Donna Geils Orender | |
---|---|
2nd President of the WNBA | |
In office February 15, 2005 –December 3, 2010 | |
Preceded by | Val Ackerman |
Succeeded by | Laurel J. Richie |
Personal details | |
Born | Long Island,New York | February 14,1957
Nationality | American |
Spouse | M.G. Orender |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | Queens College,City University of New York Adelphi University |
Known for | collegiate and professional basketball player;senior vice president of the PGA;president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) |
Donna Geils Orender (born February 14,1957) [1] is a sports executive and a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was formerly president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA),and senior vice president of the PGA. Currently,Orender is the founder and CEO of Orender Unlimited,a Jacksonville,Florida–based advisory and consultancy firm. She travels the world as a motivational speaker and advocating for the empowerment of women and young girls through her non-profit organization Generation W.
Orender was born in Long Island,New York,grew up in Queens,New York,and in Elmont,New York on Long Island,and is Jewish. [2] [3] [4] [5] She belonged to a Conservative synagogue (the Elmont Jewish Center). [6] [7] [8] She attended and played basketball for Elmont High School,in Elmont,New York,and was a five-sport athlete in high school,also lettering in field hockey,volleyball,softball,and tennis. [9] According to Orender,Elmont High School did not have a girls’tennis team while she was attending,so she asked the coach to play for the boys’team. The coach agreed to let her try out for the team,and in doing so she beat her opponent and became the first girl to play tennis for the high school,which gained little attention to her surprise. [10]
Orender turned down an academic scholarship to the University of Chicago to instead attend Queens College in New York City,New York to play basketball for Lucille Kyvallos. [10] Queens College was invited to play Immaculata at Madison Square Garden on February 22,1975. The matchup was the first ever college women's basketball game in the arena. [11] Orender graduated from Queens College in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. [12] [13] While at Queens College she was an All-American basketball player. [8] In 2012 Orender was inducted into the Queens College Athletics Hall of Fame. [13]
After graduating from Queens College,Orender attended Adelphi University to pursue her master's degree in social work. She dropped out of the program after one year to play professional basketball for the Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL). [10] Adelphi University presented Orender with an honorary doctor of law degree in 2007. [14]
Under the name Donna Geils,Orender played three seasons in the Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL),where she was an All-Star,and one of only 20 women to play in all three seasons of the league. During that time,she played for the New York Stars (1978–79),New Jersey Gems (1979–80),and Chicago Hustle (1980–81). [15] Orender's WBL career is featured in the book Mad Seasons:The Story of the First Women's Basketball League,1978–1981,by Karra Porter (University of Nebraska Press,2006). The WBL was disbanded in 1981. [15]
Orender still holds two records for most field goals made,and is currently ranked 34th with 249 field goals made in the 1979–1980 season and ranked 7th for most turnovers in a single season,with 191 also in the 1979–1980 season. [16] [17] Both records were set as a part of the New Jersey Gems. When the league shutdown in 1981,Orender wrote an article for The Times called "Making a Dream Come True,and Watching it Fade Away." [15]
In 1985,she was the captain of the Team USA Women's Basketball Team at the 1985 Maccabiah Games in Israel. [18]
Orender's television production career began as a production assistant at ABC Sports and continued at the Sports Channel. Orender also owned her own production and marketing company,Primo Donna Productions. [19]
In 1987,Orender started working for the PGA Tour,where she oversaw their global television and production businesses. By 1989,she was the original producer of Inside the PGA Tour,a half-hour highlights show. In 1997 she negotiated a $400 million TV contract with the networks for the PGA Tour. [19] In 2001,she became the senior vice president of strategic development in the Office of the Commissioner. Orender spent 17 years with the PGA. [19] [8]
In February 2005,Orender was named the new WNBA president,succeeding Val Ackerman. Her responsibilities included the oversight of all league operations including both the business and competitive aspects of the league. During her tenure,she negotiated an eight-year contract extension with Disney/ABC/ESPN which,for the first time,included broadcast rights fees and a six-year Collective Bargaining agreement. [8] On December 3,2010,it was announced that Orender would be stepping down from her post effective December 31,2010. NBA Vice President Chris Granger was tabbed to replace her on an interim basis until Laurel Richie was the named the new president. [20]
During her time with the organization Orender notes attendance growth,development on ESPN,and broadcast development are all highlights that she is proud to have played a role in. [21] In an interview with Jackson Daily Record Orender discusses her decision to step down as president was in part due to her twin sons. She wanted to be around for them as they were growing up,and as they needed her more. [22]
In 2011,Orender registered and launched a 501c3,non-profit organization called Generation W. This non-profit organization is used to provide a platform to bring women together to educate,inspire,and connect through mentor-ship and national events. Orender became the CEO of Generation W when it was founded in 2011. [23] [24] Generation W is Orender's proudest professional accomplishment. [25]
In the same year,Orender also launched Orender Unlmited,a consulting and advisory firm based in Jacksonville,Florida. This organization focuses on marketing,media,and diversity strategies for its clientele. She has been the CEO since it launched in 2011. [23] [26]
Through both of her organizations,Orender has been invited to be the keynote and motivational speaker for many events around the nation. She has also been a global ambassador for Vital Voices,traveling to India to help mentor young women entrepreneurs. [26] In 2016,she gave a TEDx Talk presentation in Jacksonville,FL. [10] In July 2018,Orender published a book titled WOWsdom! The Girl's Guide to the Positive and the Possible (Mascot Books,July 10,2018).
