Donna Orender was president of the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) from February 2005 to December 2010. Within a year after taking the WNBA helm, Fox Sports named her the seventh most powerful woman in sports.

As Donna Geils (nee), she was a regional All-America basketball player at Queens College (NY), and played three seasons as an all-star point guard in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL). During that period, the only three seasons the league was active, Geils wore the uniforms of the New York Stars (1978-79), New Jersey Gems (1979-80), and Chicago Hustle (1980-81).

Before accepting the WNBA top spot, Orender was an executive with the PGA (golf) Tour for 17 years, and rose to Senior Vice president of Strategic Development. In that position and other roles, her duties included producing "Inside the PGA Tour" television series, and she helped negotiate TV contracts that marketed the Tiger Woods phenomenon. Prior to this, she ran the Tour's worldwide television and production business.

In 2005, in addition to the Fox Sports.com Top Ten designation, Orender was named to Sporting News' annual 'Power 100' list. In 2007, she was featured on BusinessWeek's 'Power 100 Sports', and was the 'WISE Woman of the Year'.