Michele Roberts
Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association

Born and raised in the South Bronx, basketball has always been a part of Michele Roberts' life. She grew up watching games on television with her two older brothers and attending local trials with her mother to watch court proceedings. It was there that she was inspired to practice law. After receiving her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, she began her legal career as a public defender in Washington D.C.  After serving ten years in the private sector, Roberts was elected to be the first female Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association— the first woman ever to head a major professional sports union in North America. Despite her newcomer status to the world of professional sports, Roberts shows no signs of hesitation: "Basketball has sort of been a backdrop in my life as far as I can remember. It never occurred to me that at some point in my life, I'd find myself living within the basketball world. If I'd planned it, I probably would have blown it. This is going to sound very corny, but I sort of feel like this was my destiny."