Donna Orender has been appointed and elected to serve on several organizations' executive board committees: [8] [26]
In 1990,Orender moved from New York to Jacksonville Beach,Florida,where she resides with her husband. [9] [27] She is a member of the Jacksonville Jewish Center. [9] She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho. [28]
Orender met her future husband Carnace (MG) Orender while both were working for PGA of America. MG has held several professional roles in the golf community such as president of Hamilton Golf,Inc. and many positions within the PGA America organization including PGA President from 2003 –2004. [29] The two were married in 1994 and have two children together,twin brothers Jacob and Zachary. Jacob is a guard for the California Golden Bears basketball team. [30] Zachary is completing his bachelor's degree at Tulane University. [31] During her time as president of the WNBA,Orender lived and worked in New York,while her husband stayed in Jacksonville with the couple's children. [32]
From her marriage,Orender is also mother to two stepchildren,Morgan and Colleen Orender. Morgan is an associate attorney practicing law in Jacksonville,Florida,and Colleen is a singer based in Nashville,Tennessee. [33] [34]
Orender is friends with Ann Meyers Drysdale,whom she met in 1979 while playing in the WBL. The two played together for the New Jersey Gems. [19]
During an interview in 2011 with Athlon Sports following her announcement that she would be stepping down as President of the WNBA,Orender mentioned writing a book among her professional goals. [43] Orender has several writing credits to her name:
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league based in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams. It is considered the premier professional women's basketball league in the world. The league's headquarters are located in New York City.
Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 as of the 2020 census.
The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two teams in the WNBA that are undefeated in the WNBA Finals; the Seattle Storm are the other. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and are tied with the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm for the most championships of any WNBA franchise, and despite all of their success, the team was folded and disbanded by the league in 2008 during the height of the Great Recession because new ownership could not be found.
The Women's Professional Basketball League was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional women's basketball league in the United States.
Suzanne Brigit Bird is an American former professional basketball player who played her entire career with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Bird was drafted first overall pick by the Storm in the 2002 WNBA draft and is considered one of the greatest players in WNBA history. As of 2024, Bird is the only WNBA player to win titles in three different decades. She held a front office position for the NBA's Denver Nuggets as their Basketball Operations Associate. She has also played for three teams in the Russian league and holds dual citizenship with both U.S. and Israel.
Nancy Ilizabeth Lieberman, nicknamed "Lady Magic", is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) who is currently a broadcaster for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as the head coach of Power, a team in the BIG3 which she led to its 2018 Championship. Lieberman is regarded as one of the greatest figures in American women's basketball.
Valerie B. Ackerman is an American sports executive, former lawyer, and former basketball player. She is the current commissioner of the Big East Conference. She is best known for being the first president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), serving from 1996 to 2005. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
Shay Doron is an Israeli professional basketball player in the Israeli league. She plays for Maccabi Ashdod.
The Chicago Hustle was a team in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) from 1978 to 1981. The team's colors were red and blue.
Brittney Yvette Griner is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star. Griner was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
Kelsey Michelle Griffin is an American-Australian professional women's basketball player. She was drafted 3rd overall in the 2010 WNBA draft. Griffin played college basketball with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Griffin was named to many All-America teams and was the winner of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Griffin is currently playing for the University of Canberra Capitals in the Australian WNBL. Having obtained Australian citizenship in November 2015, Griffin pledged her allegiance to Australia before the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The New York Stars were an American professional basketball team that played for the first two of three seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League. The team won the 1979-80 league championship in its second season, defeating the Iowa Cornets.
Gail Annette Marquis is an American former basketball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Marianne Crawford Stanley is an American basketball coach. She previously served as the head coach of the Washington Mystics and Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
A'ja Riyadh Wilson is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Jazmine Jones is an American basketball who last played for Panathinaikos of the Greek League. She played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference. She was drafted by the New York Liberty in the 2020 WNBA draft.
Rennia Davis is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. She was drafted 9th in the 2021 WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx.
Emily Ann Engstler is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), currently playing for Hapoel Lev Jerusalem of the Israeli Female Basketball Premier League. She formerly played for the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx. She played college basketball for Syracuse during her first three years at the college level, then for Louisville, earning first-team All-ACC honors in her only season with the team. Engstler graduated from St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, New York, where she was rated a five-star recruit by ESPN and named a McDonald's All-American.
Kierstan Bell is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Las Vegas Aces in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Florida Gulf Coast and Ohio State.
Althea R. Gwyn was an American professional basketball player who was one of the first players in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL).