LOS ANGELES, CA – February 3, 2025 – League One Volleyball (LOVB) – the largest community in youth volleyball with its professional volleyball league now in its inaugural season – today announced the appointment of three powerhouse female executives to its leadership body. Seasoned finance and sports executive Sephanie Alger is joining the organization as Chief Growth Officer, in a search conducted by Nolan Partners, Christina Donelson, LOVB’s Head of People Success is being promoted to Chief Administrative Officer and Stephanie Martin, LOVB’s SVP of Marketing and Communications is also being elevated to Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. With their appointments, LOVB’s leadership body will now become 54% female, demonstrating the league’s commitment to empowering women both on-and-off the court.
“These three incredibly dynamic executives embody all the functional expertise, bold creativity, strategic mindset and operational discipline to successfully shape the future of LOVB and our beloved sport,” said Katlyn Gao, co-founder and CEO of LOVB.
With nearly 20 years of success transforming and growing multi-billion-dollar global businesses, Alger brings a unique blend of experience in banking, private equity, operations, data, risk, and sports to her position as LOVB’s new Chief Growth Officer. Alger built her career leading high-impact teams at top-tier financial institutions like Bank of America, where she was a Managing Director and Global Head of Equity Derivatives, Prime Brokerage, and Swaps Platforms, leading a global team responsible for a platform generating $4.5 billion in annual revenue, as well as Vista Equity Partners, where she served as Head of Strategy, Risk, and Analytics for Vista Credit Partners, the firm’s credit arm, driving product innovation, portfolio optimization, and model development for a $6.5 billion portfolio. In addition, Alger advises and serves on the boards of several organizations, including the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Performance Innovation Advisory Committee.
Demonstrating a proven track record for developing innovative strategies that fuel growth and positive change, Alger joins LOVB at a time when the league is set to experience even more growth after an impressive 2024. In the past year alone, LOVB raised $100 million from marquee investors, doubled the size of its youth programs - expanding to 58 clubs with more than 17,000 athletes across 26 states and 66 locations. LOVB also launched its Pro league, which debuted its first matches on January 8, 2025 in Atlanta to an over-subscribed crowd. Featuring teams in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Omaha and Salt Lake and made up of some of the best professional players in the world – with 17 Olympians including ten members of Team USA who earned a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Games, and players from more than 20 countries, with 90% having represented their national teams – the league’s first six teams are already capturing the attention of a vibrant volleyball community as they bring an unprecedented level of play to the U.S., led by world-class coaches who boast a collective18 Olympic medals. As LOVB’s Chief Growth Officer, Alger will manage and execute all corporate business development activities, as well as play a key role in curating, delivering, and inspiring the long-term growth strategy for LOVB both at the club and professional level.
