“I could roll my sleeves up for a league that I played in, and it was something that I couldn’t pass up.”ĭonaphin picked an opportune time to join the WNBA. “The Liberty is an original WNBA franchise and I was a big ’90s Knicks fan,” Donaphin said. Donaphin then joined the NBA as associate vice president of operations and moved over to the WNBA as head of league operations in 2018. As a member of Famila Schio, she won three Italian league championships in 2005, 20.Īfter her playing career, she earned her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and spent four years working at Deloitte, where she gained key business experience. She played for her hometown WNBA team, the New York Liberty, and in Europe, where she was Turkish league MVP in 2004 for Fenerbahçe en route winning the league championship. She has twin boys, Jacob and Zachary, and two stepchildren, Morgan and Colleen.The WNBA would be hard-pressed to come up with a more apt background for a league executive than that of Bethany Donaphin.ĭonaphin, a New York City native, was a college star at Stanford University. the V Foundation the UJA Sports for Youth Initiative, The Hadassah Foundation Board and Maccabi USA/Sports for Israel.Ī graduate of Queens College, Orender did graduate studies in social work at Adelphi University.Ī native New Yorker, Orender is married to MG Orender, Honorary President of the PGA of America and owner/partner in Hampton Golf, Inc. Orender serves on the boards of the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc.
In March 2006, she became the first woman honored by the UJA-Federation of New York�s Entertainment, Media and Communications Division for her dedication to the community. In 2005, she was named to the Sporting News� annual Power 100 list, as well as Fox �s 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports list. In September 2007, Orender was named to BusinessWeek�s Power 100 Sports issue, received the 2007 WISE Woman of the Year Award, and earned the March of Dimes Sports Leadership Award in 2006.
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She played three seasons as an All-Star point guard in the Women�s Professional Basketball League.
In college, Orender played basketball, earning Regional All-American honors. Orender also owned her own production company, Primo Donna Productions. Orender�s sports career began in television production at ABC Sports and later moved to the SportsChannel. Prior to this, she ran the tour�s worldwide television and production businesses for nine years. Orender was responsible for the development and management of strategic direction across all business lines, including new media, Internet, advertising and brand management. Prior to joining the league, Orender spent 17 years with the PGA TOUR, serving most recently as Senior Vice President of Strategic Development in the Office of the Commissioner. Orender has led significant growth during her tenure, signing an eight-year contract extension with Disney/ABC/ESPN that for the first time included a broadcast rights fee expanding the WNBA All-Star Weekend to incorporate the All-Star Salute: Celebrating Inspiration Luncheon moving the WNBA Draft to the host city of the NCAA Women�s Final Four enhancing marketing partnerships coordinating a season-long celebration of the league�s 10-year anniversary in 2006 and leading league expansion, most recently into Atlanta. Donna Orender, President of the Women�s National Basketball Association since February 2005, oversees all WNBA business and league operations.