(she/her)
vanessa@wecoachsports.org

A veteran leader with 20+ years of experience in athletic administration, Vanessa Fuchs joined WeCOACH as Chief Executive Officer in March 2022. Before WeCOACH, she served 12 years as Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator at her alma mater, Florida State University.

In her first three years, WeCOACH membership has grown 1,300 percent, now serving over 18,000 women coaches in the WeCOACH Community. In addition, grant funding has more than doubled, Academy Scholarships funding has septupled to over $50K, and new leadership programs have launched to advance the WeCOACH mission to recruit, advance, and retain women in coaching.

Vanessa’s tenure at FSU began in 2010, where she served in a variety of important leadership roles over the past decade. Named the 2015 Women Leaders in Sports Division I Administrator of the Year and an FSU Champion Beyond the Game honoree in 2016, she was instrumental in providing strategic direction for departmental initiatives focused on student-athlete welfare, enhancing athletic performance, fundraising and new revenue generation, gender equity, and diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility & belonging (DEIAB).

In June of 2013, former Florida State President Dr. Eric Barron named Fuchs the school’s interim Athletics Director as she became the first woman to lead the Seminoles’ Athletic Department. The former Seminole basketball player was one of just seven women leading an athletics department among the 124 schools that participated at the FBS level in 2012.

Prior to arriving at Florida State, Vanessa committed seven years to the NCAA in Indianapolis in Academic and Membership Affairs. She got her start as a Championships Intern with the ACC in 2001. The Pompano Beach, Florida, native was a four-year letterwinner for the Seminoles’ women’s basketball team from 1997-2001. She was the team co-captain in her senior year and finished her career as a four-time ACC Honor Roll selection.

Vanessa graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in communications at Florida State University and earned her master’s degree in Sport Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Vanessa resides in Tallahassee, FL with her longtime partner Chrissy and their two French Bulldogs, Fenix and Frankie (aka, “The UNcoachables”).

(she/her)
Maria@wecoachsports.org

Maria Lopez has over 18+ years of tennis coaching experience at all levels of the game, with twelve of those years at the collegiate level, with her most recent stop as the Associate Head Coach at Boise State University where she helped implement a vision of excellence through community  outreach, alumni engagement, player and program development, revenue generation and fundraising, as well as driving and collaborating on DEI initiatives for the athletics department.

She has coached five conference titles and two NCAA national championship teams at the collegiate level, as well as being named the ITA Regional and National Coach of the Year on two different occasions. She also worked with a Top 50 WTA player. As a player, she was the former number one player in Venezuela during her junior career and a two-time All-American in 2001 and 2002. In addition, she was a three-time All-Sunshine State Conference selection. She is currently a board member for the Latina Tennis Coach Association and volunteers some of her time with the Sports Equality Foundation.

She is a graduate of the 2022 NCAA Women Coaches Academy Class #51 and an active member of the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) since 2010. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in E-Commerce and a Master’s Degree in Sport Management from Barry University. She is passionate about equity in women’s sports, particularly for women coaches, and is committed to empowering change to create inclusive environments to help benefit the lives of others.

lizzy@wecoachsports.org

A veteran softball coach having spent the past 17 years as Associate Coach of the University of Notre Dame Softball team where she was the lead hitting and outfield instructor, Lizzy Ristano joined WeCOACH in September 2022. As a member of the ND coaching staff, the Irish softball team advanced to the NCAA tournament in all 17 seasons that Ristano was on staff. In addition, she was a part of a staff that received coaching staff-of-the-year honors in 2014, 2016 and 2017. She also spearheaded the team’s fundraising efforts as well as numerous leadership development opportunities with the players.

Lizzy grew up in Irvine, CA as a two-sport athlete playing Soccer and Softball at Woodbridge High School. Her Great Uncle played football for Knute Rockne, so It was always a dream of hers to attend the University of Notre Dame. She received a scholarship to play Softball at the University of Notre Dame, where she was a 4-year starter with the program. By her senior season, the Irish Softball team compiled the most successful season in school history with a 54-7 record and #7 national ranking. She graduated with a major in Sociology and a second major in Computer Applications in 2001.

After graduation from Notre Dame, Lizzy interned in the athletics department for one year under administrators Missy Conboy and Sandy Barbour. She attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst and received a Master’s degree in Sports Management (’03). After graduating from UMass, she spent one year with Boston College Athletics Development in the Flynn Fund as an intern. The development job at Boston College led to a job back home on the west coast at Stanford University in the Athletics Development office where she worked primarily with the Buck Cardinal fund, Stanford’s annual giving fund. After a year and half at Stanford, she headed back to Notre Dame to coach at her alma mater.

Lizzy currently resides in Annapolis, MD where her husband Chuck is the head baseball coach for the Naval Academy. The couple have 2 children, Jane (7) and CJ (3).

After a successful 30 year career in collegiate athletic administration, Melissa Bruner has joined WeCOACH in January 2026 as the Associate Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives.  For the last 19 years, Melissa has had the daunting task of keeping everyone on the same page as Director of Basketball Operations for the Florida State Women’s Basketball program. In order to ensure that everything was running smoothly away from the basketball court, Melissa coordinated all aspects of the program including budget oversight, team travel logistics, facility and practice scheduling along with community service events for the team.  In this role, Melissa also served as the program’s liaison with the athletics department’s administration, sport information, facilities, ticket office, compliance, business office, and equipment room as well as ACC and WBCA staff.

In addition to her administrative duties at FSU, Melissa has served as the radio color analyst for FSU women’s basketball broadcasts for the last 19 seasons. She has also been featured as the color analyst for FSU women’s and men’s basketball broadcasts streamed on ESPN+ and ACC Network Extra.

Before her time at Florida State, Melissa served four seasons as the Assistant Athletics Director and Head Women’s Basketball Coach at her alma mater Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Kohawks qualified for the IIAC Tournament all four years of her tenure and advanced to the quarterfinals in her final season. Under her leadership, Melissa had six players earn all-IIAC conference honors. Prior to returning to Coe, Melissa was Director of Women’s Basketball Operations for the Wisconsin Badgers for seven years where she assisted in public relations, marketing, scheduling, team travel and practice arrangements.

Melissa received her Bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting with a minor in physical education from Coe College. As a student athlete, Melissa earned varsity letters and Academic All-Midwest Conference honors in softball, basketball, tennis and volleyball. In recognition for her athletic and academic achievements, she was named a GTE Academic All-American her senior year of college.  Upon graduation from Coe, Melissa went on to earn a master’s degree in athletic administration from Ohio University.

An avid sports fan and loyal supporter of the Green Bay Packers, in her spare time, you can find Melissa at the beautiful beaches in Florida’s panhandle or travelling to visit friends and family across the country.