A native of Ames, Iowa, Harrison Barnes is a seven-year NBA veteran, NBA champion (2015), and Olympic gold medalist (2016) currently with the Sacramento Kings. Off the court, Barnes advocates for communities across the country, including Dallas, Sacramento, Oakland, Ames, and Chapel Hill. He and his wife, Brittany, have partnered with various organizations to impact the lives of youth, single parents, healthcare workers, and families of victims of police brutality by committing their time and resources. Barnes currently serves on the First National Bank Board of Directors and Board of Trustees for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland. He resides with his wife and two dogs in Sacramento, California.

Gayle Benson, Governor of the New Orleans Pelicans, serves as one of the NBA Foundation’s eight board members. The New Orleans native is an accomplished business professional and philanthropist with strong ties to the local community. She is dedicated to contributing to the growth and enhancement of the Gulf South region. In addition to ownership of the Pelicans, Mrs. Benson is also owner of the New Orleans Saints, GMB Racing Stables, automotive dealerships, the Benson Tower office building, Benson Capital Partners, a brewery, and numerous other real estate ventures including the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.

Mrs. Benson has ensured the Pelicans, Saints and all of her businesses are dedicated corporate citizens in the Gulf South community. They have annually put millions of dollars back into the community in financial support, in-kind donations, charitable appearances and donations of goods and services, while being among the first to respond to numerous environmental, educational, health and social challenges. She serves on the NBA’s Labor Relations Committee and on the NFL’s Audit, Business Ventures and Hall of Fame Committees. Regionally she serves on numerous boards representing a broad array of community support.

Tobias Harris is a nine-year NBA veteran currently playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. A selfless individual, Harris continually demonstrates outstanding service and dedication to the community.

Among his many acts of giving, Harris hosted his “Community Draft” in 2019 at which he pledged $1 million to nine underserved community organizations. Harris is a big believer in education, and supports children in numerous ways, including through his Tobias Top Teachers and Tobias Lit Labs programs. He seeks to celebrate teachers and address national issues such as teacher shortages and lack of minority male educators, while encouraging youth to get “lit” for literacy in an effort to help improve reading proficiency scores.

As a member of the NBA Foundation’s Board of Directors, Harris provides strategic direction with respect to programming and grantmaking in addition to assisting in the oversight of the organization’s activities.

Larry Tanenbaum, O.C., Hon LLD is an accomplished operating executive and private equity investor with a distinguished record of public service to a variety of organizations. In 2007, he was recognized for his philanthropy, business and volunteerism by being appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour. In September 2020 he was awarded the SportsBusiness Journal Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Tanenbaum is the Chairman and CEO of Kilmer Van Nostrand Co. Limited, co-owner of Coca-Cola Bottling in Canada, Chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Governor of the NHL, NBA and MLS, and Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors. Mr. Tanenbaum is a true difference maker and is philanthropically committed to medical research, brain science and healthy communities. Among his many volunteer roles, he is Co-Founder and Board Member of the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute at Montreal Neurological Institute, Chairman of the Research Board for the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Vice-Chairman of Brain Canada and Founding Director of Right To Play.

Mr. Ressler is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Ares Management Corporation, a leading global alternative asset management firm. In the not-for-profit sector, he serves as Co-Chair of the Board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), a member of the Board of Directors of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and one of the founders and a former member of the board of the Painted Turtle Camp. In the public education sector, he is a Founder and former Chairman of the Alliance for College Ready Public Schools, which has grown to 28 free public middle and high schools serving students from Los Angeles’ poorest communities. Since June 2015, Mr. Ressler has served as Principal Owner and Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to the Hawks Foundation, which focuses on building bridges with the metro Atlanta community through basketball.

Adam Silver was unanimously elected NBA Commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014, by the NBA Board of Governors.

Silver presides over a global sports and media business built around four professional sports leagues:  the National Basketball Association, Women’s National Basketball Association, NBA G League and NBA 2K League. He is dedicated to growing basketball around the world, embracing innovation and new technologies, increasing transparency and using basketball to bring people together and promote health and fitness.

Silver was named SportsBusiness Journal’s Executive of the Decade and has been ranked No. 1 on the publication’s annual list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business. He was also named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, and The Bloomberg 50, Bloomberg Businessweek’s list of 50 people who defined global business. Additionally, Silver has earned Sports Executive of the Year honors at the Sports Business Awards and was named Sports Illustrated’s Executive of the Year.

Prior to becoming commissioner, Silver served as NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer for eight years. He has been instrumental to many of the league’s signature achievements, including the negotiation of three collective bargaining agreements with the National Basketball Players Association; the development of the WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and the Basketball Africa League; the partnership with Turner Broadcasting to manage the NBA’s digital assets; and the creation of NBA China.

NBPA Executive Director (Acting)