User:KSlove521/sandbox

Early life
Donna was born to Jerry Chait, an engineer, and Sherry Chait, an art broker in Elmont, New York. Donna attended Elmont High School. Orender is Jewish, and along growing up she was very active in their local synagogue, the Elmont Jewish Center. Donna is the oldest of three, and has two sisters. According to Donna, Elmont High School did not have a girls’ tennis team while she was attending so she asked the coach to play for the boys’ team. The coach agreed to let her try-out for the team, and in doing so she beat her opponent and was the first girl to play tennis for the high school, which gained little attention to her surprise. Donna regularly went to playgrounds and parks to play basketball with other kids in the neighborhood, often challenging boys.

College Years
Orender turned down an academic scholarship to University of Chicago to instead attend Queens College in New York City, New York to play basketball for Lucille Kyvallos. Queens College was invited to play Immaculata at Madison Square Garden on February 22, 1975. The match up was the first ever college women’s basketball game in the arena. Orender graduated from Queens College in 1978 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. In 2012 Orender was inducted into Queens College Athletics Hall of Fame.

After graduating from Queens College, Orender attended Adelphi University to pursue her Masters in Social Work. She dropped out of the program after one year to play professional basketball for the Women’s Pro Basketball League (WBL). Adelphi University presented Orender with an honorary doctor of law degree in 2007.

Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL) (1978 - 1981)
Orender, dropped out of her Social Work master's program at Aldephi University after one year of study to play professional women's basketball. Orender played all three years the league was operating, and she played for three different teams during that time: New York Stars, New Jersey Gems, and Chicago Hustle. Orender, who at the time played as Donna Geils, still holds two records for Most Fields Goals Made, currently ranked 34th with 249 field goals made in the 1979-1980 season and ranked 7th for turnovers in the same season. Both records were set as a part of the New Jersey Gems. When the league shutdown in 1981, Orender wrote an article for The Times called "Making a Dream Come True, and Watching it Fade Away".

Professional Golfer's Association (PGA) Tour (1987 - 2005)
After her professional basketball career ended with the closure of the WBL, Orender entered in the world of sports media production. 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.

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) (2005 - 2010)
From February 2005 through December 2010 Orender served as President of the WNBA. During her time with the organization Orender notes attendance growth, development on ESPN, and broadcast development are all highlights that she is proud to have played a role in. In an interview with Jackson Daily Record Orender discusses her decision to step down as president was in part due to her twin sons. She wanted to be around for them as they were growing up, and as they needed her more.

Orender Unlimited, LLC. and Generation W. (2011- Present)
Orender founded Orender Unlimited, LLC. in January 2011, a marketing-media strategy company following her resignation from the WNBA.

Generation W which focuses is Orender's proudest professional accomplishment.

Personal life
Donna met her future husband Carnace (MG) Orender while both were working for PGA of America. MG has held several professional roles in the golf community such as President of Hamilton Golf, Inc. and many positions within the PGA America organization including PGA President from 2003 – 2004. During her time as President of the WNBA the marriage was considered a "commuter marriage" with Orender living and working in New York and her husband living in Jacksonville with the couples' children. The two currently live in Jacksonville, Florida.

The two were married in 1994 and have two children together, twin brothers Jacob and Zachary. Jacob is completing his degree at California University where he is also a walk-on Guard for the Cal U Bears Men’s Basketball team. Zachary is completing his Bachelor’s Degree from Tulane University.

From the marriage Donna is also mother to two step-children, Morgan and Colleen Orender. Morgan is an Associate Attorney practicing law in Jacksonville, Flordia and Colleen is a singer based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Donna is friends with Ann Meyers Drysdale whom she met in 1979 while playing in the WBL. The two played together for the New Jersey Gems.

Donna gives back to her community by dedicating her time to serving my different organizations in the community in various roles, including: founding of Generation W., serving of the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, UJA Sports for Youth Initiative, The Hadassah Foundation, the V Foundation, and Maccabi USA/Sports for Israel. Generation W. is a community building organization for women and girls alike. The goal is Generation W. is to educate, inspire, connect, and motivate women.

Writing
During an interview in 2011 with Athlon Sports following her announcement that she would be stepping down as President of the WNBA, Donna mentioned writing a book among her professional goals. Donna has several writing credits to her name:


 * My Dad and Me by Larry King, contributor
 * WOWsdom! The Girl's Guide to the Positive and the Possible, author
 * Barnstorming America Stories from the Pioneers of Women's Basketball, co-author
 * The Leaderboard: Conversations on Golf and Life, contributor
 * Articles published with Sports Illustrated, Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal, and The Times

Awards and Honors

 * Newsweek 100 Most Influential People in Sports
 * FoxSports.com's 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports (2005)
 * Honored by the UJA-Federation of New York's Entertainment, Media and Communications Division
 * Youth for Sports, Chair
 * Entertainment, Media & Communications Division Executive Committee, Vice Chair
 * March of Dimes Sports Leadership Award
 * Sporting News's annual "Power List" in 2005
 * Business Week's Power 100 Sports issue
 * 2007 WISE Woman of the Year Award
 * Queens College Hall of Fame (2012)
 * Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (2006)