this is
Our Team
MEET THE TEAM
Our team is our family. Our concept is simple—from purpose to Impact. Our principle of working together is the foundation of how EMA operates to make a positive impact in the life of each Student-Athlete. Together, we share the same vision: to help change the culture of sports in the Bay Area… and beyond.
Each member of Empower ME Academy has a creative and critical role that ensures that we are all able to succeed together. All views are valued and respected which stimulates growth from top to bottom. The principle of working together with our families and communities establishes how we operate and further the growth of the business.
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Bennett Steifman
Jr. Coach/Energy Giver
Bennett Steifman, a native of San Francisco, California, is the epitome of connection between sports and identity. He co-hosts Stormcast, the EMA podcast, and believes that through that medium, he will be able to showcase the crucial implications of the lessons taught through sports, specifically EMA. Bennett currently attends The Branson School in Marin County, California, and has played basketball for three years.
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Grace Dougan
CFO
Grace Dougan, a Marin County native, is an entrepreneur. She has years of experience in start-up, micro and small businesses which she applies to helping companies streamline their operations and grow their businesses. Grace has always been detail oriented, hard working, logistical, and extremely efficient. She is passionate in helping EMA’s operations run smoothly and be as effective for the student athletes as possible. She loves food and cheese. Grace is married and has 2 energetic girls and one beautiful cat.
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Eloisa Tejero
COO
Eloisa joins EMA with nonprofit experience as a volunteer, board member, and staff. She began her career in financial systems consulting and eventually ran Europe, Middle East, and Africa consulting division. After a few years off to start her family, Eloisa returned to finance roots for companies like Incendio International (CFO), FreshBrain (Director of Finance), and St. Ignatius Parish (Director of Finance and Administration). During her time at the parish, she successfully upgraded their faith-based CRM to Salesforce NPSP to prepare for a $25M capital campaign. Eloisa has 3 kids born and raised in San Francisco who all played the sport of the season for their school and played club sports (basketball, soccer, volleyball, swimming, and baseball). She has seen firsthand the difference between EMA and the nearly 100 coaches her kids have experienced. The EMA approach is the future. SF families are lucky to have EMA here now! It's amazing how Coach extends the Jesuit principle of "cura personalis" (caring for the whole person, mind, body, and soul) from his USF days. It's a different approach. Soak it in and enjoy as your child develops on their journey to becoming a resilient adult.
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Rain Sheh
ENERGY-GIVER
Rain Sheh, born and raised in San Francisco, believes in the power and transformative development through sports. Rain attended the Urban School of San Francisco, where she started on varsity all 4 years, leading her team to a NCS Championship her sophomore year and 3 BCL-West Championships throughout her career. She attends and plays at the University of San Francisco, majoring in Kinesiology and minoring in Child/Youth Studies. Since 2016, Rain has volunteered for a few youth after-school programs and assistant coaching, where her passion to work with kids started. As a current student-athlete, she is incredibly hungry to learn more about the game and inspiring kids on their leadership journey.
