Storm CEO and Team President Alisha Valavanis
Alisha Valavanis is currently President and CEO of the four-time WNBA Champions, the Seattle Storm.
Valavanis has just started her eleventh season with the franchise, her first six seasons as the CEO & General Manager, leading the Storm through a rebuild that culminated with WNBA Championships in 2018 and 2020.
In 2022, Valavanis joined the ownership group and supported the vision of co-owners Lisa Brummel and Ginny Gilder in the development and planning of the Storm’s new $64 million state-of-the-art practice facility and team headquarters, which opened doors in March of 2024.
In Valavanis’ tenure with the Storm revenues have increased over 350% and, in 2022 the franchise was reported at a $151 million valuation, the highest of any professional women’s sports team at that time.
Valavanis and the Force 10 ownership group have focused on the intersection of business, sport, and community as a platform to drive positive social change. In 2020, in collaboration with the Storm players and staff, the Storm launched a comprehensive social justice platform, focused on four key areas of impact: voting, education and legislation; amplification of Black women; support of BIPOC youth and BIPOC communities; and support of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2022, the Seattle Storm was a finalist for ESPN’s Sports Humanitarian Team Award.
A native of Valparaiso, Ind., Valavanis came to the Storm with a strong history in women’s basketball. She played four years at California State University, Chico, finishing her career as the program’s all-time leader in three-pointers. Valavanis went on to coach for the Wildcats and in her four years as an assistant coach, the program made four straight NCAA Tournament appearances including a Final Four appearance.
In 2006, Valavanis moved onto the University of the Pacific and, in short succession, became the associate head coach before the pivot to the business side of sports wherein Valavanis spent time with the front office of the Golden State Warriors. In her final stop prior to the Storm, she served as an assistant athletics director for Cal Athletics at UC Berkeley.
Valavanis completed her B.A. in journalism in 2000 and received her master’s degree in physical education in 2004, both from Chico. In 2024, Valavanis and her twin sister Alexa Benson-Valavanis were both named to the City of Chico Sports Hall of Fame.
Valavanis is a member of the Washington Roundtable, and the International Women’s Forum, with previous seats held on both the Seattle Sports Commission Board of Directors and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees.
Valavanis was named in 2024 for the sixth year in a row to the Puget Sound Business Journal’s Power 100 List, recognizing leaders shaping the region. She was on 2019 Sports Business Journal list of Game Changers; a prestigious list of 40 executives across sports acknowledged as leaders in the industry. In the same year, she received back-to-back recognitions by Adweek; as a 2018 Rising Brand Stars in Seattle and one of The 30 Most Powerful Women in Sports in 2019.
In 2017 Puget Sound Business Journal named her an Outstanding Voice recipient for her commitment to equality, inclusion, and diversity, Valavanis was then selected as one of the 2018 Puget Sound Business Journal’s Women of Influence. Previously, Valavanis received the 2016 Washington Leadership Excellence Award from the Washington Diversity Council, the same year she was honored as the 2016 Distinguished Alumni for Chico State.