. She joined the ultimate team at Michigan State University 13 years ago and has been thriving just under the radar ever since. Sarah aspires to one day be able to handle the “hot” spice level at her favorite Thai restaurant.

Fun fact(s): “I’m excellent at killing flies mid flight. My parents put me in gymnastics to “fall better” after breaking my wrist 3 times in 2 years.”

Name: Amy Zhou

Location: Milford, NJ

Amy started playing ultimate at Rutgers University and continues to play with that Metro East chip on her shoulder. She has been fighting the good fight to remove the stigma attached to being a tryhard by unapologetically trying too hard.

Fun fact(s): “If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be sushi. I think chocolate ice cream is overrated.”

Name: Jessica Shatkin

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Jessica started playing Ultimate at Whitman College in 2011 (let’s go Sweets). She has played for Seattle Birdfruit, New York XIST, and most recently New York BENT. Although never holding a leadership position, Jessica takes her role as (self-appointed) dance captain very seriously. She fills her non-frisbee time working towards a degree in physical therapy.

Fun fact(s): In college, Jessica played flute in a folk band called Humans Being. Jessica skipped her college graduation to attend D-1 College Championships with the Whitman Sweets in 2015, where her team made it to quarters.

Name: Karen Chalif

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Karen Chalif is excited to join the NY Gridlock 2020 roster! Karen found her way to Ultimate at New York University when she was introduced to the NYU Violet Femmes at the school's club fair and from the first practice fell in love with the sport. Karen has played with women's club team BENT as well as co-started and played with mixed club teams FLI and XIST. She has been competing with XIST the last three seasons. In her non-frisbee life, Karen is an Academic Dean at a 6th-12 grade school and enjoys playing music.

Fun fact(s): “I play the cello. I am the only girl in a family of 5 children (aka: I have 4 brothers). I have freckles in my eyes.”

Name: Andrea DeSabato

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Andrea credits her brother with her initial exposure to the sport. She moved into focusing on ultimate after playing D1 lacrosse in college. Her first club team was AMP (2010). Andrea played the next 10 seasons with AMP (captain for 3 of them) before winning back to back championships in 2018 and 2019. Andrea captains and coaches many leagues/teams in the Philadelphia area and is an avid volunteer in the ultimate community and beyond. Andrea is known to get really excited about boring/disciplined plays and good decision making.

Fun fact(s): Starbursts are my favorite candy. I am a trail ambassador for Wissahickon Park. I have never had a cup of coffee.

Name: Martha Gregory

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Originally from San Francisco, Martha started playing ultimate in high school. She went on to play at Kenyon College in Ohio, and Melbourne AUS before winding up in Brooklyn. She played for BKBC for two years before joining BENT who she's been with for the past 6 club seasons. She played with the Columbus Pride last year. She has also coached the Stuyvesant High School Girls team as well as the Kenyon College Womxn's and Men's teams.

Fun fact(s): Martha is a filmmaker and editor. She used to rodeo horse race in high school. She loves dumplings and milkshakes.

Name: Nicole Hair

Location: Bergen, NJ

Nikki Hair grew up in a family that revolved around sports, having 11 siblings made it so that there was always at least a few people down for a game of soccer. She started her ultimate career at Drew University, her love for beach ultimate helped grow her passion for the sport and she is excited to play another year with NY Gridlock

Fun fact(s): “I lived in a renovated school bus traveling around America for most of my childhood, I’ve been to 48 of the 50 states.”

Name: Caroline Turner

Location: Beacon, NY

Caroline goes by Caro because “three syllables is too many for the field.” After finding ultimate at Brown University, Caro moved to the Hudson Valley where she captains The Hudson Valley Funk mixed team in Newburgh, designs software for the mainframe, and is learning hand embroidery. Her warm up routine includes listening to the Guardians of the Galaxy II soundtrack before every tournament.

Fun fact(s): Caro is spending 2020 following the advice of a barista who told her to "live it up" when deciding whether to warm a croissant.

