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Alana Beard          

Former Professional Basketball Player; Founder & President of 318 Foundation

Alana Beard is the Founder and President of the 318 Foundation, a nonprofit established in her hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, committed to inspiring positive college, career, and life outcomes for high school girls in underrepresented communities. She is also the Founder of Transition Play, a talent firm helping women athletes build a prolific life across their personal, professional and public domains beyond the game. As an entrepreneur, Beard is utilizing the power of education, community, business and sports to create a culture shift in how women and girls experience access and opportunity.

Best known for her athletic career as a basketball player, Beard won championships at every level, from high school to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and internationally. She is the first woman to win the John R. Wooden, State Farm Wade Trophy and Naismith Player of the Year Awards. She was Duke University’s first National Player of the Year, a three-time ACC Player of the Year and the first female at Duke to have her jersey number retired. Selected as the 2nd overall pick in the first round of the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics, Beard was a four-time WNBA All-Star and an integral piece in leading the Los Angeles Sparks to a WNBA Championship in 2016.

Towards the end of her playing career, Beard won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Awards in 2017 and 2018. She retired from the WNBA in January 2020 after 15 years. Shortly thereafter, she was enshrined in both the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Upon her retirement, Beard transitioned to the venture capital space as a Senior Associate for Silicon Valley Bank Capital. She served on the Board of Directors for Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp. I, where she advised company leaders as they navigated the completion of their IPO through a special purpose acquisition company transaction. She holds Board positions at SmartRent, Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp. III, and the Sports Academy Foundation.

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