The NCAA will honor eight community leaders as 2022 Legacy Award recipients for their outreach, local activism and commitment to inclusive excellence in Minneapolis and New Orleans as part of NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four festivities.
The NCAA is recognizing four individuals in Minneapolis, the site of this year's Women's Final Four (April 1 and 3), and four in New Orleans, the site of this year's Men's Final Four (April 2 and 4). The NCAA Legacy Award program, which began in 2014, puts a spotlight on the career accomplishments and civic involvement of former student-athletes, coaches, administrators and community leaders during the Final Four weekend.
Each award recipient will receive a Legacy plaque and recognition for their achievements at private receptions to be held in Minneapolis and New Orleans this week.The recipients also will have an opportunity to meet local college student-athletes and interact with other local and NCAA officials. Additionally, the award recipients at the Women's Final Four in Minneapolis will be recognized publicly at the Final Four semifinal games on Friday, April 1. The award recipients at the Men's Final Four will be recognized at the men's championship game on Monday, April 4, in New Orleans.
The NCAA inclusion education and community engagement division has leveraged the March Madness platform to elevate the importance of inclusion as a core value of the Association. Recognizing that basketball has historically been an environment for diverse engagement and representation, the Legacy program also focuses on bridging targeted audiences and diverse businesses in the host cities.
"The 2022 NCAA Legacy honorees are an impressive slate of community leaders and citizens who through their daily actions have shown their care and concern for their neighbors," said Felicia Martin, NCAA senior vice president of inclusion, education and community engagement. "Each awardee has found a way to address specific issues in their community or their industry, and each has shown their dedication and investment to their city and surrounding areas. The 2022 Legacy honor acknowledges a small group of extraordinary, real-life heroes and sheroes who have dramatically improved the lives of other citizens and the conditions around them. It is our pleasure to recognize them during our NCAA Women's and Men's Final Four weekends."
The 2022 NCAA Legacy Award honorees are:
Women's Final Four Honorees
Debbie Montgomery
Community activist
Montgomery is a trailblazer as the first female police officer in St. Paul, Minnesota. She excelled in the role after realizing that women could be leaders in work and their communities. Serving in law enforcement for 28 years, she participated in educational programs and built trust with youth in the St. Paul area. When she retired, she was elected to the city council as the first female African American member and convinced businesses and the government to invest in St. Paul's Black community. At 17, Montgomery became one of the youngest members ever of the national board of the NAACP. She participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and as a freshman at the University of Minnesota in 1965, she traveled with other students to march 54 miles from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery to support voting rights. She was also one of the first black graduates of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs.Montgomery grew up in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul, and though she was a pre-Title IX athlete, she played neighborhood sports, including baseball with the local boys, and was exceptional in speed skating.
Lea Olsen
Founder, Rethink the Win
As the founder of Rethink the Win, Olsen is a resource to help people rethink sports and its impact on athletes. Rethink the Win helps to create better experiences for kids in sports. The program helps athletes learn how to handle struggles and experience success in sports, and it provides parents with resources to help their kids with those experiences. Olsen has seen sports as a parent, sports broadcaster and former collegiate athlete. She played basketball at the University of Minnesota, studying journalism, and later was a game analyst for the Minnesota Lynx and a sideline reporter for the Minnesota Timberwolves. She also has had opportunities to broadcast in the high school and collegiate sports worlds and has provided mentoring for many athletes. Her advocacy in Minneapolis is well-known, as she is a vocal supporter for women in media. Her community service also hasbeen applauded. She served on the Minnesota Twins Community Foundation Board and the Minnesota State High School League Board. Additionally, her broadcast experience earned her the opportunity to moderate a civil rights discussion featuring former U.S. Rep. John Lewis and to interview President and First Lady Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Fartun Osman
Founder, CEO and head coach of Girls Rock
As a youngster growing up in Somalia, Osman dreamed of one day becoming the female Pelé.However, a budding pro soccer career was halted due to the lack of opportunities for women and girls in her country, which led her to become a basketball and track athlete for the Somali national team. Osman moved to the U.S. when war broke out in Somalia and later coached her daughter in soccer. She still witnessed many stigmas and stereotypes that were barriers for Somali and Muslim girls who wanted to play soccer. In efforts to educate people and address changes she wanted to see, she started coaching East African Muslim girls in soccer. One change she fought for was the right for Muslim girls to play sports with their hijabs. Osman has coached and mentored over 1,000 girls in soccer, and her Girls Rock initiative has helped Somali girls succeed in education and sports. She has earned numerous awards, including the 2017 National Girls & Women in Sports Day Breaking Barrier Award and the 2018 Sports Person of the Year in the International Somali Awards. She has coached with the Somali women's national basketball team and was a U.S. ambassador for sports diplomacy.
