Briana Scurry Speaker Biography

Legendary U.S. Goalkeeper, Two Time Olympic Gold Medalist, and World Cup Champion

With an integral role on the team that set the standard for women’s soccer, Briana Scurry is widely recognized as one of the world’s most talented and influential goalkeepers. Her 173 international appearances as one of the first African-American professional female soccer players helped significantly diversify the sport.

US Women’s National Team

Named starting goalkeeper for the United States Women’s National Team in 1994, she led the team on an illustrious run that included two Olympic gold medals. In the 1999 FIFA World Cup Championship – which represented one of the most seminal events in American athletic history – Briana made the iconic shootout save that carried the United States to victory.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Briana pioneered the first paid professional women’s soccer league as a founding player in 2001. As captain of the Atlanta Beat, she competed in two WUSA Championships. In 2010, Briana suffered a debilitating concussion that led to her retirement. Since then, Briana has repurposed her visibility to become one of the nation’s foremost thought leaders on traumatic brain injuries.

Honors

Through her immeasurable impact on the landscape of women’s soccer and American sports culture, Briana received the National Association of Black Journalists’ Sam Lacy Award, inclusion in the United States Women’s National Team’s All-Time Best XI, and a permanent feature as the Title IX exhibit in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. In 2017, Briana was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Equality and Diversity

As one of the first African American and openly LGBT professional female soccer players, Briana Scurry has championed diversity and equality throughout her legendary career. The epitome of a team player with a palpable love of the game, Briana draws on her resiliency to advocate for equality, traumatic brain injury awareness, and the development of women’s soccer. Briana channels her ability to overcome obstacles to provide insight on the importance of teamwork, motivation, focus, and strategies for leveraging personal strengths.

Memoir

In 2022, Scurry released her best-selling memoir, My Greatest Save, and was also the subject of The Only, a CBS feature-length documentary chronicling her life. In 2023, Scurry served as the commencement speaker and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from her alma mater, The University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Briana Scurry Speaking Topics

My Greatest Save

From winning two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup championship to a career ending concussion that left her “temporarily totally disabled” and forced her to pawn her Olympic medals, Briana Scurry takes audiences on an authentic journey of both the highs and the lows of her career. Speaking with startling candor, Scurry’s compelling story of triumph, tragedy, and redemption empowers audiences to strive for excellence no matter the obstacles.

Success Is Not a Straight Line

As a player at the height of her profession for more than fourteen years, Scurry is able to draw upon her immense experience overcoming obstacles and achieving success at the highest level. Scurry is able to parallel the hurdles she faced to the real-life challenges employees and businesses face, sharing tools for success that are just as applicable in the corporate world as they were on the soccer pitch.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The first black and first openly gay player on the United States Women’s National Soccer Team, Scurry shares the challenges she had to overcome as “the only” throughout her trailblazing career that resulted in Scurry’s inclusion as the permanent Title IX exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History & Culture. By sharing her story and experiences in a way that allows people from all backgrounds to relate, Scurry empowers audiences to leverage diversity, equity, and inclusion to advance their organizations and their own lives.

Mental Health

The victim of a career ending traumatic brain injury, Scurry shares the story of her arduous three-year journey that forced her to pawn her Olympic gold medals and left her on the brink of suicide while fighting to get the experimental brain surgery she so desperately needed. As an advocate for increased awareness for traumatic brain injuries and mental health who has now testified twice before Congress, Scurry demonstrates the importance for individuals and organizations to prioritize mental health.