BERKELEY - After spending the last three years as an officer on the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) board of directors, Cal Senior Associate Athletics Director Markeisha Everett is thrilled to begin her role as NACMA President for the 2024-25 membership year.

"This is one of those things that, coming up as a young professional, I aspired to be," Everett said. "NACMA has had tremendous growth over the years and I'm lucky to have been a part of that. My goal is to make sure that I leave it better than I found it."

Everett – who joined the Golden Bears as Chief Marketing & Communications officer in 2022 – has been a member of NACMA since her earliest days in collegiate athletics in 2010. She was later appointed to the organization's board of directors in 2017 and elected as an officer in 2021, beginning a four-year term that culminates with her upcoming presidency.

"When I got onto the board, I thought to myself that I want to give back, but I also want to someday lead the organization," Everett said. "I've been fortunate that I've had the opportunity to see some really good leadership from all over the country, and the thing that's stood out to me the most is that we've had some dynamic female leadership. There have been some great female leaders I've been able to be around, and learning about their impact was inspiring."

Since receiving her bachelor's degree in sport management with a specialization in marketing from Bowling Green State University and earning a master's degree in sport management & administration from West Virginia, Everett has established herself as one of the industry's top talents in sports marketing and brand management. She additionally served as the Director of Marketing at Georgia Tech and West Virginia, Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing at Pittsburgh, and on the marketing teams at Missouri, Gonzaga and North Dakota State.

In her new role with NACMA - an organization that sets out to provide the tools, training and resources for collegiate sports marketers to successfully generate revenue, manage brands and develop fans - Everett plans to bring the same vision-oriented approach she has brought to Cal and numerous other universities.

"I am focused on getting things done. My mentality here at Cal is what's best for the university – respecting the rich history and traditions that it has, and everything that those who have come before me have built while being able to bring new solutions and be a problem solver – and the mentality with NACMA is the same," Everett said. "I'm going to make sure that I'm not leading from a perspective of 'This is what I want,' but more so, 'This is what the membership needs,' making sure that we are providing tools, resources and training that speaks to the ever-changing landscape of college athletics."

Along with the honor of following in the footsteps of former women NACMA Presidents Kansas State Senior Associate Athletics Director Joni Smoller, Mary Pink at Iowa State and Leslie Wurzberger who is also a NACMA Hall of Famer – all of whom she names as inspirations – Everett also takes great pride in the ethnic diversity aspect of her new role.

Everett is the third black president in the organization's history – following Alfred White (1997) and Ayo Taylor-Dixon (2017), her former boss at Georgia Tech – as well as its first black, female president.

"To be the third black president, but the first black female, is a really good indication of how NACMA has prepared itself to continue to evolve and grow, allowing leadership from all different walks of life, so to speak," Everett said. "What I want to do is make our organization the premier stop where you can come in and get some resources to help you do your job better, but you can also network and build the connections needed to do your job at a top-tier level."