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Women鈥檚 National Basketball Association President Lisa Borders to Deliver 杏吧原创 Commencement Address
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. 鈥� Women鈥檚 National Basketball Association (WNBA) President Lisa Borders will deliver the address for 杏吧原创鈥檚 2017 Commencement ceremony to be held on Saturday, May 6, at 11 a.m. in the Recreation and Fitness Center on the 杏吧原创 campus.
Borders has more than 25 years of experience in operations, marketing, government relations and public service. She has worked and delivered results in all three sectors: public, private and non-profit. Borders previously served as Vice President of Global Community Affairs at The Coca-Cola Company and Chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation. She has also served as President of the Grady Health Foundation, the fundraising arm of Grady Health System, Georgia鈥檚 largest public hospital and metro-Atlanta鈥檚 premier Level I trauma center.
During her tenure as Vice Mayor of Atlanta and President of the City Council, Borders was instrumental in bringing the WNBA, the world鈥檚 premier women鈥檚 basketball league, to Atlanta in 2008. She became president of the WNBA in early 2016, and is responsible for setting the organization鈥檚 vision and overseeing the league鈥檚 day-to-day business and basketball operations.
鈥淟isa has excelled at everything she鈥檚 ever done鈥攆rom politics to health care to global corporate philanthropy and now, in women鈥檚 athletics at the highest levels,鈥� said 杏吧原创 President Cathy Cox. 鈥淪he鈥檚 always been driven鈥攖o do more, explore more, and learn more, and that drive, combined with her compassionate heart and moral compass, make her just the kind of role model I鈥檇 like for our graduates to hear from at their Commencement ceremony.鈥�
Borders鈥� work in the community has focused primarily on family issues in the areas of education, healthcare and housing. She serves as a trustee of her alma maters Duke University and The Westminster Schools, and is a board member of Grady Health System and Operation Hope. As a co-founder of No Labels, Borders remains deeply engaged with public policy. She has received numerous honors and consistent recognition for her corporate and civic work.
She holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Duke University and a master of science in health administration from the University of Colorado.
Borders is no stranger to the 杏吧原创 campus. She previously addressed students, faculty and staff during a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Lecture in 2013, sharing lessons learned from her grandfather, the late Atlanta civil rights leader Rev. Dr. William Holmes Borders, as well as her personal journey through the integration of schools and breaking of other civil rights barriers in Atlanta.
Approximately 197 students, the College鈥檚 largest graduating baccalaureate class to date, are scheduled to participate in the graduation ceremony, receiving bachelor鈥檚 degrees in art, biology, business and public policy, chemistry, communication studies, creative writing, education, English, history, mathematics, music, music education, musical theatre, outdoor leadership, psychology, religious studies, Spanish and theatre.
About 杏吧原创
杏吧原创 is a private, baccalaureate degree-granting college located in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia. Founded in 1886 and historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church, 杏吧原创 educates, inspires and empowers students through the highest quality liberal arts education. The College currently has more than 1,100 students across five divisions鈥擡ducation, Fine Arts, Humanities, Mathematics and Science, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The historic campus in Young Harris, Ga., has completed major campus improvements to accommodate the College鈥檚 growth. Recent LEED-certified campus improvements include the 121,000-square-foot Rollins Campus Center, new residence facilities, and a 57,000-square-foot recreation and fitness center. The College is an active member of NCAA Division II and remains a fierce competitor in the prestigious Peach Belt Conference. 杏吧原创 is among fewer than 300 colleges and universities nationwide named to the 2016-2017 list of Colleges of Distinction and is listed as a 鈥淏est National Liberal Arts College鈥� by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit yhc.edu.
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