Basketball player Renee Montgomery made waves in the sports world in 2020 when she opted out of her 12th season to focus fully on social justice reform. A two-time WBNA champion, she was drafted fourth overall in the WNBA and named 6th Woman of the Year and All-Star during her impressive 11 year professional playing career. She launched the Remember the 3rd campaign through the Renee Montgomery Foundation in 2020 to empower voters, and made history when she became Vice President and co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, making her the first WNBA player to become an executive and owner of a WNBA team. Montgomery is also an accomplished broadcaster, serving as a host and sports analyst on numerous shows and podcasts including Montgomery & Co, her own weekly podcast.
The West Virginia native was a captain each year of her high school career and as a senior led South Charleston High School to 3 Girls State Basketball Championships. She then played for the University of Connecticut on an undefeated team that stormed to victory in the NCAA championship in 2009, and she graduated as a two-time All-American.
Selected fourth overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2009 WNBA Draft, she went on to enjoy an incredibly successful 11 year professional career before deciding to forgo her 12th season so she could pursue a bigger role in social justice reform as an advocate for racial justice. A true trailblazer, this athlete-turned-activist is just getting started.