Voted on by the District Administrators (D.A.s) during their Region Meetings at the 29th Little League® International Congress in February 2026, Carmine Conti and Rick Duarte have officially been named as Field Directors to the Little League International Board of Directors, as approved by the Board during its annual fall meeting, hosted in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Conti (New Jersey District 7 Administrator) will take over as the new East Region Field Director, while Duarte (California District 35 Administrator) serves as the new West Region Field Director, replacing John Berardi and Martin Hoover, respectively, who conclude their four years of service on the Board.
“On behalf of the Little League International Board of Directors, I am honored to welcome Carmine and Rick as the newest Field Directors. Their journeys from Little League players to dedicated volunteers and leaders in their community reflect a lifelong commitment to serving our program’s children and families Carmine and Rick’s decades of grassroots experience and deep understanding of the program will support their continued service and make meaningful impact in these important leadership roles.” said Steven P. Johnson, Little League International Board of Directors Chairman. “We also extend our sincere appreciation to Martin and Jon for their years of dedicated service. The contributions made during their time on the board have helped make positive change and we look forward to seeing how they continue to be leaders within their communities.”
Carmine Conti – East Region Field Director
A longtime resident of New Jersey, Conti’s lifelong Little League career began as a player for Downtown Little League (Jersey City, N.J.) in 1970. After his playing days came to an end, he gave back to his community, serving in several volunteer positions at the grassroots level including coach, Vice President, and Player Agent. His Little League volunteer career continued at the district, state, and region level, first serving as the Assistant District Administrator for New Jersey District 7 (1992-2004), before taking over his current roles as District Administrator (2005-present), New Jersey State Director (2019-present), a member of the East Region Advisory Board and the President’s Advisory Board. For his decades of service to Little League players and volunteers, Conti was nominated by the East Region Director to receive the Little League Meritorious Award at the 2022 Little League International Congress.
Rick Duarte – West Region Field Director
Duarte’s involvement with Little League started at age 9 as a player in 1973 and 1974 at Centerville National LL in Fremont, California. Three years later, he hung up his cleats from Nevada City (Calif.) LL and put on his coach’s cap after a family friend asked him to help coach his son’s Minor Division team. The coaching seed was planted! At the same time, he started public address (P.A.) announcing games for the league. Since then, after moving to Petaluma, California, at age 15, his love for the program has expanded and he continues to serve in various roles including manager or coach in Petaluma Valley LL (1981-present), a local league board member in various roles (PVLL 1983-present), a P.A. Announcer at the West Region Little League Baseball tournaments in San Bernardino, California, the California District 35 Administrator (2018-present), and as a member of the Northern California State Association Board (2022-present).
The management of the property and business affairs of Little League Baseball, Incorporated, is vested in the International Board of Directors. The Board has the control of the corporation and the power to appoint such standing committees as it shall determine and delegate such responsibilities as it shall deem advisable.
Nine members of the Board are Field Directors. Each represent one of Little League’s nine regions and are nominated by their peers for election to four-year terms by their region’s District Administrators. The members of the Little League International Board of Directors are volunteers in this service to Little League. They receive no compensation for their dedicated work on behalf of the program and the children of the world.