Donna Orender (center) in 2007
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2nd President of the WNBA | |
Preceded by | Val Ackerman |
Succeeded by | Laurel J. Richie |
Personal details | |
Nationality | American |
Spouse(s) | M.G. Orender |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater |
Queens College, City University of New York Adelphi University |
Donna Orender is a sports executive and a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was formerly president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She grew up on Long Island, New York, and was a five-sport athlete in high school, lettering in basketball, field hockey, volleyball, softball, and tennis. She is married to M. G. Orender and has four children: Zachary, Jacob, Morgan, and Colleen.
Orender is Jewish, and is a native New Yorker. She graduated from Queens College, City University of New York in 1978 with a degree in psychology, followed by graduate studies in social work at Adelphi University. While at Queens College she was an All-American basketball player.
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). In 1985, she played for the U.S. Maccabiah Team. 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).
Her television production career began as a production assistant at ABC Sports and continued at the Sports Channel. Orender also owned her own production company, Primo Donna Productions.