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Women Leaders in Sports Podcast


Oct 18, 2020

In this podcast, Patti Phillips is joined by the Director of Athletics at Palm Beach Atlantic University, Courtney Lovely Evans.

Courtney has ascended to the AD chair quickly, although this was not necessarily her goal in college. It was actually the opportunity to work for two female leaders at Georgia State that opened her eyes to collegiate administration.

In our conversation Courtney talks about the 3 types of decisions we are all faced with, her ideas on hiring to weaknesses, having a fearless approach to “friendraising,” and the value of a personal board of directors, especially while making choices in transition.

She shares about how her stops at Georgia State University and the NCAA National Office fueled her passion for positively affecting the student-athlete experience, and credits those positions with forming her use of storytelling and relationship building to advocate for her student-athletes.

Finally, Courtney also opens up about how “being the only” was part of her journey to becoming the first minority administrator at Palm Beach Atlantic named to both the university’s cabinet and the athletic director chair. Her philosophy on “leading with love,” she says, has not only been her guiding force in leading her department through the racial and medical pandemics in our nation, but also in her approach to engaging in conversations daily on her campus and in the athletics space.

Lots to love here. I hope you enjoy our conversation, and remember, we are Women Leaders!