Background and Expertise

Dr. Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff is a historian, writer, speaker, and consultant who helps industry professionals be more effective communicators across the global sports arena by drawing on her deep expertise in global sports, communications, and diplomacy.

Lindsay is a globally-recognized sports diplomacy expert pioneering work within the basketball diplomacy framework and a leading expert on French sport, notably how France became one of the major basketball pipelines for NBA, WNBA, and NCAA talent. Author of Basketball Empire: France and the Making of a Global NBA and WNBA (Bloomsbury, 2023) and The Making of Les Bleus: Sport in France, 1958-2010 (Lexington Books, 2013), she has deep knowledge of the Fifth Republic’s youth development programs and French-American diplomatic and sports ties.

Outside of her consulting practice, she is the Founding Director of FranceAndUS, Co-Director of the SOAS University of London “Basketball Diplomacy in Africa” project, and has written about global sports for The Athletic, CNN International, VICE Sports, ESPN, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and others. She currently lectures on sports and diplomacy at the Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport, New York University. 

Dr. Krasnoff previously served as a historian for the Office of the Historian in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Public Affairs, devising communications strategies and public affairs/public history storytelling content. She originated Office of the Historian offerings like the Historical Briefing Program, which provided critical information for ambassadors and Foreign Service Officers to base policy decisions and public diplomacy programs on while avoiding blunders, co-directed the office’s public outreach initiatives, and wrote policy papers on issues pertaining to U.S. foreign policy. As the office’s main liaison for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Lindsay provided insight and advice on Europe-related topics, working closely with the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in France, and, upon request, with the Department's Sports Diplomacy division.

Lindsay has taught courses in global sports, sports diplomacy, history, writing, and international affairs to undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals at public, private, and government institutions including the U.S. Foreign Service Institute, New York University, University of London, The George Washington University, Queens College, and Baruch College. She has led teams in government, academia, and the private sector, and served as a thought leader on a variety of international- and sports-related initiatives.

She is a mentor for the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) #SIGAWomen Global Mentorship Programme, an Editorial Board member for Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy Journal, and a member of the Overseas Press Club of America, the Réseau d’études des relations internationales sportives, and the History Communication Institute. Her past service includes the advisory boards of the U.S. National Archives’ “All American: The Power of Sport” exhibit and the Leadership, Ethics, and Practice Initiative at The Elliott School, The George Washington University, as well as the Executive Committee of sports club Sport & Démocratie focused on sports diplomacy.

Lindsay holds a PhD in History from The Graduate Center (City University of New York), MA in Journalism and French Studies (NYU), and BA in International Affairs (The George Washington University).