FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Maddy Elledge
(706) 379-5319, [email protected]
Women’s National Basketball Association President Lisa Borders to Deliver Young Harris College Commencement Address
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) President Lisa Borders will deliver the address for Young Harris College’s 2017 Commencement ceremony to be held on Saturday, May 6, at 11 a.m. in the Recreation and Fitness Center on the YHC 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’s largest public hospital and metro-Atlanta’s 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’s premier women’s basketball league, to Atlanta in 2008. She became president of the WNBA in early 2016, and is responsible for setting the organization’s vision and overseeing the league’s day-to-day business and basketball operations.
“Lisa has excelled at everything she’s ever done—from politics to health care to global corporate philanthropy and now, in women’s athletics at the highest levels,” said YHC President Cathy Cox. “She’s always been driven—to 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’d like for our graduates to hear from at their Commencement ceremony.”
Borders’ 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’s degree from Duke University and a master of science in health administration from the University of Colorado.
Borders is no stranger to the YHC 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’s largest graduating baccalaureate class to date, are scheduled to participate in the graduation ceremony, receiving bachelor’s 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 Young Harris College
Young Harris College 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, Young Harris College educates, inspires and empowers students through the highest quality liberal arts education. The College currently has more than 1,100 students across five divisions—Education, 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’s 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. YHC is among fewer than 300 colleges and universities nationwide named to the 2016-2017 list of Colleges of Distinction and is listed as a “Best National Liberal Arts College” by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit yhc.edu.
###
