Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Ebony Hoffman

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2009  –  Lebanon
  • 2013  –  Thailand
  • 2014  –  South Africa
  • 2014  –  Rwanda
  • 2015  –  Botswana
  • 2015  –  Mozambique
  • 2015  –  South Africa

Ebony Hoffman (born in 1982), played basketball at USC before being drafted by the Indiana Fever in the 1st round of the 2004 WNBA Draft. Hoffman left Indiana in 2011 when she moved to play for the Los Angeles Sparks. Hoffman spent her final WNBA season with the Connecticut Sun in 2014. Across her 11 seasons, Hoffman started 172 games, averaging 5.8 points per game.

From 2013, Hoffman has been the President and CEO of EbHoops Clinics, an organization geared towards coaching young kids interested in basketball. Hoffman is also currently Assistant Basketball Coach at Windward School in the greater Los Angeles area.

Donna Orender

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2009  –  Lebanon

Donna was recruited by Adam Silver to lead the WNBA in its most vulnerable time. She served 6 years as the President/Commissioner of the league, during which time she solidified its base and led double digit growth in all key business metrics.

Orender is a highly respected corporate business leader having led growth and innovation in several high-profile companies. She has been recognized as one of the top 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports and one of Newsweeks100 most Influential people in the business of sports and is a best-selling author with her 2018 release of Wowsdom! the Girl’s Guide to the Positive and the Possible.

In addition, she serves on the nominating and compensation committees for the V Foundation for Cancer Research board, was elected to the executive committee of Maccabi USA and contributes to the boards of the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program at UCF, UNF Brooks School of Health, Co-Chairs the UJA Sports for Youth Initiative and a founding member of the board of W.O.M.E.N, a mentoring organization for young women capable of reaching the C-suite. She has also been a Global Ambassador for Vital Voices, traveling to India to help mentor young women entrepreneurs.

Donna has been a recipient of the March of Dimes Sports Leadership Award and was honored by the UJA-Federation of New York’s Entertainment, Media and Communications Division for her dedication to the community. A Hall of Fame athlete at Queens College, her business acumen and experience make her a sought-after speaker on topics such as leadership, teamwork, motivation and gender/diversity issues.

Rolando Blackman

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2009  –  Lebanon

Rolando Blackman is a Panamanian-American NBA player who was a four-time All Star, spending most of his time with the Dallas Mavericks. Blackman attended Kansas State University where he played basketball and earned a number of noteworthy achievements including: Big Eight Conference Player of the Year, All-American, 3-time unanimous All-Big Eight selection, 3-time the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year, and scored 1,844 career points (the second-highest total in KSU history).

Prior to the start of his senior year, he was picked as a starter for the 1980 Summer Olympics basketball team. During his time with the Mavericks, he made 6,487 field goals and scored 16,643 points which was a franchise record for 18 years until 2008. In his 865, Blackman never fouled out of a game.