Alisha Valavanis is an American businesswoman who is the current

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the WNBA team

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

Early life

Alisha Valavanis was born in Valparaiso,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, to parents Debbie Hamre and Spero Valavanis. She started playing

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

at age 4. She has a twin sister named Alexa Benson-Valavanis, with whom she played basketball growing up. Her father, Spero Valavanis, was the lead

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

on the Seattle Storm's training facility, the team that she now leads.

College career

Valavanis was recruited alongside her sister Alexa to play basketball at

Chico State University California State University, Chico (Chico State) is a public university in Chico, California. It was founded in 1887 as one of about 180 " normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growin ...

for the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

by then-head coach Mary Anne Lazzarini. She played at CSU from 1995 to 2000. By the time she graduated in 2000, she led the program's all-time three-pointers with 139.

Career

Coaching and sports business

Valavanis became an assistant coach at Chico State under then-head coach Lynne Roberts in 2002. She worked to enhance the

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

basketball camps held at the university. Coach Roberts praised her personality and ability to communicate and credited Valavanis for bringing her "out of her shell". In her tenure as an assistant coach at Chico State, the team qualified for the NCAA tournament all four years, including a

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

appearance. After leaving Chico State University, Valavanis worked as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

. She later joined the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

in a

front office The front office is the part of a company that comes in contact with clients, such as the marketing, sales, and service departments. The term has more specific meaning in different industries. Types General offices The function of front offic ...

role. Later on, she served as the associate

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

Seattle Storm

In 2014, Valavanis joined the

as the

and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

and was at the helm of the team's rebuilding along with her management company Force10 Sports. Storm alumnus

Sue Bird Suzanne Brigit Bird (born October 16, 1980) 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 t ...

praised Valavanis' ability to connect with everyone in the organization and her personableness. The team drafted

Jewell Loyd Jewell Loyd (born October 5, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Nicknamed the "Gold Mamba", she played college basketball at Notre Dame and was selec ...

as the first overall pick in the 2015 WNBA draft, which Loyd went on to win the

Rookie of the Year Award A Rookie of the Year award or ROY is given by a number of sports leagues to the top-performing athlete in his or her first season within the league. Athletes competing for the first time in any given league are also known as "rookies". Principal ...

that season. The Seattle Storm won their first

WNBA Championship The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. The series is played between the win ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, and won their second in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Valavanis championed a marquee jersey and community partnership with

Swedish Medical Center Swedish Health Services (formerly Swedish Medical Center) is a nonprofit healthcare provider in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates five hospital campuses (in the Seattle neighborhoods of First Hill, Cherry Hill and Ballard, and the ci ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and a television partnership with Q13 FOX. Later on, she also expanded the Carter Subaru partnership to include

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

, the first in WNBA history, resulting in the Carter Subaru Court at

Climate Pledge Arena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as the Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ...

. Valavanis has also negotiated a deal with Symetra Insurance. Outside of the team, Valavanis has prioritized advocacy for

women's sports Women and girls have participated in sports, physical fitness, and exercise throughout history. However, the extent of their involvement has varied depending on factors such as country, time, geographical location, and level of economic develo ...

as a movement for

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

and

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

. She serves as a member of the Washington Roundtable, the

International Women's Forum The International Women's Forum (IWF), founded in 1974 as the Women's Forum of New York, is an invitation-only women's organization with some 7,800 members. Its mission is "to support the women leaders of today and tomorrow". The IWF hosts two co ...

, the Seattle Sports Commission Board of Directors, and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees.

Personal life

Valavanis' father passed away in January 2024. She resides in

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valavanis, Alisha Women's basketball players in the United States Basketball players from Indiana People from Valparaiso, Indiana Women's National Basketball Association executives Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Women's National Basketball Association general managers Sportspeople from Indiana