Terdema Ussery II
Los Angeles, California
CEO, Dallas Mavericks
Terdema Ussery II, president and CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, credits South Central Los Angeles’ Watts/ Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club with teaching him to persevere. The young Ussery took those lessons to heart, attending college at Princeton and later receiving a master’s from Harvard and a law degree from Berkeley. The former president of Nike Sports Management, Ussery once served as commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association – the NBA’s 16-team developmental league. He continues to make an impact at local Clubs, serving on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas.
