Portland Fire Expand Coaching and Basketball Operations Staff Ahead of 2026 Debut Season
WNBA Portland Fire

Portland Fire Expand Coaching and Basketball Operations Staff Ahead of 2026 Debut Season

Published on March 19, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Portland Fire News Release


Portland, OR - The Portland Fire today announced the additions of Danielle Boiago and Sefu Bernard as Assistant Coaches to the team's coaching staff. The new hires reflect the team's commitment to assembling a diverse basketball leadership group embracing modern ideas in every area of the game.

"I am delighted to add Danielle and Sefu to our coaching staff" said Portland Fire Head Coach, Alex Sarama. "Danielle and Sefu are committed to athlete-centered coaching and building transformational relationships with our players and staff. Furthermore, they embrace contemporary skill acquisition concepts and the importance of integrating modern principles of play. This is what makes them such a perfect fit for the Fire and the type of environment we will create here in Portland."

Boiago joins the Fire as an Assistant Coach after spending the last three seasons with the Memphis Hustle, the NBA G League Affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies. A former high-level collegiate athlete, she was a multi-year starter, national player of the year honoree, finishing her college career at McMaster University in her native Canada as the program's all-time leading scorer. Boiago went on to compete professionally overseas, in addition to representing Canada Basketball internationally.

Boiago also served as an Assistant Coach with the Niagara River Lions in the Canadian CEBL, as well as spending last summer with the German Women's National Team during their EuroBasket campaign. These rich international experiences inform her athlete-centered approach, with Boiago known for her ability to connect with athletes and translate high-level concepts into practice.

Bernard joins the team as Assistant Coach and Director of Learning and Development, where he will oversee the design and integration of the Fire's learning and development ecosystem, creating unified systems and workflows that connect coaches, performance staff, analytics, and the front office around a shared vision for player development.

Bernard brings more than 25 years of experience across the WNBA, NBA, FIBA, and international basketball. During the 2025 WNBA season, he served as Director of Player Development with the Minnesota Lynx, contributing to a franchise-best 34-10 record that tied the WNBA mark for most regular-season wins. Prior to his time with Minnesota, Bernard spent a decade with the Washington Mystics (2015-2024) as Director of Player Development, contributing to one of the most successful transformations in league history. During that span, the Mystics reached the postseason seven times, advanced to back-to-back WNBA Finals, and captured the franchise's first WNBA championship in 2019.

Bernard has also coached and consulted for more than two decades with the Canada Basketball women's national team program. As a National Development Coach, he played a key role in aligning the federation's high-performance pathway from junior academies to the National Teams.

The team has also announced the appointment of Jacob Lloyd as Assistant General Manager. Lloyd joins after most recently serving as the General Manager of Great Britain Senior Women's Basketball Team. Prior, he held varying performance analyst, coaching, and scouting roles within a number of organizations spanning global sport, including the Golden State Valkyries, London Lions, Basketball England, University of Essex, and Colchester United Football Club. Lloyd will report to General Manager Vanja Černivec.

Supporting the coaching and basketball operations staff are new key members of the organization's technical and analytics departments, including: Anh-Dao Tran Lagado, Director, Video Systems and Learning; Maezelle Millan, Player Development Analyst; Gabby Olivares, Director, Basketball Operations; Zawwar Naseer, Director, Research and Analytics; and Ben Pickman, Cap and Strategy Analyst.

Collectively, these additions underscore the Fire's commitment of building a modern, globally informed basketball organization designed to compete.

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