Val Ackerman
From Hoopedia
Valerie B. "Val" Ackerman was born on November 7, 1959 in New York City but grew up in nearby Pennington, New Jersey. She is an attorney, sports executive, and former basketball player. She is best known for being the first president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), serving from 1996-2005.
College
Ackerman graduated from the University of Virginia in 1981, where she was a four-year starter for the women's basketball team and a two-time Academic All-American. She earned a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and worked for two years as an associate at the New York law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Career
Ackerman played professional basketball in France for one season. Then in 1988, she served as a staff attorney for the National Basketball Association and as special assistant to NBA Commissioner David Stern, director of business affairs and vice president of business affairs prior to her appointment to head the WNBA in 1996.
From 1995-1996 she was a driving force behind the creation of the historic USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team program that culminated with a 60-0 record and the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
On August 7, 1996 Ackerman was named president of the WNBA. Over the course of her historic term, Ackerman would become the first women ever to launch a women's team-oriented sports league for the duration of eight years successfully. On February 1, 2005 Ackerman stepped down. Donna Orender was named as her successor.
She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes, the National Board of Directors of Girls Incorporated, and the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
In May 2005 she became the first female president of USA Basketball for the 2005-2008 term succeeding Tom Jernstedt from 2000-2004.
Ackerman lives in New York City with her husband Charlie and her two daughters Sally and Emily.
