Our Team
Harry Marino
President
Harry Marino is the President of Sports Solidarity. He is an attorney and former professional baseball player who led the successful effort to unionize 5,500 minor league baseball players across 150 teams and negotiated the players’ historic first collective bargaining agreement. Harry has served in various positions over his career, including Executive Director of the nonprofit Advocates for Minor Leaguers, litigation associate at Williams & Connolly LLP, assistant general counsel at the Major League Baseball Players Association, and law clerk to federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Harry received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. from Williams College.
David Foster
VP, Legal
David Foster is Vice President of Legal at Sports Solidarity. He is an attorney and former collegiate track and field athlete with extensive sports union experience, having served as Executive Director of the Next Gen Basketball Players Union and deputy general counsel at the National Basketball Players Association. In addition to helping unionize basketball’s minor league (G League), David has negotiated multiple collective bargaining agreements on behalf of NBA players and G League players, and assisted WNBA players on several legal matters. Before joining the NBPA, David was an assistant U.S. attorney in Newark, NJ, and an assistant district attorney in Queens County, NY. David received his J.D. from Fordham University and his A.B. from Princeton University.
Josh Thole
VP, Organizing
Josh Thole is Vice President of Organizing at Sports Solidarity. He played professional baseball for over fourteen years, eight of which he played at the Major League level for the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays. During his time in the Major Leagues, he served as an elected union Player Representative in the Major League Baseball Players Association, where he successfully helped lead his fellow players through two collective bargaining agreements. After retiring from baseball, he began a career in labor organizing. Josh worked as an Outreach Coordinator at Advocates for Minor Leaguers, and helped successfully lead the effort to unionize minor league baseball players.
Joe Calvello
VP, Strategic Communications
Joe Calvello is Vice President of Strategic Communications at Sports Solidarity. Prior to joining Sports Solidarity, Calvello served as the Chief Strategy Officer for the City of Chicago. Earlier in his career, Calvello served as United States Senator John Fetterman's Director of Communications in his senate office and his high-profile senate campaign. During Fetterman's senate race, Calvello crafted the campaign's crisis communications plan and groundbreaking media strategy. His efforts resulted in a new playbook on how Democrats can go on offense and define their opponents. Calvello has also worked for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Calvello graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he played Division I lacrosse and still holds team records.
Brandon Withers
Associate
Brandon Withers is an Associate at Sports Solidarity. He is a former professional baseball player, and during his playing career he served as one of the initial members of the Advocates for Minor Leaguers Player Steering Committee. After his six year minor league career, Brandon joined the staff of Advocates for Minor Leaguers as an Outreach Coordinator before becoming a Minor League Special Assistant at the Major League Baseball Players Association. Brandon received his B.B.A. from James Madison University, where he played baseball for four years prior to being drafted by the Oakland Athletics.
Taylor Thames
Associate
Taylor Thames is an Associate at Sports Solidarity. A former two-sport standout in soccer and track, Taylor has been a champion for this generation of college athletes. She is the Founder of the Mississippi State University Black Student Athlete Alliance and Co-Founder of the Cal State Northridge Matadors United Diversity and Equity Committee. For her leadership she has received numerous awards and recognition, including a nomination for 2023 NCAA Woman the Year. Taylor received her B.A. from California State University and her M.S. from Mississippi State University.