by Joe Wilhelm, Staff Writer
Donna Orender, the former president of a major women’s sports league, is moving forward with a plan to bring women together in Jacksonville for a leadership conference to discuss women in business, women’s health issues and how women can make a difference.
Her plan was warmly received recently by an interested group: the Jacksonville chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Women.
Orender, CEO of Orender Unlimited, a consulting company whose services include providing sales, marketing, media and diversity strategies, said she was moved to create the “Generation W” conference after attending one of many leadership conferences during her career.
“My passion about women and girls and working to create broader understanding for them, to develop deeper opportunities and create connections has not changed,” said Orender.
She stepped down Dec. 31 from her post as president of the WNBA, a nationwide basketball league supported by the National Basketball Association.
She’s also know here as the wife of M.G. Orender, CEO of Hampton Golf and a former partner in the LandMar development company with his next-door neighbor, Ed Burr.
She said her WNBA experience gave her even more experience.
“I was really fortunate to travel around and participate in a lot of conferences,” she said.
One was former California first lady Maria Shriver’s Women’s Conference, which featured about 150 speakers.
“(The conference) has been in existence for 20 years, but when Maria took it over it became rock-star status,” Orender said at the meeting held at the River City Brewing Company in downtown Jacksonville.
“As I went into this place, there were 15,000 women. I sat next to a hairdresser from Fresno and the president of Jamba Juice. I loved the egalitarianism, I loved the energy, I loved the connection and I loved all the people she brought in,” Orender said.
Orender said she began a conversation with herself at the conference.
“I said, ‘You know, we have to do this for Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville would love this, and I’m going to do this,’” said Orender.
That experience and passion led to the development of Generation W’s inaugural event, “Living Powerfully.”
The daylong event is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. on April 20 at the Fine Arts Center at the University of North Florida and will feature about 20 speakers from industries including entertainment, sports, politics, nonprofits and journalism.
“What I took away from (being the head of the WNBA), is that whatever you want to build, whether it’s a building, a sales force, Internet service, any product, you have to build a belief system,” said Orender.
“You have people buy into that belief system. It takes a passion to do that. You have to be passionate about your belief. You cannot, ultimately, be shaken,” she said.
Before leading the WNBA, Orender, a former professional basketball player, spent 17 years at the PGA Tour. During that time she led the growth of both the creative scope and business depth of PGA Tour Productions. She also built its global television business.
Orender ran the Tour’s global television and production businesses for nine years. Her last position was senior vice president of strategic development in the Office of the Commissioner.
“With Generation W, we are going to ignite a movement in Jacksonville, Florida. This is where we should be. This city should have thought leadership,” said Orender.
“If we live powerfully, if we own who we are, if we want to live the change we want to see, then this is what we should do,” she said.