How basketball led her to Boise and a life of listening, learning, and lifting others up
Lesley Slaton Brown, former Bronco women’s basketball player, to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award
The Boise State University Alumni Association will honor five outstanding individuals at the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Gala tonight. Since 1988, these awards have honored extraordinary Boise State alumni and friends who are changing the world through their professions and personal endeavors. These individuals exemplify the loyalty, passion and innovation found in all dedicated Broncos.
The Distinguished Alumni Award celebrates graduates whose impact extends regionally, nationally, or internationally. One of those honorees is Lesley Slaton Brown, a 1988 Boise State University graduate with a BA in communications and former member of the Broncos’ women’s basketball team.
Brown is a transformative executive leader. She has held senior leadership roles at the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Hewlett-Packard (HP).
In recognition of her contributions, Brown was awarded the 2016 Woman of the Year in Technology by Silicon Valley’s chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., in addition to the 2016 Multicultural Leadership Award by the National Diversity Council. Brown was twice recognized by Black Enterprise as a Top Executive Marketing/Advertising, she received recognition from Savoy Magazine as one of the Top Influential Women in Corporate American and was featured in Diversity Journal’s Leadership Publication.
Brown couples her global marketing, branding, communications, corporate communications/PR with a deep passion for social entrepreneurship and leadership development.
Brown believes strongly in giving back to the community and has focused her expertise on sustainable impact. As a former Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor, charter co-founder and chairperson of Volunteers for Youth, Brown has also sat on the Board of Directors for The Boise State University Foundation, Boise State University Alumni Association, and the Idaho Black History Museum.
Good People
Brown was planning to go to college in California when she came for a visit to Boise. Immediately, she fell in love with the foothills, the mountains and the campus, and even more than that, she fell in love with the people.
I think Boise chose me as much as I chose it,” said Brown. “Boise has so much richness to it and Boise people are really good people.
Leaving home after growing up in a two-parent household with both sets of grandparents in Brown’s hometown was hard. She needed to adjust to the distance from her family, along with some of the complexities of living in southern Idaho.
While her first year at Boise State was difficult, she credits her time as a student-athlete as her saving grace. Her second year was completely different after she started getting off campus and getting more involved in the community.
In 2019, she returned to campus as the keynote speaker for the Boise State Women in Leadership Conference and reflected on her transformational work experience during her last two years at Boise State as a student assistant in special services in the office of the Dean of Students. There, she gained experience in building programs for underserved students, helping her identify the kind of career she wanted to pursue long term.
In my third year, I went to work in the administration building as a student assistant to the dean of students,” said Brown. “The interesting thing about that role was it provided an opportunity to help build up programs for underserved or marginalized students, so a lot of what I did then as a student assistant is ultimately what I'm doing on a bigger scale for a Fortune 500 company doing business in 170 countries across the globe. It prepared me for my career and what I am today.Lesley Slaton Brown
In numerous interviews and stories available on the web, Brown shares a few keys to her success and the challenge she received from her grandmother that continues to shape her path today.
Art of Listening and Lifting Others Up
As a child, Lesley spent hours listening to her grandmother tell stories about growing up as one of 14 children in a diverse, multi-cultural family. These stories not only provided insight into her grandmother’s extraordinary life but also emphasized the importance of ensuring your voice is heard and the responsibility of uplifting other voices, too.
Learning from Role Models
“In addition to role models in my family, I also had phenomenal teachers, and even managers, along the way. They showed me how you can be powerful, have your voice heard, be a disrupter and change agent, yet still be kind, respect all people, hold firm to your values, and show up as your authentic self. I am forever grateful for all these wonderful women in my life.”
A Challenge to Expand Your Perspective
“I want to challenge you, like my grandmother challenged me, to learn,” said Brown. “Reach out to someone who is different from you and learn more about their experiences. Invite them for coffee or tea, listen to a podcast during your daily commute or during lunch, learn more about great innovators and the impact they have made on society. “If you want to get healthy, you do not wait for someone to hand you vegetables, you get informed, you research nutrition, and you challenge yourself to start exercising! Do not wait for someone to give you a broader worldview. Go get it.”