Jessie Stomski Seim
General counsel, Prairie Island Indian Community
Seim serves as the general counsel for the Prairie Island Indian Community, where she oversees legal and government relations for the tribe. An enrolled citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Seim has represented various tribes and businesses in private practice. She has been recognized with numerous awards, including Minnesota Lawyer Magazine's In-House Attorney of the Year and the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development's "40 under 40" award. Minnesota Super Lawyers magazine named her a Minnesota "Rising Star," and she has served three terms on the board of directors of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association. Seim grew up in Wisconsin and was an all-state prep basketball player who was ranked among the top players in University of Wisconsin-Madison history. At Wisconsin, Seim was Big 10 Freshman of the Year, All Big 10 first team and MVP her junior and senior years. She also is ranked in several statistical categories. She played professionally with the WNBA Charlotte Sting and competed in France and Greece before earning her law degree. She was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2020.
Men's Final Four Honorees
LaToya Cantrell
Mayor of New Orleans
As the first female mayor of New Orleans, Cantrell has made improving the lives of the individuals in her city a priority. She started the goal early in her career, being named president of her neighborhood's Broadmoor Improvement Association, where she spearheaded the area's recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In 2012, she was elected to the city council, where she worked to pass a citywide ordinance that banned smoking in bars and restaurants. As a member of the council, she also helped establish a housing shelter for the homeless and supported legislation around the oversight of housing units. Among her many other achievements, she negotiated the Fair Share Agreement, which addressed infrastructure needs for New Orleans, with the governor of Louisiana and the Louisiana legislature. Additionally, she has witnessed success with other initiatives she pushed, which included addressing housing matters, a $500 bond sale and a Human Rights Commission to combat discrimination. She was one of New Orleans' most visible and vocal leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging public and private funds to help keep her citizens safe. Her work has been heralded, and her goals around protecting New Orleans are still on track.
Deborah Elam
President and CEO, Corporate Playbook
Elam is considered a trailblazer and a visionary with a storied career in business and in diversity, equity and inclusion. She was the first black female corporate officer at General Electric as its global chief diversity officer, where she led multiple philanthropic efforts that tackled issues around health, education and skill attainment. Considered an expert in DEI matters, she is also president and CEO of her own consulting firm, Corporate Playbook, which has been influential and transformative for organizations that have sought her guidance. In 2018, she began an unprecedented conversational dining experience called Dining with Deb that brought professional women across racial, religious and political lines together for meaningful connections and dialogue. Dining with Deb has become such a popular event that it is generally sold out in the New Orleans area, with a waiting list for seats. Elam has also been recognized in her community and nationally with numerous accolades, including being named one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Business and one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Philanthropy. Additionally, she has been honored for her work by the National Association for Female Executives and the National Urban League.
Nick Harris
Dillard University, director of community and church relations/community resource center
Harris has been a leader in the New Orleans community for years, and his work to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 was especially recognized during the pandemic. As director of community and church relations at Dillard, Harris collaborated with local and state government officials to inform residents about the locations of food pantries and free meal deliveries in the weeks of the stay-at-home orders. Other efforts included facilitating grocery and medication pickups, financial assistance for hospitality and short-term workers, legal services for under-resourced areas and assistance for nonprofit agencies. Under Harris' leadership, Dillard was recognized among local colleges and universities that provided personal protective equipment to various agencies and centers, which was extremely beneficial to the New Orleans health care community. Dillard is also on the Greater New Orleans Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster list. Harris' passion and energy contributed to him being recognized as a Neighborhood Navigator by the Mayor's Neighborhood Engagement Office, which helped assist residents with getting their questions answered about COVID-19 resources during a critical time. Teaching people to take care of themselves is a key theme around Harris' successful operations, programming and ministry.
Warner Thomas
President and CEO of Ochsner Health
Thomas leads one of Louisiana's largest nonprofit academic health systems, Ochsner Health, which is also the state's largest private employer. Under Thomas' innovative leadership, Ochsner is the only Louisiana hospital to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the "best hospital" in two adult and pediatric specialties. Under the principle of supporting the growing needs of patient populations and providing specialty services where patients need it, Ochsner has become a global destination for health care. Thomas has been instrumental in launching a lab designed to create health advancements that address national issues such as chronic disease management, and he has been supportive in partnerships with companies to revolutionize patient-centered care. He spearheaded Ochsner Learning Institute, which provides free professional education for his staff to better prepare them to confront challenges and seek opportunities around best practices. Thomas' achievements also have resulted in his being named to commissions and boards that advocate for health measures. Additionally, he is a recipient of numerous awards, including CEO of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year in health care and the Anti-Defamation League's A.I. Botnick Torch of Liberty Award, and he has been recognized as a Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen.