Dr. Janice Hilliard

Dr. Janice L. Hilliard has made ensuring the successful future of today’s student-athlete, especially today’s female student-athlete, the focus of her professional life. She sees their future as limitless, but only when equipped with the right mindset and the right tools. That explains her commitment to empowering them to maximize their short and long term opportunities. She is equally committed to developing and supporting sports leaders who are actively involved in preparing athletes for successful lives after sports.

Through her company, Hilliard Solutions, Janice and her accomplished team of associates provide consulting, career coaching, athlete life skills programming and professional development solutions for sports leaders, athlete development professionals and educational and community organizations. The Hilliard Solutions 360 Degree Athlete Development Model and methods strategically engage, educate, and empower athletes and key players in their ecosystem to address the challenges inherent in integrating education, sports, and business. Importantly, this model of athlete education maximizes the opportunity for athletes and their organizations to achieve mutually beneficial goals.

A plethora of organizations have taken advantage of Hilliard Solutions including the NCAA, NBA, MLS, Women Leaders in College Sports, National Alliance of Social Workers in Sports, Minority Opportunities Athletic Association, and the Memphis Grizzlies. Numerous esteemed educational institutions have benefited also, including the University of California/Berkeley, University of Florida, Temple University, and Iowa State University.

The only Ph.D. at the National Basketball Association (NBA) during her 15-year tenure there, she spent 5 of those years as its Vice President of NBA Player Development, responsible for the continuing education and professional development initiatives for NBA players. As she had done for the NBA’s D League previously, she created and implemented professional development training platforms for players, league and team player development directors and collegiate student-athlete development leaders. Prior to the NBA, she was a collegiate associate athletics director at the University of Houston and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, secondary school teacher, coach and counselor in Texas and Michigan, and collegiate basketball scholarship student-athlete at the University of Houston.

Janice earned her Doctorate degree in Educational Administration, a Master’s degree in Urban Counseling from Michigan State University and a Bachelor’s in education from the University of Houston. She is a published author, adjunct professor, and public speaker who is highly respected in both the collegiate and professional sectors. She is most proud of the annual Women in Athlete Development Symposium & Networking Event she created and oversees to educate, prepare, and assist women seeking careers in the athlete development field.

She remains driven to help others achieve their goals and in turn, help build the depth and accomplishments of the athlete development community one person or one institution at a time. She continues to be recognized for her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, women’s empowerment, and the community at large by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, American Athletic Conference, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Email: [email protected]