Bio

Charlie Ekstrom is entering her first year as a part of the Folsom Lake College volleyball career after a historical career as a collegiate and professional beach volleyball player. 

Coach Ekstrom played beach volleyball at Stanford University from 2018-2023, where she was a 5 year (including the cut-off 2020 season) starter and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. During her time competing for the Cardinal, she was named a 4x member of the All Pac-12 Team, a 4x Pac-12 All Academic team, an AVCA All-American, and was named a Pac-12 Pair of the Week honoree along with being named to the Pac-12 All Freshman team her first year competing. Ekstrom finished her career at Stanford with 82 wins, the most in Stanford’s program history at the time of her graduation. 

Both during her time at Stanford and following graduation, Ekstrom competed on the AVP tour domestically, with her highest finish being a 3rd place in a summertime event. Along with domestic competition, she represented Team USA internationally on the FIVB tour in tournaments located in Australia, Italy, and Spain, with her highest finish being a 5th place in international competition.

Prior to joining the coaching team at FLC, Coach Ekstrom was a head coach at 692 West Beach Volleyball club in San Diego, CA (2019-2023), and a tournament director and director of operations at Beach Volleyball Clubs of America (BVCA) National Championships. She also was the Assistant Director of Communications and Outreach for Strong Girls United, an organization dedicated to empowering girls through sports, mentorship, and mental strength workshops. She is the founder and host of "Strong Girls Pod," a podcast dedicated to empowering girls and women through holding inspiring conversations with current and former professional and collegiate female athletes.  

Ekstrom holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a sub-plan in Architectural Design, and a Master of Arts in Communications with a focus in Media Studies from Stanford University. While at Stanford, she also was founder and president of Stanford’s first ever student-athlete led philanthropic organization, Cardinal Community. The organization was dedicated to providing a platform for philanthropic engagement for student-athletes on campus, in order to give back to the communities surrounding Stanford. She currently resides in Sacramento.