David Lasday

Bring It In Israel

David Lasday, a graduate of the University of Maryland, worked as a Program Director for PeacePlayers International – Middle East, using the game of basketball as a vehicle to educate and unite Arab and Jewish children and their communities in Israel and the West Bank. During his time with PeacePlayers International, David matched volunteers with assistant coaching opportunities throughout the region, triggering his desire to create a more formal mechanism to inspire and train coaches to be agents of change in their communities. 

Prior to working with PeacePlayers International, David served as Assistant General Manager for the minor league basketball team the Maryland Nighthawks, where he was responsible for generating ticket sales and sponsorships through an innovative and aggressive grassroots marketing strategy. During his time with the team, David initiated community outreach programs which attracted over 10,000 fans. 
 
Most recently, David organized and co-hosted a fundraising event at Columbia University, generating funds and building awareness for both PeacePlayers International and Safe Haven West Side Basketball League, where he had been working as a sports educator, using the game of basketball to teach life skills. The fundraiser was a great success, reaching over 600 New York residents. 
 
“Plato wrote that one can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation,” David adds “and through my work I have witnessed sport’s true power to unite, educate, and inspire, something I hope to promote and develop through the creation of a socially conscious Israel coaches training program for young Jewish leaders from around the world.”