DeFrantz Leaving LA84 Foundation

(ATR) Senior U.S. IOC member Anita DeFrantz embarks on a new chapter in her career. 

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(ATR) Senior U.S. IOC memberAnita DeFrantz embarks on a new chapter in her career.

DeFrantz will step down as President of the LA84 Foundation after 28 years as its leader and 30 with the organization.

She tells Around the Rings that the time is right to leave the legacy foundation of the 1984 Olympic Games. DeFrantz will stay on the job until a successor is found – likely no earlier than September, but no later than the end of 2015.

"The foundation’s in a good place," DeFrantz tells ATR. "All of our operations are doing well and our endowment is growing again. And I’m young enough to still do a lot. I want to be able to have done as much as I can, so this gives me a chance to look at other things."

DeFrantz, 62, wants to write one or more books about her experiences.

In her dual roles with the IOC and the LA84 Foundation, DeFrantz has helped allocate millions of dollars and influenced countless lives in the last three decades.

"I’ve learned a lot about how sport operates and I wanted to be able to share that with others and continue practicing what I believe," she says. "I believe that sport is a birthright and you can tell how democratic a society is by who has access to sport."

DeFrantz was a champion for gender equality and athletes rights even before joining the IOC. She was an Olympic bronze medalist in rowing in 1976, a vocal opponent of the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games and an administrator with the L.A. Olympic Organizing Committee in 1984, running one of the athlete villages.

DeFrantz went on to work for the foundation endowed with 40 percent of the Los Angeles 1984 Games surplus -- $93 million – to support youth sports. The endowment has grown to $160 million and the foundation has distributed more than $225 million to support 2,162 youth sports organizations, including the annual Summer Swim program, which has taught more than 300,000 youth the skills of swimming and aquatic sports.

DeFrantz is particularly proud of the coaching program that has provided free coaching workshops to 80,000 people.

"That is so important and so often overlooked in the United States," she says. "You think you get a clipboard and a whistle and you’re a coach. It’s a lot more than that."

A middle school sport program has encouraged students to take higher math earlier and to graduate from high school.

"We believe that we’re helping kids get ‘life ready,’" DeFrantz says.

The LA84 Foundation has also been cutting-edge by hosting one of the earliest websites.

"We’ve been established as an important institution in Southern California and I think throughout the world through our early adoption of the Internet," DeFrantz says.

DeFrantz, whose departure will be formally announced Monday, thanked the LA84 Foundation Board and her two vice presidents: Patrick Escobar, leader of the Grants and Programs Department, and Wayne Wilson, leader of the Education Department.

"I can’t imagine a better job than this one," DeFrantz says. "It has so many of the elements, but I’ve been doing it for 28 years."

She’s been an IOC member even longer, but has no intention of stepping away from that role. DeFrantz joined in 1986 -- only seven members have served longer – and was the first female vice president.

DeFrantz was elected to her second stint on the Executive Board in 2013. On Sunday, she added a prestigious appointment to the Olympic Channel commission to her posts on the commissions for legal affairs, finance and coordination of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

"The Olympic Channel is a very important one because it’s brand new and we’re setting the direction for this undertaking, so I’m really happy that I was appointed to that one," DeFrantz says.

She’s also pleased with her new title as President Emeritus of the LA84 Foundation. DeFrantz hopes to be actively involved in the search for her successor as "the person who knows the job most intimately and can help the board understand what would be good for the institution."

Frank Sanchez, chair of the board, said in a statement, "Anita DeFrantz has led the organization over these many years with integrity and grace, molding an institution which has worldwide recognition. The Board understands that she has much more to offer the world and wishes her the best as she moves on with the rest of her career."

Written by Karen Rosen.