Alpha Alexander (born June 9, 1954, in Nashville, Tennessee) was co-founder of the Black Women in Sport Foundation.

Early life and education

Alpha Alexander was born June 9, 1954, in Nashville, Tennessee to parents Alpha Omega Alexander and Rufus S. Alexander. Alexander's mother, Alpha Omega Alexander was an elementary school teacher in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. Alexander's father graduated from the University of Wisconsin and worked for the United States Post Office. Alexander later moved to Dayton, Ohio where she grew up. Alexander attended Blairwood Elementary and went to Jefferson High School. Alexander was unable to play sports at Jefferson High School due to sports not being offered to girls. Alexander then went on to attend

The College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...

in 1976 where she attained her bachelor's degree in Physical Education. While there she played Volleyball (1973-1975), Lacrosse, Tennis, and Basketball (1972-1976). Alexander earned her master's degree in 1978 and Doctorate degree in 1981 at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

in Pennsylvania.

Career

In 1976, Alexander began her career as a graduate assistant in Women's Athletics at

. She was the Assistant Women's Athletic Director while there from 1980 to 1983 and the Women's Athletic Director in 1981–1983. She went on to work at Women's Sports Foundation 1985–1986. In 1986 she worked at the YWCA of San Francisco as Health and Wellness Director until 1987 until she became the health and sports advocacy for

YWCA of the USA : ''For other uses, including specific buildings and chapters, see Young Women's Christian Association (disambiguation).'' YWCA USA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedo ...

National Office. In 1990 Alexander became special assistant to the chief executive officer of the YWCA. Alexander then worked as Chancellor to the New York City Board of Education Office in 2000–2001. Alexander taught at Walter State Community College from 2001 to 2005 and Lane College from 2005 to 2007. Alexander served on the Olympic and Pan-American Sports Advisory Council, the United States Olympic Committee Board of Directors, and was president of the Arthur Ashe Foundation. In 1992 Alexander co founded the Black Women in Sport Foundation with

Tina Sloan Green Tina Sloan Green (born April 27, 1944) is a former women's lacrosse head coach of the Temple Owls from 1975 to 1992. Apart from coaching, she was the first African American to play for the United States women's national field hockey team from 196 ...

Nikki Franke Nikki Franke (born March 31, 1951) is an American former fencer and fencing coach. She fenced for Brooklyn College, and was an All American. She competed in the women's individual and team foil events at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and fenced at ...

, and Linda Greene. They met while at

. Currently Alexander is the chairperson of the Morristown Taskforce on Diversity.

Awards and honors

College of Wooster Hall of Fame -1993 Black Enterprise Magazine (as one of the 30 most valuable professionals in the business of sports in the USA ) -1995 Women's Sports Foundation President Award-1995 Olympic Shield Award (2nd Woman ever to receive this award from US Olympic Committee) -1996 New York Times Women of the Year Sport Award-1996 Billie Jean King Contribution Award (Women Sports Foundation) -1997, NCAA Silver Anniversary Award- 2001 NCAA 100 Most Influential Student Athletes in History (ESPN Classic) -2006 College of Wooster Distinguished Alumni -2008 National Girls and Women Sport Award from AAHPERD (previous year winners were Michelle Obama and Pat Head Summit) -2013 1019 Black Woman In Sport Foundation Glass Ceiling Breaker Award- 2019

Publications

They Carried Us: The Social Impact of Philadelphia's Black Women Leaders (Alexander is showcased in this book)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Alpha 1954 births Living people African-American sportswomen Athletic directors College of Wooster alumni Temple University College of Education alumni Temple University people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople