Linda McQuade(I)

Born in Seattle, Lia is a semi-professional tackle football player in the Women's Football Alliance, the nation's largest women's tackle football league. She has been playing since 2016, and has been named to the league's prestigious All-American team 6 times at three different positions (linebacker, corner, and defensive end). Lia has also held season records for tackles, tackles-for-a-loss, and sacks, and this year was #2 in forced fumbles. Her football career has helped her to find success in other areas of life, such as screenwriting. In 2023, her short screenplay, "Life's Work", was the winner of Women in Film Colorado's Short Film Contest, and her television pilot "Artie and Paul" was an honorable mention in the Big Apple Agents and Manager's Lab. Through her writing, Lia hopes to help people discover how tough and resilient they really are.