“It’s an incredible honor to be elected to the USOPC Board of Directors by the AAC to represent the athletes of Team USA,” Meyers Taylor said in a statement. “The board of directors is a highly accomplished group of individuals, and I am excited to work with them to serve all stakeholders — but most importantly the athletes. I am also honored to be taking over the board seat of fellow bobsledder Steve Mesler, who not only represented the athletes well but had a positive impact on the entire USOPC. I look forward to working to continue to improve the USOPC and to ensuring that we have the strongest national Olympic and Paralympic movements in the world.”

The USOPC AAC, which serves as the representative group and voice of active Team USA athletes, is responsible for electing three of the five athlete positions on the USOPC board. The election procedure consisted of an interview and vetting process with the AAC Nominations and Elections Committee before a final vote by the AAC general body — comprised of athlete representatives from all National Governing Bodies. Meyers Taylor’s four-year term will start on Jan. 1, 2023, and she is eligible for a subsequent four-year term subject to a vote of retention by the AAC.

“We are thrilled that Elana Meyers Taylor will represent USOPC athletes on the board of directors, said Mark Ladwig, chair of the Athletes’ Advisory Council. “Elana has a true understanding of the movements and an unbridled passion for all sports, and she will be an excellent athlete voice on the board.”

Meyers Taylor has competed in four Olympic Winter Games, most recently competing in the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, where she earned a silver medal in the Olympic debut of monobob and a bronze medal in the women’s two-person bobsled event.

She was elected Opening Ceremony flag bearer but was unable to participate due to a positive COVID-19 test upon arrival in China, however, the athletes of Team USA then elected her to carry the flag in the Closing Ceremony.

Meyers Taylor has been an advocate for gender and racial parity in sport, as well as, working for access and support for moms in elite competition. She served as the Women’s Sport Foundation president, as an athlete director on the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Board of Directors and was appointed to the Georgia Council for Developmental Disabilities.

The 18-member USOPC board is comprised of five athlete representatives — three AAC-elected and two at-large athlete-elected — three National Governing Bodies Council representatives and five independent members. The USOPC CEO, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation chair, and American members of the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee, respectively, are ex officio members of the board.

Meyers Taylor joins fellow AAC-elected directors Daria Schneider and Brad Snyder. Current AAC-elected director Steve Mesler will continue serving through the end of his term on Dec. 31, 2022.