Jessica Berman is the Commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League where she oversees all operations of the league with a focus on supporting players on and off the pitch, working with NWSL clubs to continue building on the positive momentum of the league’s growing audience, and collaborating with NWSL partners to create the most engaging and entertaining fan experience.  

Since assuming her role in 2022, Berman has elevated the NWSL to a global leader in the professional women’s sports landscape across several key aspects of the organization, including viewership and match attendance, commercial revenue, investment and fan engagement.  

In its first season under her leadership, the NWSL achieved unprecedented milestones in both attendance and viewership, including the league’s first regular season to welcome over one million fans to matches as well as a record-setting Championship game that drew an average of 915,000 viewers in primetime. The league also boasted a 90 percent year-over-year increase in sponsorship revenue and doubled front office headcount in 2022.  

In Berman’s second season at the helm, the league launched its first global streaming service, entered into new broadcast agreements with several key international distributors and spearheaded negotiations resulting in landmark domestic media rights agreements with CBS Sports, ESPN, Prime Video and Scripps Sports. Under the new deal, the league increased its media rights 40x and increased the number of matches broadcast on national platforms each season from 29 to more than 120.  

Berman also led the NWSL in an expansion process that saw the league welcome its 13th, 14th and 15th member clubs alongside record franchise valuations. Berman will continue to spearhead efforts as the league expands to another market ahead of the 2026 season.   

Under Berman’s stewardship, the league continued to see records broken in 2023. By the end of the 2023 campaign, gross ticket revenue saw a nearly 40 percent increase and total match attendance jumped another 32 percent increase year-over-year as the league welcomed more than one million fans for the second-straight season. Outside of the stadium, average viewership on CBS increased by 33 percent, marking the league’s most watched NWSL season to date.  

Critically, Berman successfully guided the NWSL through an organization-wide investigation into allegations of abuse and oversaw the implementation of corrective action and systemic reform initiatives at both the club and league level to ensure a safe and supportive culture for players, staff, fans and stakeholders.  

Berman joined the NWSL after two and a half years serving as Deputy Commissioner and Executive Vice President of Business Affairs at the National Lacrosse League. During her time with the NLL, Berman’s responsibilities included overseeing team services, operations, marketing and communications, broadcast and content, community engagement, human resources, and league governance.    

Prior to her time with the NLL, Berman spent 13 years with the National Hockey League, first serving as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for the organization before becoming Vice President of Community Development, Culture and Growth and Executive Director of the NHL Foundation. In her role as Deputy General Counsel, she was involved in collective bargaining negotiations, and was a key contributor in creating and executing the NHL’s labor strategy during the 2012 talks.   
   
Berman’s later roles with the league focused on bolstering the sports experience for NHL and hockey enthusiasts around the globe. This included implementing a positive, inclusive, community-friendly approach across the league and working to increase access to hockey at all levels of the game. In addition, Berman oversaw the design and execution of the NHL’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, an area she is particularly passionate about.   
   
A graduate of the Fordham University School of Law, Berman also worked as an associate at Proskauer Rose LLP in the labor and employment sector where she represented several employers in collective bargaining negotiations, arbitrations, mediations and litigations, and worked on pro bono cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault and military matters.   
   
Berman completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, graduating with a degree in Sports Management and Communications. During her time at Michigan, Berman was involved with the men’s hockey and football programs as an assistant in the sports information office. While completing law school, she served as editor-in-chief of the Fordham Sports Law Forum and was an associate editor of the Urban Law Journal.   
   
Berman has earned several distinctions throughout her sports career. Most recently, she was named Sports Business Journal’s 2022 Best Hire following her first season at the helm of the NWSL. Berman was also named to SBJ’s 40 under 40 list in 2014. She currently sits on the University of Michigan Sport Management Advisory Board, the Fordham Sports Law Forum Board of Advisors, Sports Innovation Lab Women Executive Network, the SIGA America Advisory Board and is a founding member of the Pro Sports Assembly, an organization dedicated to promoting diversity & inclusion in the professional sports industry.  

In November of 2023, Berman was named co-chair of the Women’s Leagues Forum, a new initiative created by the World Leagues Forum that provides an essential platform for women's leagues to collaborate, exchange best practices, pursue business development opportunities, and advocate for their collective interests. 
  
A Brooklyn, New York native, Berman resides in Larchmont, New York, with her family and three dogs.   

Prior to her appointment at the NWSL, Haenni served as the Director of Women’s Football at the Swiss Football Association (SFA) where she was responsible for all women’s soccer affairs, including development of talent and player pathways, organization and administration of SFA elite leagues across all age groups, and management of the competitive, commercial and financial growth of women’s soccer in Switzerland.  

Prior to her position at SFA, Haenni spent more than 18 years at FIFA, where she most recently served as deputy director and head of women’s competition, overseeing all aspects of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and devising strategies surrounding competition formats, tournament and match policies and regulations, development programs and legacy initiatives. Haenni began her sports business career at UEFA where she was responsible for all competitions and development projects on the women’s football side, including the organization of the Women’s European Championship.  

A former member of the Swiss National Women’s Football Team and a UEFA ‘A’ coaching license holder, Haenni served as both coach and president of FC Zurich Frauen, previously known as SV Seebach. She has also served as a football expert and coach educator for the Swiss federation.  

Haenni received her MBA in sports management at the University of Bayreuth in Germany.  

Lauren Lopez joined the NWSL from The New York Times, where she served as the company’s first Senior Vice President of Talent Management. While at The Times, Lopez oversaw career and learning development, performance enablement and inclusion strategies.

Prior to joining The New York Times, Lopez served in a variety of roles with the National Basketball Association, including most recently as Head of Talent and Engagement where she focused on planning and execution of several human resources initiatives including employee relations and experience, organizational design, year-end performance models and career path development.

Lopez also served as Vice President of Talent Acquisition and Inclusion for Condé Nast, overseeing the talent strategy across the organization’s portfolio of brands, and held HR roles at NBCUniversal, S&P Global Market Intelligence and Bloomberg.

Lopez earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and completed Graduate Studies in Human Resource Management at Mercy College.

Sarah Jones Simmer joins the NWSL following decades as an executive, operator and investor. She was most recently the CEO of Found, one of the largest medically-assisted weight loss programs in the U.S. that leverages the best of modern medicine, personalized coaching, and community to help its members achieve lasting weight loss. 

Prior to joining Found, Jones Simmer was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at Bumble, where she played a critical role in Bumble’s acquisition by private equity leader Blackstone, and shepherded the company through its IPO in 2021. During her tenure at Bumble, she was responsible for core strategy, international growth, marketing initiatives, business operations, and employee growth. She also led investment strategy for the Bumble Fund, Bumble’s early stage investing vehicle focused on the next generation of female-led businesses. 

Jones Simmer is a regular speaker on behalf of her companies, and on leadership topics more broadly. She has spoken at Dreamforce, SXSW, Techcrunch Disrupt, Traction, the Global Partnership for Education, and UN special sessions on topics ranging from venture investing to girls’ and women’s rights to the future of ethical business, and the challenges and opportunities of scaling rapid growth businesses. 
 

Jones Simmer will be based out of the league’s New York headquarters. She earned a Masters in Public Policy from Northwestern University and an undergraduate degree from The University of Cincinnati.  

Bill Ordower joins the NWSL from the law firm ArentFox Schiff LLP, where he was a partner. Prior to his time at the firm, Ordower spent 23 years at Major League Soccer and Soccer United Marketing in various capacities including operations, player personnel, legal and business. He most recently served as MLS’s Executive Vice President of Business Ventures spearheading the league’s sports betting strategy and prior to that served as the league’s General Counsel.  

Throughout his tenure with MLS, Ordower was instrumental to the organization’s growth including its commercial and media strategy and expansion surge to 30 teams. He also functioned as a key member of the collective bargaining team, created and implemented the MLS Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program and conducted league investigations regarding tampering and player-related issues.

A St. Louis, Missouri native, Ordower graduated from Boston University with a degree in English and earned his law degree from The George Washington University Law School. He resides in New Jersey with his wife, three children and three dogs.