Grace french

President and Founder

Grace French is a dancer, marketer, strategist, and founder dedicated to transforming athlete safety and survivors’ rights. She is the President and Founder of The Athlete Survivors’ Assist and a marketing professional, combining her expertise in advocacy and digital strategy to drive meaningful change.

Grace’s passion for dance continues through her work as a coach at multiple nationally recognized youth dance studios across Michigan. As a survivor of the now-disgraced Michigan State University doctor, she has committed her life to changing the culture of sport, consent, and institutional accountability—ensuring no one else endures sexual violence or abuse.

Her advocacy has received global recognition, leading her to testify before Congress in 2022 and 2023 in support of athlete safety, present on trauma-informed practices for athletes with the U.S. Department of Justice, and speak at the United Nations General Assembly in 2019 to advocate for a Worldwide Survivor Bill of Rights. She serves on the Advisory Boards of Safe Sport International and the International Safeguards for Children in Sport and has contributed as an expert advisor on global projects with FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, the World Players Association, and the Sport & Rights Alliance.

Nationally, Grace has played a key role in passing nine laws in Michigan to expand the statute of limitations and strengthen mandatory reporting requirements. She also helped pass the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020, which enhanced athlete protections across the U.S.

Her work has earned numerous accolades, including the 2023 Women Who Shape the State Award from MLive, the 2021 Liberty Bell Award from the Michigan Bar Association, and induction into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 2019. She was also a recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2018 ESPYs and recognized as a Glamour Woman of the Year in 2018.

Grace earned her BBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.