World renowned administrator, corporate business leader and trailblazer Donna Orender is coming to She Hoops.
Donna is a former president of the WNBA, senior PGA executive and now founder and CEO Of Orender Unlimited and Gen W.
She is also the author of Connecting With Her, a guidebook on the women’s market and how to understand and access it.
She Hoops caught up with Donna before her session on Wednesday July 12, 2023 which you can view in full here.
SH: What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned during your storied career so far?
DO: Perhaps the greatest lesson is that we learn every day and being open to the lessons that are all around us is so very important and valuable. As athletes we are competitors and competitive and the world can often get framed into winners and losers. Understandable – and yet, there is winning every day in all we do and when we look to find the wins, even when we may fall short, we learn that all is not lost, but so much more to gain.
SH: What are some of the themes you’d like to share with participants in this She Hoops session?
DO: Certainly, love to share that being an active learner will pay dividends your whole life. That we are all on journeys, ones that we write, so we are active adventurers and we should work to feel open to all that is possible because we can author those possibilities.
Additionally, people matter, friendships, connections, relationships – people, good people are food for our souls and as we nourish ourselves we need to invest in others as well. This is why coaching is such a powerful profession, the ability to impact others as well as yourselves and see demonstrable change is very powerful.
SH: How important is a female driven and led platform like She Hoops for women in all levels and roles of basketball?
DO: I believe that women find comfort and strength in spaces where they feel welcomed and safe. I personally find the times that I spend with groups of women there is a magic to it. It is what GENERATION W is all about. We host a quarterly gathering for women to connect where we invite groups of about 15 -20 women who don’t know each other to start out. They are from a wide array of geographics, economics, demographics, life experiences etc and ALWAYS, ALWAYS, there are strong bonds, friendships created that prove to be so valuable and important to the participants.
We all need a home team and often, we find harbor in many different home teams. But to have the strength of a sisterhood to learn from and with, to support and cheer on, to be able to have a safe shoulder to cry on and rally with is super powerful.
