Accomplished journalist and soccer communications specialist Jose Devarez joins Soccer in the Streets as the new Director of Development and Communications.
ATLANTA (Sept. 20, 2016) - Accomplished multimedia journalist and communications specialist Jose Ernesto Devarez has joined the Soccer in the Streets team as the organization’s new Director of Development and Communications. Devarez will oversee Soccer in the Streets' marketing and communication initiatives to maintain a sustainable, scalable future for the Atlanta-area youth development programs.
“It's truly special to be part of a team that strives to change the dynamics within inner cities through soccer,” Devarez said. “The goals are monumental, but this team’s is not shy about changing paradigms of underserved communities.”
"Jose's deep soccer background reaches all aspects of the game—at grassroots, collegiate, and professional levels," said Executive Director Phil Hill. "He's helped large-scale leagues and other programs get started from the ground up, which requires an enterprising mindset that we can put to immediate use. His hustle and ability will be essential to our growth as we promote our mission, build safe places to play throughout the city, and develop various revenue sources to fuel our community initiatives."
Devarez, 35, brings his multicultural communication expertise to Soccer in the Streets from the Liga Dominicana de Futbol, where he spent two full seasons facilitating the initial growth of the Dominican Republic’s first professional soccer league. Two different charter members of the league, Cibao FC and Club Atletico Pantoja, employed Devarez’s services to establish a solid communicational foundation over the first two years.
Devarez’s professional success during Cibao’s debut 2015 campaign drew the attention of CONCACAF, which hand-picked him to develop the Caribbean Football Union’s communication strategy during the first round of Champions League competition. When international soccer mainstay Real Madrid expanded to open its first youth technical school in the Caribbean, the renowned club tabbed Devarez as a communications consultant.
In his role at Soccer in the Streets, Devarez will bring that extensive experience to a metropolitan area undergoing a considerable soccer boom while Atlanta United prepares to take the field for its inaugural Major League Soccer season in 2017.
“It is a rush to know that I will be part of it all,” Devarez said. “The Atlanta soccer scene is under a ‘revolution.’ This tide has caught many by surprise and we certainly must take advantage of this momentum. Right now, the possibilities are impressive in Atlanta with the new team, the stadium and the general response to finally having MLS.”
A youth coach and former scholarship soccer player at Long Island University-Brooklyn, Devarez already understands the immense benefits of youth from all backgrounds playing the game at “critical junctures of their development.”
“Soccer provides a structured environment, allowing youth to experience what can be accomplished when they listen, follow directions, work hard and concentrate on a goal,” Devarez said. “The camaraderie, work ethic, passion, structure, sacrifice and the ‘all-in’ mind set influences the majority of our kids.”
Journalistic and analysis work with the New York Post, Fox News Latino and El Nuevo Diario, among others, also bolster Devarez’s lengthy résumé in the communications field. Prior to breaking into the newsroom, Devarez served for seven years as an Intelligence Operations Officer in the United States Coast Guard and two years as a Police Cadet in the New York Police Department.