CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Erin McDermott, the John D. Nichols '53 Family Director of the Athletics, announced the 2020 Harvard Radcliffe Foundation for Women's Athletics (HRFWA) Friend of the Year Awards on Wednesday evening. This year's recipients are Sheila Kelly Palandjian Head Coach for Harvard Women's Tennis Traci Green, Debbie Goldfine '85 and FJ Gould '89.
 
The Friend of the Year Award is given annually to an individual (chair, volunteer, coach) of any Friends group whose hard work and dedication has served his/her Friends group in an extraordinary manner.
 
Green, who completed her 13^th season at the helm of the women's tennis program in 2019-20, has built meaningful alumnae relationships, resulting in dedicated support not only for her program, but the athletics department as a whole. She has also created important opportunities for her team to connect with alumnae regarding careers and mentoring.
 
During the challenging spring of 2020, Green served as a resource for many Harvard coaches and initiated an open conversation with the Friends of Tennis and both tennis programs through Jen Fry Talks, which later resulted in several department-wide dialogues and training around race and inclusion. Green was also approached by individual student groups, including SAAC and the Women of Harvard Athletics, to help with similar conversations. When she is not on the court with the Crimson, Green has taken a leadership role on the national and regional levels, serving as board chair at the Sportsmen's Tennis & Enrichment Center and as a board member of the Black Women in Sport Foundation, while contributing to the USTA National Committee and the USPTA New England Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
 
A former women's tennis captain, volunteer coach, and long-time Chair for both the Friends of Tennis and HRFWA, Goldfine has remained involved with the Crimson and been championing women's athletics since her graduation. She has also expanded alumnae fundraising and participation, helped Green with mentoring opportunities, and strengthened the tennis community since obtaining her Harvard degree. A former member of the Visiting Committee to Athletics for several years, Goldfine was invited to join the Athletic Director's Council in 2015, and many of her HRFWA initiatives went on to have a department-wide impact.
 
Gould, meanwhile, joined the board of Friends of Soccer in fall of 2018 as part of their fundraising committee, helping create a culture of giving and expand participation beyond a few key donors. Today, the Friends are operating in a surplus, partly due to Gould's strategic and patient efforts. Since joining his counterpart, Nikki Boulukos '09, as Co-Chair of the group in fall 2019, Gould has continued to push for community engagement, reinvigorated Friends giving across eras and geographies, and established a renewed connection between the soccer alumni/ae and student-athletes. He was also instrumental in the hiring of Josh Shapiro as the new men's soccer head coach, collecting alumni feedback and serving as a willing partner with the athletics department. Though based in Argentina, Gould has made himself available and been an alumni resource for Shapiro.
 
A virtual celebration for the award-winning trio will be held this fall at a date and time that is to be determined. HRFWA will also make a $500 donation to the Friends of Tennis and Friends of Soccer in honor of Green, Goldfine and Gould's contributions.