The President and CEO of the North Valley Community Foundation. The architect of two WNBA Championships as CEO and General Manager of the Seattle Storm. And a University President.
What if you had the opportunity to listen to and learn from these three powerful and successful women?
If you are a Chico State student-athlete or alumni, you do!
On Wednesday, February 17, at 3 p.m., Chico State President Gayle Hutchinson and Chico State women's basketball alumnae Alexa Benson-Valavanis and Alisha Valavanis will take part in a webinar for all Chico State student-athletes and alumni titled, "Power Players and Leadership," sponsored by the Chico State Alumni Association and the Chico State Athletic Department's 'CatsSkills initiative.
These three power players—proud Wildcats, and gifted communicators—will discuss leadership and provide profound insights about how you can take an active role in creating the kind of future you want to see.
So, if you're a Chico State alumni or student-athlete, register now by clicking the banner atop the website or the link on the top-right corner of this story.
More about our speakers:
Gayle Hutchinson, a former collegiate field hockey and lacrosse student-athlete, started her career as an assistant professor at Chico State in 1990 and called the university home for the next 23 years, working her way to full professor, then department chair and finally dean. She also served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at CSU Channel Islands, where she learned the importance of community partnerships and philanthropy. But she calls her return to Chico State in 2016 as president momentous in her working life for more than one reason. Hutchinson has always enjoyed serving in leadership roles, and says sports taught her the power of teamwork, and the team taught her the importance of working together as one to imagine a successful future, achieve collective goals and overcome difficult challenges.
Alisha Valavanis, who played basketball at Chico State from 1995–99, is the CEO and general manager of the four-time WNBA Champion Seattle Storm and Force 10 Sports Management, LLC; a sports management firm that creates world-class sporting events in Seattle by providing operations, revenue generation, communications, and marketing expertise. The architect behind the Storm's 2018 and 2020 WNBA Championships, Valavanis has expanded the Force 10 sports management portfolio that has included Pac-12 women's basketball tournament, USA basketball, Seattle ProAm, Seattle Reign FC (NWSL) and the Seattle Seawolves (MLR).
Alexa Benson-Valavanis, who played for the Wildcats from 1995–98 and 1999–2000, has served as president and CEO of the North Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) since 2005. Under Alexa's leadership the foundation has grown from serving a dozen clients to more than 500 clients, engaging tens of thousands of donors, generating revenue of more than $175 million, while reinvesting more than $100 million to causes in Northern California, the United States and throughout the world. On Nov. 8, 2018, Alexa transformed NVCF into the lead philanthropic organization in the Camp Fire relief and recovery effort and has since built a COVID-19 response arm in efforts to help slow the pandemic and provide relief to at-risk populations.