Name: Nastasia “Stazi” Tangherlini

Location: New York, NY

Stazi played D3 softball until she realized she didn't have the attention span for it and switched to Ultimate in 2012. She most recently captained BENT for 4 years and played in the inaugural season of Gridlock. She enjoys knitting projects that go on for years, discussing syntax, and a good magical realism novel. She also coaches Columbia Pandemic, the Fieldston Sheagles, and the TAPCo Tigers basketball team.

Fun fact(s): “I couldn’t spell my own name until 1st grade, but you better not say it wrong!”

Name: Luisa Neves

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Luisa has been playing Ultimate for 7 years, and this is her second year playing for New York Gridlock. She has captained New York BENT, the NYC women's club team, since 2018. During the college season, she coaches the Vassar College Boxing Nuns.

Fun fact(s): “I am roommates with Margo Cody! I collect D&D dice sets. I wear a blue button on my left cleat - a token from my time with the Rochester EZs!”

Name: Natalie Bova

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Natalie Bova graduated from the University of Delaware where she played with Sideshow Ultimate from 2014-2019. She has played with Philadelphia AMP from 2016-2019 where the team won the National Championship back to back in 2018 and 2019!

Fun fact(s): “I am an identical twin. I have never been out of the country.”

Name: Becca Tucker

Location: Chester, New York

Becca Tucker fell in love with ultimate at Yale (go Ramona!), then jumped into the women's New York scene, playing with Ambush, then Bent when it formed, and now Gridlock and Rebel Rebel. She lives on a farmstead with goats, chickens and ducks, her husband, Joe Gara, and their three kids, Kai, Juno and Dion, who were all born at home. She and her family have been involved in Ultimate Peace for a decade, coaching in Israel and hosting their Middle Eastern friends in New York.

Fun fact(s): Becca met her husband after drafting him blind onto her summer league team. She tried to trade him after the draft for a friend of hers, but you weren't allowed to trade cross-gender.

Name: Margaret Cody

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Margo is half Filipino, half American and grew up in Singapore. She started playing ultimate in 2013 at Amherst College, where she was a proud member of Sparkle Motion. In the past two years, she has played club with New York BENT and won back to back Brooklyn Fall League Championships. While Margo has grown up all over the world, no place feels more like home than New York City.

Fun fact(s): Margo lives with her teammate Luisa and LOVES it. Margo once stepped on the most poisonous fish in the sea and SURVIVED. Gridlock has 4 Filipinos on its roster - Margo, Cassie, Stazi and Luisa

Name: Linda Morse

Location: Havertown, PA

Linda Morse’s Ultimate journey began as a freshman at Haverford High School in 2010.Linda played through college at the University of Pittsburgh where she captained her team to 3 nationals appearances and earned top five Callahan finalist recognition in 2017. Linda currently captains the two time reigning mixed club national champions, Philadelphia Amp, whom she has competed with for the past 4 seasons.

This will be Linda's third spring sharing her love of ultimate with the next generation of womxn as a coach at her high school alma mater who claimed the first state championship in program history last year. Linda is eager to take the field with her growing Gridlock family to help showcase womxn's ultimate and is so thankful for the continued support of Gridlock for 2020.

Fun fact(s): “I have a wired fox terrier named Gonzo. I swam and dove through high school. I have competed on the world's stage for irish dancing.”

Name: Casey Gorman

Location: Collingswood, NJ

Casey lives in Collingswood, New Jersey, plays league in Philadelphia, and commutes to play Scandal in DC. Outside of traveling all the time to play ultimate, she is the executive director of a patient advocacy nonprofit and just adopted a retired racing greyhound.

Fun fact(s): “I've never been to Disneyworld or Disneyland, and I couldn't tell you with any certainty which one is where.”

Name: Raha Mozaffari

Location: Philadelphia, PA

As a member of Philadelphia AMP, Raha has competed at two club world championships and 14 national club championship tournaments, winning two national titles in 2018 and 2019. Raha has represented the United States at the 2015 World Beach Championships in Dubai and 2016 World Ultimate Championships in London. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Raha is a dentist in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Fun fact(s): “There used to be a twitter account made for me called ‘stuff Raha says’. ”

Name: Veronica “KSpa” Kolegue-Spalaris

Location: Albany, NY

KSpa currently lives in Albany with her partner and 2 cats, working as an Associate Software Engineer. She has heavily impacted the growth of the Albany ultimate community for the past 8 years. In college she helped re-establish the SUNY Albany Women's team, whom she now coaches. This past summer she co-founded and captained a new women's team, Rebel Rebel, which is hot off a successful season. She has been an integral part of organizing New York Warmup for the past 3 years and is currently the Northeast Women's Regional Coordinator for the club scene.

Fun fact(s): KSpa read 60 books last year! KSpa is working on adding a 4th ball to her juggling repertoire. KSpa can wiggle her ears! KSpa studied Japanese in college & studied abroad in Japan 2x!

Name: Kyla Dayer

Location: Queens, NY

Kyla began playing ultimate in 2011 with the University of Rochester EZ’s and has played on several NYC club teams since 2014 in both the women’s and mixed divisions. Her most recent club team was Brooklyn Grand Army. In her professional life, she works in the field of public health and is pursuing a master’s degree.

Fun fact(s): Kyla competed on the USA national cup stacking team for 10 years and held several divisional records. Kyla can play the piano, guitar, and alto saxophone. Kyla is an identical twin.

 
 
 

2020 Coaches

ISAIAH “IZZY” BRYANT - DIRECTOR OF COACHING Coach Isaiah "Izzy" Bryant (he/him/his) has been playing ultimate since 2004 and coaching since 2012. At the youth level, Izzy has coached New York YCC Boys in 2012 & Girls teams in 2013 and organized the Disc NY Youth Summer & Fall leagues from 2012-2015. At the collegiate level, he coached the Columbia Women's team from 2012-2016 and the Columbia Men’s team from 2018-2019. After playing four years with New York Empire; serving as a captain for three, he joined the Empire coaching staff in 2018. Most recently, he coached New York XIST and New York Gridlock Ultimate.

ISAIAH “IZZY” BRYANT - DIRECTOR OF COACHING

Coach Isaiah "Izzy" Bryant (he/him/his) has been playing ultimate since 2004 and coaching since 2012. At the youth level, Izzy has coached New York YCC Boys in 2012 & Girls teams in 2013 and organized the Disc NY Youth Summer & Fall leagues from 2012-2015. At the collegiate level, he coached the Columbia Women's team from 2012-2016 and the Columbia Men’s team from 2018-2019. After playing four years with New York Empire; serving as a captain for three, he joined the Empire coaching staff in 2018. Most recently, he coached New York XIST and New York Gridlock Ultimate.

EILEEN MURRAY - COACHEileen Murray (she/her/hers) started playing ultimate in Tucson, AZ in 1993. After moving to Atlanta, GA in 1996, Eileen first made the Ozone roster in 1998 and played her first nationals in Sarasota, FL that year. Eileen played…

EILEEN MURRAY - COACH

Eileen Murray (she/her/hers) started playing ultimate in Tucson, AZ in 1993. After moving to Atlanta, GA in 1996, Eileen first made the Ozone roster in 1998 and played her first nationals in Sarasota, FL that year. Eileen played with Ozone until 2006 and competed in nine national and 3 world championship tournaments. After retiring from the women's division, she has continued to play in the mixed, masters and grandmasters divisions. Her most recent playing accomplishment was winning bronze with the Atlantiques in PAUC 2015. Eileen started coaching in 2001 for a high school boys team. Since then, she has coached in the college, club and professional divisions and was the head coach of two national teams (U19 women 2008 and WCBU Mixed 2017).

ZARA CADOUX - COACHZara Cadoux (she/her/hers) is a coach, facilitator, and trainer with a decade of experience coaching strategy and equity in the ultimate community. She co-founded the Girls Ultimate Movement, 99 Days of Ultimate Women, and 28 Days of Food, Frisbee, and Feminism. Mostly recently, she coached NJ Jughandle (mixed) and has facilitated trainings in ultimate communities in New York, DC, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Portland OR, Seattle and Denver. Before moving to NY, she lived in Baltimore for a decade where she co-founded Backhanded (womxn's) in Baltimore/DC, was a founding board member of the Central Maryland Ultimate Association and coached at UMBC & Towson University.

ZARA CADOUX - COACH

Zara Cadoux (she/her/hers) is a coach, facilitator, and trainer with a decade of experience coaching strategy and equity in the ultimate community. She co-founded the Girls Ultimate Movement, 99 Days of Ultimate Women, and 28 Days of Food, Frisbee, and Feminism. Mostly recently, she coached NJ Jughandle (mixed) and has facilitated trainings in ultimate communities in New York, DC, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Portland OR, Seattle and Denver. Before moving to NY, she lived in Baltimore for a decade where she co-founded Backhanded (womxn's) in Baltimore/DC, was a founding board member of the Central Maryland Ultimate Association and coached at UMBC & Towson University.

 
 
 

2020 Staff

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTKhunsa Amin (she/her) is bringing her knowledge and expertise in outreach coupled with community care to New York Gridlock as the Director of Operations and Community Engagement. For over two years, Khunsa has been curating programming to both educate the NYC ultimate community on various topics in equity and has been focused on liberatory youth outreach. Her passions and goals make her a perfect fit for this position and we are excited to support her efforts in changing and shifting the landscape of outreach in ultimate.Khunsa Amin is also starting her facilitation journey as a collaborator with the Both/And collective. Her focus centers around a quote by Adrienne Maree Brown: “All organizing is science fiction.” For her, this means asking questions like “what can a radical, anti-racist society look like?”; “how do we make it happen?”; “what does eradicating colonial practices and harm look like?” Because, after all, organizing is only limited by our vast imaginations.

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Khunsa Amin (she/her) is bringing her knowledge and expertise in outreach coupled with community care to New York Gridlock as the Director of Operations and Community Engagement. For over two years, Khunsa has been curating programming to both educate the NYC ultimate community on various topics in equity and has been focused on liberatory youth outreach. Her passions and goals make her a perfect fit for this position and we are excited to support her efforts in changing and shifting the landscape of outreach in ultimate.

Khunsa Amin is also starting her facilitation journey as a collaborator with the Both/And collective. Her focus centers around a quote by Adrienne Maree Brown: “All organizing is science fiction.” For her, this means asking questions like “what can a radical, anti-racist society look like?”; “how do we make it happen?”; “what does eradicating colonial practices and harm look like?” Because, after all, organizing is only limited by our vast imaginations.

DIRECTOR OF MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONSAmanda Wing aka Winger (she/her). I enjoy the creative process and working with teams in a sport I love!  Promoting our passions and working with NYGL this year gives our talented individuals much room to shine.  Working for ten years in project management with The Art Institutes helped me gain awareness for how new media formats would propel us over the last three decades. The social media changes foreshadowed for me to work in creative areas and ultimate frisbee--both passions of mine for a long time now!  Luckily, when I found a shiny sport called ultimate Frisbee in 1991 we didn’t even have websites for tournaments and no social media to make us look old school! Social media formats help our sport grow in ways we never imagined. NGYL would like to engage this creative realm with passion, respect, and honor!  I enjoy seeing the opportunities for womxn grow and so excited to see where it is blasting off to. Our team is excited to share amazing moments and creative enjoyment this year!

DIRECTOR OF MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS

Amanda Wing aka Winger (she/her). I enjoy the creative process and working with teams in a sport I love!  Promoting our passions and working with NYGL this year gives our talented individuals much room to shine.  Working for ten years in project management with The Art Institutes helped me gain awareness for how new media formats would propel us over the last three decades. The social media changes foreshadowed for me to work in creative areas and ultimate frisbee--both passions of mine for a long time now!  Luckily, when I found a shiny sport called ultimate Frisbee in 1991 we didn’t even have websites for tournaments and no social media to make us look old school! Social media formats help our sport grow in ways we never imagined. NGYL would like to engage this creative realm with passion, respect, and honor!  I enjoy seeing the opportunities for womxn grow and so excited to see where it is blasting off to. Our team is excited to share amazing moments and creative enjoyment this year!

ASSISTANT MANAGERBernadette Norman (she/her) - I grew up north of Boston and I started playing Ultimate Frisbee in fifth grade. I was immediately hooked and I've tried other sports, but none have ever been as fun or rewarding. In high school I played on the Junior Varsity team at Phillips Academy Andover, and in college I played on the DIII club team called Daisy Chain at Mount Holyoke. Since moving to New York in 2018, I've gotten more involved in the sport beyond playing. During the 2019 club season I was the Sectionals Coordinator for the womxn's division for Metro New York, and I also became a certified Observer last fall. I'm excited to be part of the NYGL team this season and to help promote/increase visibility for womxn in professional sports!

ASSISTANT MANAGER

Bernadette Norman (she/her) - I grew up north of Boston and I started playing Ultimate Frisbee in fifth grade. I was immediately hooked and I've tried other sports, but none have ever been as fun or rewarding. In high school I played on the Junior Varsity team at Phillips Academy Andover, and in college I played on the DIII club team called Daisy Chain at Mount Holyoke. Since moving to New York in 2018, I've gotten more involved in the sport beyond playing. During the 2019 club season I was the Sectionals Coordinator for the womxn's division for Metro New York, and I also became a certified Observer last fall. I'm excited to be part of the NYGL team this season and to help promote/increase visibility for womxn in professional sports!

DIRECTOR OF VIDEOBrittany “Bkap” Kaplan (she/her) has been working in the NYC documentary film industry for the past decade. In 2019 she produced three short documentaries for NYGL and served as NYGL’s director of media and communications. Brittany was also a rostered player in NYGL’s inaugural 2019 season. She is passionate about using video to highlight both athletic plays and personal stories of womxn athletes. She is excited to push the boundaries of sports video this year as NYGL’s Director of Video.

DIRECTOR OF VIDEO

Brittany “Bkap” Kaplan (she/her) has been working in the NYC documentary film industry for the past decade. In 2019 she produced three short documentaries for NYGL and served as NYGL’s director of media and communications. Brittany was also a rostered player in NYGL’s inaugural 2019 season. She is passionate about using video to highlight both athletic plays and personal stories of womxn athletes. She is excited to push the boundaries of sports video this year as NYGL’s Director of Video.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERMay Patino (she/her) - I’m from Colombia, I’ve been living in the USA for 4 years and love exploring NYC.  I have a background in Industrial Design, and currently, I work as an interior designer at a major home improvement chain. I enjoy fashion, photography, attending art exhibits, and playing ultimate. I’ve been working with NYGL leadership since the inaugural season, and I love how it allows me to help progress womxn representation in ultimate and how NYGL gives back to the community. excited to expand NYGL’s online presence.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

May Patino (she/her) - I’m from Colombia, I’ve been living in the USA for 4 years and love exploring NYC.  I have a background in Industrial Design, and currently, I work as an interior designer at a major home improvement chain. I enjoy fashion, photography, attending art exhibits, and playing ultimate. I’ve been working with NYGL leadership since the inaugural season, and I love how it allows me to help progress womxn representation in ultimate and how NYGL gives back to the community. excited to expand NYGL’s online presence.

