We are excited to be joined by our wonderful, inspiring panelists for our September 12th event, Life Lessons Through Sports. Read more about each panelist below. Get tickets before it’s too late!
Cassidy Lichtman
Cassidy Lichtman is the Director of Volleyball for Athletes Unlimited. She was a founding member of Athletes Unlimited’s professional volleyball league, competed in the first two seasons and served as Chairperson of the Player Executive Committee. 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 was the first athlete on the Board of Directors for Athletes Unlimited and currently sits on the Board of USA Volleyball, and was named one of AdWeek’s Most Powerful Women in Sports in 2022.
Cassidy went to Francis Parker School in San Diego where she won two state championships in volleyball along with multiple conference and league championships in volleyball and softball. She graduated from Stanford in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's in history.
Chris Bischof
A 1992 graduate of Stanford University, Chris Bischof also holds a master’s degree from the Stanford Teacher Education Program. In 1996, Chris was part of the group that founded Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto. Since that time, Eastside’s student body has grown from eight to 270 students. The school has expanded from a single borrowed classroom to a permanent campus in East Palo Alto. Over 99% of Eastside graduates have been admitted to four-year colleges.
Prior to Eastside, Chris spent several years working with the youth of East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park in an after-school program he developed to help students reach their full academic potential.
Frank Quirarte
Frank Quirarte is renowned globally as one of the top action sports photographers, with his work appearing in prestigious media outlets such as the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Rolling Stone Magazine. He has also established himself as a leading photographer in the world of surfing, contributing to various top surfing magazine publications worldwide, both digital and print. Year after year, Quirarte continually puts himself in the path of fifty-foot monster waves around the globe to document the Man-Against-Sea-Drama and the obsessive lifestyle of big wave surfing’s elite riders. Over the past two decades, he has produced a compelling body of work, chronicling sports worldwide and capturing some of the most iconic images from the famous big wave surf destination, Mavericks,
Frank has mastered the control of his Personal WaterCraft in giant surf - not only to shoot photos but also to provide water safety during big wave sessions. His skills as a water safety expert have reached far beyond Mavericks, and some of his rescues have become as legendary as his images.
In the summer of 2005, Quriarte, alongside Bill Sharpe and Matt George of Surf Zone Relief, represented the Mavericks Rescue Team and volunteered to utilize his rescue-boat skis in the hardest hit areas of New Orleans following the devastating Hurricane Katrina. His presence and expertise in New Orleans played a crucial role in saving numerous lives during that challenging time.
Jaqueline Nguyen
Jackie Nguyen grew up in Atherton, CA and went to Castilleja High School. Her first sport was gymnastics and she was an international elite gymnast at the age of 13; however, her gymnastics career ended early due to an injury. She then switched to pole vaulting and pole vaulted in college at UCLA where she was an All-American and National Championship Team Member. She graduated from UCLA cum laude with a degree in Physiological Sciences and then attended medical school at Georgetown University. She completed orthopedic surgery residency at St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco followed by a fellowship in foot and ankle surgery. She currently works as an orthopedic surgeon at San Mateo Medical Center. She learned to train for sports at the Riekes Center during high school and some of her other interests include yoga, swimming, traveling, and art.
John Farquhar
John Farquhar is a former NFL player and accomplished business leader. He made a mark early on, excelling in both football and basketball at Menlo High School before graduating in 1990. He continued his athletic journey with a full athletic scholarship to Duke University, earning a BA in 1995 and later an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management in 2002.
Starting as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos, John's NFL career spanned five years, with stints on teams like the Steelers, Buccaneers, and Saints. Following his retirement, he transitioned into the field of medical technology. Presently, he stands as the CEO of HeartFlow, a groundbreaking software company utilizing AI to revolutionize heart disease diagnosis.
Farquhar met Gary Riekes 1986 when he was an 8th grader at Menlo School. He attributes a lot to Gary's influence, highlighting Gary's role in fostering consistency, compassion, empathy, and an unyielding drive for personal growth.
Josh Childress
Josh Childress has over a decade of experience as a real estate investor. He is the co-founder and CEO of Landspire Group, a Southern California-based real estate investment firm seeking to revitalize communities that were once defined by small businesses, livable wage jobs, and a thriving middle class. Josh is dedicated to advancing his commitment creating lasting positive change through community (re) development. Before embarking on his career in real estate, Josh was a professional basketball player in the NBA, Greece, Australia, and Japan. In 2010, Josh founded the Childress Family Foundation, an organization focused on providing mentorship and resources to high school and collegiate athletes. Driven by a desire to support higher educational opportunities, he established the Childress Athletic Scholarship, the first-ever summer studies scholarship at Stanford University. Josh holds his B.A. in Sociology from Stanford University. He currently serves on the Social Impact Council for RevOZ Capital and is an Advisory Board member for Metasys Technologies and BoostSport.AI.
Justin Davis
Justin is the COO and co-founder of LandSpire, a real estate private equity firm based in Southern California. He brings years of experience chartering strategic capital deployment initiatives and consulting with medium-size businesses seeking to improve bottom and double bottom line performance. Prior to his career in real estate, social impact, and philanthropy, Justin played professional basketball overseas for five years, where he gained significant exposure to European sport leagues.
Justin is a Bay Area native and holds a M.S. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and B.A. in Communications from Stanford University.
Robbie Lemons
Robbie Lemons is entering his eighth season with the Sacramento Kings and second as senior director, coaching analytics and strategy. In this role, Lemons will serve on the coaching staff providing analytical insights and strategy to Coach Mike Brown and his staff. He will also support the front office during the offseason free agency and draft periods. Prior to this role, Lemons worked in the front office as a pro scout, college scout and supported basketball administration. Before joining the Kings, Lemons graduated with honors from Stanford University in 2015 with a BA in Economics and a MA in Public Policy. Lemons played on Stanford’s basketball team (2010-2014) and was awarded First Team PAC-12 All-Academic selections (2013, 2014) and the PAC-12 Leadership Award. Subsequently, he completed a MSC in Banking and Finance from Newcastle University with distinction, while competing for the university’s inter-collegiate and national level teams. Beyond basketball, Lemons enjoys investing and entrepreneurship. He shares ownership of San Francisco's historic bar Bus Stop and is excited to build his portfolio in the years to come.