Since being drafted in 2021, Anna Heilferty has not only helped the Washington Spirit clinch the National Women’s Soccer League Championship but has also embraced her role as an ambassador to the DC government’s environmental sustainability initiative.
In our conversation, the Falls Church native discusses her journey in professional soccer and the backstory behind her advocacy.
Ballfields all over Northern Virginia are filled with young women and girls who would love to play professional soccer. When did you know you might have what it takes?
It’s hard to pinpoint a period but I was lucky to have the same coach, Ann Germain, basically from elementary school until I went to college. She kind of saw me and pushed me and tapped into my personality in a way that not a lot of people in my life have. She inspired me to take [soccer] more seriously than just a fun way to get energy out.
As a student at Justice High School, you played at a high-level club and were the 2017 women’s high school soccer player of the year by The Washington Post. What’s it like seeing your photo with all those other outstanding athletes?
I hadn’t had an experience like that. It was definitely a really big source of joy to get to play for my high school.
You missed all of last year with the Spirit with a preseason knee injury. That had to be painful in more ways than one.
Looking back on it, it’s kind of one of those clichés: Everything happens for a reason, and it was very much a year for me to explore Anna outside of soccer, also get a different perspective on why I’m choosing to do this every day, and why I’m committed to playing, and finding that joy, going back to where it all started.
You’ve played positions all over the field. Last year Spirit moved you to a new one: defender.
I’ve enjoyed the transition into outside back. I’m always happy to pop in wherever, but defender has become a very dynamic and fun position to try to master.
Off the field, you are the Department of Energy and Environment’s first ambassador to the DC government’s sustainable environmental initiative. Why that nonprofit?
Sustainability was my minor and biology was my major, so it was something I studied in school. I looked into a bunch of different organizations and landed on DOE because of how much they do and how dynamic they are. They’re really great people and easy to connect with and work with. I’m in the Urban Sustainability Administration, so a lot of it has been helping with events they do, like Kingman Island Family Day is a big one. We did a sustainability night. We formally adopted a portion of the Anacostia River and do work around that to honor it.
This interview with Anna Heilferty has been edited for clarity and length.
Feature image courtesy Washington Spirit
This story originally ran in our May issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