VIDEOGRAPHERJack McGovern (he/him) is an ultimate frisbee player, meditation enthusiast and NYU undergrad who dedicates his professional life to documentary storytelling. As a DP, Jack incorporates sensitivity, empathy, and curiosity to capture cinematic images that uphold the dignity of his subjects. He is excited to work with New York Gridlock for a second year as the team's official videographer, capturing the intensity of Gridlock's play on the field as well as their dedication to activism and community engagement off of it. In his other work, Jack is the DP for an upcoming docu-series Passing, which examines what we are willing to sacrifice about our identities in order to feel like we belong, and an introspective short doc, Capsized, about how meditation saved his life in an ocean kayaking accident.

VIDEOGRAPHER

Jack McGovern (he/him) is an ultimate frisbee player, meditation enthusiast and NYU undergrad who dedicates his professional life to documentary storytelling. As a DP, Jack incorporates sensitivity, empathy, and curiosity to capture cinematic images that uphold the dignity of his subjects. He is excited to work with New York Gridlock for a second year as the team's official videographer, capturing the intensity of Gridlock's play on the field as well as their dedication to activism and community engagement off of it.

In his other work, Jack is the DP for an upcoming docu-series Passing, which examines what we are willing to sacrifice about our identities in order to feel like we belong, and an introspective short doc, Capsized, about how meditation saved his life in an ocean kayaking accident.

VIDEO EDITORSydney Friedman (they/them) is a non-binary Brooklyn based documentary and narrative filmmaker from Detroit, Michigan. Their work is focused on social justice, environmental justice, womxn in film, and comedy. They've spent nearly a decade in pursuing and developing their craft and passion for filmmaking and storytelling. They find inspiration from womxn and trans people in the film industry and strive towards their acknowledgment. Through their work, they hope to empower other non-binary people to reach their full potential. They are also very passionate about advocating for the visibility of the LGBTQ community in New York City through political advocacy and sports organization. They are involved in urban farming and enjoy both playing and coaching Ultimate at a competitive level, rock climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities.

VIDEO EDITOR

Sydney Friedman (they/them) is a non-binary Brooklyn based documentary and narrative filmmaker from Detroit, Michigan. Their work is focused on social justice, environmental justice, womxn in film, and comedy. They've spent nearly a decade in pursuing and developing their craft and passion for filmmaking and storytelling. They find inspiration from womxn and trans people in the film industry and strive towards their acknowledgment. Through their work, they hope to empower other non-binary people to reach their full potential. They are also very passionate about advocating for the visibility of the LGBTQ community in New York City through political advocacy and sports organization. They are involved in urban farming and enjoy both playing and coaching Ultimate at a competitive level, rock climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities.

GRAPHIC DESIGNERChris Hatton (he/him) is a qualified and experienced graphic artist / designer / illustrator / producer having extensive exposure to a varied cross section of industries. He even makes instruments out of found objects and whittles wooden kitchen utensils. Playing and coaching ultimate since 1994, Hatton can still be seen playing some Grand Masters.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Chris Hatton (he/him) is a qualified and experienced graphic artist / designer / illustrator / producer having extensive exposure to a varied cross section of industries. He even makes instruments out of found objects and whittles wooden kitchen utensils. Playing and coaching ultimate since 1994, Hatton can still be seen playing some Grand Masters.

WEBSITE MANAGERLauren Woods (she/her) has been teaching herself frontend and object-oriented programming since 2018. She currently manages all content, design, and SEO for the NYGL website. Her background in IT and current job at a SaaS startup has made maintaining the team website an enjoyable side project. She works closely with the media team to ensure all web content aligns with the social media releases. Lauren has had the privilege of signing with NYGL for the inaugural and second season as a rostered player and is excited to see the team and PUL continue to grow.

WEBSITE MANAGER

Lauren Woods (she/her) has been teaching herself frontend and object-oriented programming since 2018. She currently manages all content, design, and SEO for the NYGL website. Her background in IT and current job at a SaaS startup has made maintaining the team website an enjoyable side project. She works closely with the media team to ensure all web content aligns with the social media releases. Lauren has had the privilege of signing with NYGL for the inaugural and second season as a rostered player and is excited to see the team and PUL continue to grow.