WASHINGTON – Communications faculty member and alumna Leelannee Malin, Ph.D., has been appointed as the president of the Women in Sports and Events (WISE) DC Chapter, for a three-year term through 2022. Malin will be the first African American to lead the organization as president. WISE has been a national organization for 25 years with D.C. as its first chartered chapter. It serves as the leading voice and resource for professional women in sports, with an international network of 21 chapters across the U.S. and Canada. Malin has served as a member of WISE for 10 years and in multiple capacities to include membership chair and vice-president.  

"I am excited to embark on a new journey within WISE DC as president,” says Malin.

"As a Howard University alumna and faculty member, I am particularly eager to create opportunities for Howard students to expand their skill set and garner opportunities in the sports, entertainment and event industries."

Since the inception of the D.C. chapter in 1995, WISE DC has partnered with the Washington Redskins, DC United, Washington Nationals, Events DC, Monumental Sports, and Howard, George Washington, and George Mason universities, to provide professional development and career resources to industry professionals in the D.C. region.

Malin has committed to cultivating the next generation of industry leaders as a lecturer and strategic communications sequence coordinator in the Department of Strategic, Legal and Management Communications in the Howard University Cathy Hughes School of Communications. During her tenure at Howard, she has collaborated to create a sports communication course, serves as the consulting communications specialist for the Office of the Dean of the Chapel, and previously served as the director of the summer Capstone Lab and advisor for the Adopt-A-Team Program supporting corporate partnerships with NBC Universal and CBS. The intersection of her business and academic savvy extends beyond the classroom.  

Additionally, as a public relations practitioner with more than 15 years of experience, she has provided consulting services in the sports and entertainment, non-profit and corporate communications sectors while specializing in brokering community partnerships in the educational and sporting arenas. Her professional credits include managing projects with the NFL Players Association, IMPACT, The Miss USA franchise, Essence Music Festival Marketplace, MTV Networks, professional athletes and government agencies. Her professional efforts have afforded her the honor of being selected as Prince George’s County, Maryland’s “Forty Under 40” awardee and awardee for “DMV Power Woman in Sports and Entertainment.”

“I hope to use my professional practice to offer professional development support and advisement to WISE members and partners in the industry in the role of President,” says Malin. “I am most interested in creating programs and opportunities for members that can help mobilize the WISE network to further the personal and professional goals of the membership base while also cultivating the next generation of women in sport.”

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(Pictured above and as the featured image: Leelannee Malin, Ph.D., of Howard University and president of WISE DC Chapter - courtesy of Howard University)

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States.  For more information on Howard University visit www.howard.edu

Media Contact: Imani Pope-Johns, Imani.popejohns@howard.edu